12.5 year old Implants are now GONE (as of 3/18/14)!!!! SO HAPPY in Boulder, CO!!!

I am SO HAPPY I decided to do this...wish I had done it sooner! The weight and annoyance of the big floppy implants was getting worse with each passing birthday (I am now 57). I wanted them GONE now. They looked and felt so foreign to me...not sexy, just BIG.
I made a decision to do the surgery under local anesthesia because it was not necessary to have the capsule removed and I had never had any problems with the implants (no capsular contracture).
The day of my surgery, a friend insisted on driving me to my appointment and was told I should be done in about 90 minutes. After paying and signing a few documents, I was taken into a comfy, private waiting room. Within a few minutes (about an hour before surgery), the medical assistant gave me a paper top, applied a liberal amount of numbing cream under each breast, and positioned some plastic wrap to keep the cream in place. At that point, I inquired about taking a Valium (to take the edge off) and pain medication pre-op. The medical assistant took my vitals and told me that my pulse/blood pressure were normal/very healthy and I should be fine, but it was totally up to me regarding the meds. I decided it was probably best to not to take anything because I thought it might make me feel really out of it later. I spent the next hour relaxing, reading magazines and drinking water while they called in my prescriptions for pain meds (Vicodin), antibiotics (Keflex), and anti-nausea medication (Promethazine - just in case I needed it post-op).
When it was time, I was taken into the operating room, the numbing cream was wiped off and I was prepped for surgery with a complete antiseptic wipe down. Everything looked and felt very sterile. I was covered with the necessary grounding pad (in case I needed to have cauterization at any point) and another large sticky pad to keep everything in place (with areas cut out to expose the surgery area...my breasts). I was given a blanket to keep warm (from the waist down) and I could hear music playing in the background.
A moment later, the surgeon greeted me and asked how I was doing. As mentioned before, I felt VERY comfortable with him, the medical assistant, and office staff. He marked the incision site and injected me with the numbing agent. I felt a pinch, burn, and sting, but it was bearable. He told me if I ever felt anything to say "ow" and he would inject additional numbing.
Within a few minutes the incision was made. I only felt a little pain once or twice and he injected more numbing juice and cauterized for a tiny bit of bleeding. Next, the implant was located, punctured and drained. He warned me that the warm, saline water would go everywhere and it did. He said "I think you are going to be really pleased with your results". He then repeated everything on the other side (no pain or cauterization needed there). After asking how I felt, the surgeon said goodbye and left me with the medical assistant (who had been there the entire time).

I couldn't believe it was over...and was afraid to look down. I had to sit up a bit to be "wrapped" with the long, wide Ace Bandage. When I finally looked, I was pleasantly surprised. There were my old breasts...a bit mushy and saggy, but there they were. YAY!!! After they were tightly wrapped, I was told to leave the Ace Bandage in place for 2 days (no peeking) and then I could take a quick shower and re-wrap.

I felt no pain, but my underwear and the back of my pants were definitely wet.
Although I wore elastic waist black running pants, a change of pants for afterwards would have been a really good idea. Before I left the office, the staff gave me a pad to place on the car seat for the ride home.

I picked up my meds and went home to rest. Prior to my surgery, I made sure that I had my post-op sports bras, wedge pillow for sleeping on my back, extra non-stick gauze pads, gentle adhesive tape, bottled water and healthy food on hand. I also made sure that all of my errands were run and that I had lots of food, laundry was done (including fresh sheets), bills were paid, and the house was cleaned. The only thing left to do was take my meds, relax, heal, read, and watch TV/movies.

My breasts were very soft (like pudding in a deflated balloon) at first, but 3 days later, I think the breast skin is already slowly retracting. The incisions are still a bit sore; I took a Vicodin on the first night after surgery and then the next morning...Tylenol after that. I've been rather constipated, but I'm drinking lots of water, prune juice, and eating salad. Last night I took 1 Exlax and it worked! Just remember that once you start taking pain meds it takes a while to get them out of your system and you will be constipated...sometimes for days!

I am THRILLED I did this and already feel much sexier without those big, fake implants. Maybe if I had gone smaller (like a C instead of a D) years ago, I would have liked them better. I will update with post-op photos soon. I forgot to take them after my shower yesterday.

Sorry...I just read my description of the procedure and I forgot to mention that the implants were gently removed (I didn't feel a thing) after they were drained. They were 350cc filled to 375...lots of fluid in those things. I think I lost 2 pounds when they were removed!