Ruptured Implant Repair-- Might As Well Do It ALL! - Virginia Beach, VA

Eleven years ago, I had my first PS experience. I had breast augmentation that brought me from a B cup to a DD. I was young and kind of dumb and just wanted big boobs. No one warned me that I would have a hard time finding clothes, cute bras, and swimsuits to cover to make them look decent. But over the years, they became a part of me. No one knew I had implants unless I told them. Or someone asked about getting a boob job and I'd tell them my experience. I loved having boobs!

Fast forward breastfeeding 2 more kids (at the time of surgery, i had 1) and 11 years. Gravity has taken hold of them and they aren't where they used to be. I had also lost a significant amount of weight after being a yo-yo dieter over the years. My overall body is not how I pictured it should be after working so hard over the last couple of years. I had planned to have everything done in 2015.

One night in the shower, I felt a cold sensation on my right breast, looked down, and saw the significant CHANGE in it. It was going FLAT! I hollered for my husband, told him what's going on and he hopped on the internet to find out what to do. Since it was a Friday night, I had the whole weekend to stir and be sad over my one flat boob. I scoured the internet for local plastic surgeons and went over their pics for reconstruction. I did end up going to my primary care physician who gave me a referral to the military hospital to have it removed. (I'm a Navy spouse, btw). Come to find out, that surgery wouldn't be covered by my insurance anyways so we dismissed that idea. My husband was so sweet. I was panicking over the money we'd have to spend to repair it. And he tells me to just go find a surgeon and do everything now-- new implants, lift, and a full tummy tuck. If I were to get the implants removed, he knew how unhappy I would be. Love him.

Monday slowly arrives and at 9AM I start calling plastic surgeon offices to schedule consults. Most could not see me for 2 weeks! Here I am with this floating thing in my boob, and I have to wait a week or 2 to be seen? There were 2 that could see me that week so i scheduled those for Wednesday and Thursday.
April 2nd:
Wednesday FINALLY arrives and we see Dr. Michael Denk. We first met his NP, Tricia, who assists him in all of his surgeries. She is very pleasant and takes a few notes about me. Dr. Denk comes in and we have a conversation about what I want. No boobs and a new body. He's VERY informative, knowledgeable, and I could tell that he is a perfectionist. We went back and forth about what type of implants and said we'll pick out the actual size later. As for the tummy tuck, he showed me where the cut would be and how it worked. I would have lipo on my hips to give me an hour glass figure and smooth things out. Goodbye muffin top! The husband and I were very comfortable with him. And although most people would shop around for docs, we were both set with him. We scheduled with his consultation pro, Kat. The total for everything was $12,000. Later, we received news that the implant manufacturer would rebate us $1000 for my defective implant. Total down to $11,000. Did I mention that Friday was my birthday??? Happy 35th Birthday to me... and mother's day.... and 4th of July, Christmas, Valentine's Day 2015, and so on. LOL

April 16th- 2 week pre-op.
We met again with Tricia and she took my horrific pictures. My right side implant has fully deflated now. So, it's very sad and flappy now. I hate it. I cannot wait for surgery day. We discuss post operative care, medications, what I'm going home with, how I should be sleeping. And we thoroughly over the need to buy SPANX to wear over the next few months to optimize my results. Who knew that the skin is shrinking up to 3-4 months after surgery? I want all that sucked in for sure!! all the lost inches i can get.
Dr. Denk comes in and we go over again what I want done and how long and what will my final result be. He assured me that I will be bikini ready in June. WHAAT? We didn't expect to hear that. My husband asked what is expected of him.. now Dr. Denk is a man's man- kinda macho, but we like that. He's a perfectionist. And he straight up tells my husband, Just be there. You'll be the target of all her pain, anger, and frustration. After the sh*t storm passes, you'll benefit from all this. Happy wife means happy life?? My husband appreciated the honesty and his blunt humor. I liked that too.
We go on to talk about after care stuff. I will have a catheter and a drain. ONE drain. I see others with two all over the internet. And he says for my husband to remove the catheter at home, with a simple cut and it will fall out. And the drain will be removed the NEXT DAY at my follow up. WHAT?? I never heard of anyone getting their drain out so soon. Of course, this is best case scenario. Some people he said, have them in a little longer, but he doesn't like to do that. I did go on and ask him how many of these procedures he does in a month. He says he's been fixing other doctor's implants more than ever lately. And he's had mommy makeovers every week just about. The next day on his schedule was another boob revision. I'm good with that. Ok, good to know!

