1 month post op - United Kingdom, GB

Hello all you wonderful ladies out there!

I am 27 years old, I am 5'4 tall (163cm) & I weigh 167 pounds (76kg), my bra size is 34G. I have thought about a breast reduction since I was 18 years old and I have finally made up my mind. I have spent all these years having a breakdown every 4 months or so when I have cried over my breasts being too big.

I started growing breasts when I was 9 years old and I had a C cup by the time I was 12 years old, after that they have just been growing and growing. They were an E-F cup when I was about 18 years old and for the past 5-6 years or so I have been a cup size 34G.

The problems I have from my breasts are: back, neck & shoulder pain, rashes underneath breasts & sore wounds from bra underwires digging in (even though I go to get measured & get well-fitting bras every 6-8 months!), not being able to wear well-fitting tops, bikini tops, bathing suits, dresses and just feeling like they are constantly in the way.

My dream size is a C cup.

I don’t have children yet (I do want to have children at some point in my life, but definitely not in the next 4-5 years or so), and I did think about waiting until I had had children & was done with breast feeding, but I just cant take it anymore. It won’t be worth it waiting all that time (and then maybe I wont even be able to breast feed!), I will be OK with not breast feeding if that’s what it will come to.

I have done extensive research of well-respected surgeons in the area where I live and I have narrowed it down to a list of surgeons.

I had my first consultation with a surgeon on 4th Jan 2013 at private hospital located about 1h 15min drive from where I live. It went really well, the surgeon explained in detail what would happen during surgery and all the potential risks. He said that he would use the anchor incision, he would use insoluble stitches & he would use drains and have them removed 24 hours after the surgery. He recommended me to stay 1-2 nights in hospital afterwards. The consultation was very through, he examined my breasts & said that he expected to remove approx 500-600 gram (1.1-1.3 pounds) of tissue from each breast. He said for me to expect to be a D cup afterwards, potentially a DD cup, he wouldn’t be able to tell. He said he could definitely not go any smaller than a D cup.

I was happy with my consultation and I really liked the surgeon, so I went ahead and booked my pre-op appointment for 5 April. I have also booked the surgery in for Friday the 17th May. This fits well with my work schedule, otherwise I would do it sooner.

I decided to have a second consultation just to make sure I was fully informed. I had my second consultation today (21 January) with a surgeon who is located very close to where I live (10min drive). He was also nice, but I felt like he was a bit rushed. I explained that I wanted to have a breast reduction, and he asked if I had considered a breast lift instead. I had explained to him that I wanted to be a C cup and that I was ready to go small, I don’t want or need to have large breasts anymore. The surgeon said that if I would have a breast lift, he could get me down to a D cup and if I had a breast reduction he could get me down to a C cup. I asked him what he thought would best suit my body and he said he couldn’t tell me his personal preference, and that I had to make the decision. I understand that this is because he wants me to make the decision based on what I want, but he just confused me so much with the breast lift.

I have always wanted to be considerably smaller, not just lifted. The surgeon also said that if I do have the breast reduction, he would only remove 100-200grams from each breast. This is so much less than what the first surgeon said, which makes me really puzzled.

How is it that the first surgeon said he would remove 500-600 gram per breast & it would leave me with a D or a DD cup and the second surgeon says he will not remove more than 100-200 gram per breast and that will leave me with a C cup??!!

The second surgeon said that he thought that I needed to think long and hard if I really wanted to have a reduction when he thought a lift could take me down to a D cup. He was saying that some girls don’t realise how small they get. The thing is that I really, really doesn’t want to be big breasted and I have dreams at night about having really small breasts. Am I kidding myself? Am I going to regret it? I just have a feeling that I won’t care about the size, I can always wear a push up bra if I need to get bigger.

I really don’t know which surgeon to go for. The first surgeon was the one that made me feel the best, but the second surgeon has better credentials and would also be closer to where I live. I will get to see pictures at the pre-op for the first surgeon, as he didn’t have any available for the first appointment. I did see photos from the second surgeon and they all looked fantastic. So that makes me also think that he might be the best option. The second surgeon's procedure is the same as the first one, except that the second surgeon doesnt use drains.

I have booked a third consultation on Wednesday 23 January with a third surgeon, just to see what he says and see if I can get some clarity in how much would be suitable to remove and what size he would predict for me.

Any advice / tips / suggestions, would be greatly appreciated! Drains for 24h (first surgeon) or no drains (second surgeon)?

All of you on here has already helped me so much more than you know, just by reading your reviews I have become more and more certain that I want to go ahead with the surgery & it comforts me to know that there will be more people going through the same thing as me at the same time. I look forward to sharing the experience with you!

Happy healing to all of you that have just had the surgery & all the best to all of those of us who are still waiting xx