Nightmare Experience Turned Around - Texas

I started out with a complicated situation. I had moderate asymmetry in my breasts(2 different sized breasts). My nipples were at different heights and not pointing in the same direction. I spent two months on this site collecting data, reading reviews and even posting prep pictures to try to find a consensus amongst doctors as to whether I needed a breast lift.

The time I spent on this site was helpful. I learned many things.

Asking doctors for an opinion on whether I needed a lift or not really confused me. Doctors are viewed as subject matter experts, not to be questioned and extremely intelligent by most folks (patients) who are not from the medical field. We expect and look for consistency, after all they are all doctors, speak with such authority and confidence that why shouldn't they be the expert?

Well here's what happened to me after my thorough research:

I carefully read through the responses to my post and noticed it was about 50/50 as to whether I need a breast lift. I didn't want the scar,loss of sensation,and added cost if I didn't need it so naturally I looked for a Doctor that said I wouldn't need it.

I had 4 different doctors I narrowed it down to. I had one in person consult and several over the phone/skpe consults.

This resulted in a careful review of the doctors internet presence: Websites,reviews on "Yelp",Googe searches about them etc.... I did as much homework as I could. I mean I spent hundreds of hours looking into this. I ended up finding a Doctor clear across the country who had incredible photo's, she had been on the news as a subject matter expert, her website was amazing. I could only find a couple of customer reviews in obscure places bad mouthing her, that seemed reasonable, you will always have a few sour grapes right?

So I had my Breast Augmentation with her. Immediately following the surgery I noticed I was still very uneven, the implant was riding up to my collar bone on one side. I was concerned most about the breasts remaining uneven. The Doctor told me Post Op Day 1 this was normal, they would settle and even out. I questioned implant size as my breast started out very uneven and she wasn't sure if she had certain larger sized implants in stock but assured me they could get them if they needed them.

So here I am across the country Post Op day 5 and the breasts are completely uneven, one is all the way up to my collar bone, the other remains dramatically smaller. The surgeon gets defensive when I ask questions, they have assistants in the room documenting our conversation, they order a sonogram, they deny any possible wrong doing, things are going bad quickly. I have the sonogram to see if any fluid is causing the implant to ride high. I made sure I asked for the report from the Radiologist, "no fluid present".

Back to meet with the surgeon. She suggests 3 things:

1) I fly home clear across the country and then come back in a few months for a revision.
2) I continue to stay in the area indefinitely to allow her time to watch for the implants to drop.
3)Terminate our relationship.

Naturally I wasn't going home with this mess, it would have been so embarrassing not to mention the expense of coming back latter.
Hanging around indefinitely could get real expensive real quick and my work would never allow for it.
Terminating the relationship in my mind was the best route since I had lost all trust in this women. She was cold, totally "Clinical" and I was starting to see all kinds of red flags that lined up with her bad reviews.

I was devastated after all the work I had put into this, traveling this far, spending this much money and now I would have to go home butchered.
I used my anger to do something constructive. I terminated the relationship,got a partial refund,ONLY AFTER I had to sign a legal agreement protecting her from any negative reference about her, (So I can't tell you who she is).

Next I got busy quick, I found an incredible man to correct the problem 7 days after this first Doctors butcher job. The NEW doctor had over 30 years experience, he had accolades "Top Surgeon 2011,2009,190 etc.... all over his walls. He was genuine,sincere,honest, frank and understanding. He gave me a straight talk about the risks of fixing this problem so early, he explained what had gone wrong and what would have to be done.

Now, Post Op Day 1 my breasts look amazing! They look real right now. No "Frankenboob" riding high, they are completely even side for side, they have fullness below the nipple and above. Unbelievable how different the outcome.

What I learned:

1) Don't be fooled by great marketing. The internet is great for Doctors to promote themselves. The best Doctors probably have less need and therefore spend less time on marketing.
2) Doctors work very hard at insuring unhappy customers are silenced. They learn ways to remove negative feedback off websites. They offer refunds for silence. etc...
3) Doctors should be trusted no more then anyone else. They are not gods, they are motivated by money and they make mistakes but are taught to avoid taking responsibility or admitting to a mistake.
4) Becoming a Doctor means you are: Willing to work hard, you learn to test well consistently and you are willing to stay in school a little longer then your average student so you can get paid ridiculous money to "Practice" on people. Don't put a Doctor on a pedestal just because they are a Doctor!
5) Remember if your considering a Breast Augmentation and you are looking for a consensus from Doctors on a particular approach, you likely won't get one. The reason is a Breast Augmentation is more about ART then about medicine. Artists have many different techniques to arrive at a masterpiece, if creating a work of art with a breast augmentation was simply painting by numbers then every surgeons approach would be similar.
6) If you want a work of Art when you are through then you need to really look into the canvas you are starting with (your PreOp state) and then you need to find the Monet of Doctors. You need a master sculptor with a 3 dimensional eye. This is something that you can't be taught in Med School or in Practicing on people. You either have the artists eye or you don't.

Find a Artist by word of mouth. Look for women with similar breasts as yours. Look at the outcome they had and if you like meet with their Doctor and trust your gut after you meet with them. If they tell you they have to do something like a lift then accept it and don't search for a different answer that is easier to swallow.

Find a Artist, place highest value on years of experience not great marketing,look for other breast photo's similar to yours and the finished results,don't treat a Doctor like anyone other then what they are,trust your gut!