Tricia came back in and we tried on some implants to be sure of shape. There are so many different options since I had mine. Glad my husband was there because I couldn't remember the ones that I wanted, but he was able to. Dr Denk also chimed in with what he knew I wanted and explained how during surgery, they will be putting in sizers, sitting me up, and seeing what will look best with my frame and keep me at or near the size i want. As long as they know how i want to look, that's what they will do. I want to go DOWN a size. hard to believe, but with a flatter tummy, these big boobs won't be needed as much. I'm super excited now!!

My official countdown has begun. My husband went out of town and will return the day before sx.
I started taking Arnica I addition to Probiotics and Vitamin C. I have become a bit of a hypochondriac lately. I so afraid to get sick between now and sx day. I even canceled running a 5K on Saturday because it was drizzling out. 2 of the gals I work with were coughing and just came back to work after being sick. I am spraying alcohol on all my work surfaces!
Did I ever mention that my surgery date is perfect timing? May 1st-SX, May 30-my husband's commissioning ceremony to become a US Naval Officer, June 18th- I fly to Vegas for 4 days. July 27th- We move. So, delaying my surgery is out of the question! I need to ne healed and ready to go.
Sorry this is so long. I have zero friends who can relate to what I'm going thru. So, hoping to get to know some of ya'll.

Hey everyone.. can you tell me which category this review has fallen under? I am still learning this site and can't figure it out for the life of me. LOL

Well, I spent 2 hours trying on compression garments the other day. The PS office recommended Spanx. My only issue with those is that I would need to pull them up and down. I did get 2 pairs though. And I found Maidenform Flexees-- the kind where you can wear your own bra underneath. It has the hook and eye closure at the crotch. So once I step into it, I'm set for the day. Fun stuff!!
I have nothing really for post-op as far as supplies. My office said that if I wanted, I could come in to change my dressings, but that sounds like a lot of effort on my part to drive there. I have no idea what the time from for post-op visits is like. I will learn that next week, I guess. I do know that my first post-op is the following day where they take out my drain- if I even have one!
I messaged a gal here on RS that has had the same procedure done by the same doc. She clued me in that she had no drains and they sent her home with everything she'd need post-op. Sounds good to me! I am still taking my Women's Probiotic and Vitamin C daily. I have a bit of a runny nose, but I think it's allergies. The pollen is really bad here in Virginia!!
Oh- I also have been working out and being conscious of my eating since my SX date was set. The doc recommended I lose 5 pounds. So far, so good on that that aspect except that I lose the 5, gain back 2-3, and then re-lose it again. Darn those weekends!!
Does anyone else struggle with telling people that you are having surgery? The close friends that I did tell don't want to hear about it anymore. And I can't tell my family (mom and sisters) because they are set against me going under the knife again for the sake of vanity. I have few supportive friends who are reminding me that I NEED this surgery because the ruptured implant needs to come out. I really appreciate them. One of these friends has zero health insurance and needs to see a doc, but can't afford it. Yet, she still supports the elective part of my surgery. God bless her.

Another interesting thing.. Human Resources called me yesterday. They are sending me some paperwork to fill out to see if I qualify for paid medical leave. Whoa! That would be nice. I planned on this being unpaid leave, but heck- gonna find out ASAP.

Rambling done for this morning. I'm sure to be back since I'm a RS addict now. Have a great day lovelies.