Leslie's Breast Augmentation Story

Making the decision  

I would be lying if I told you that this was an easy decision for me.  It was not.  Far from it. I struggled with the decision for about 2 years before I decided to get serious about it. Then it was another 3 years before I finally started researching and saving.   

Actually, I guess I first started thinking about it when I was 13.  Of course, not seriously, but still I can remember being very young and feeling cheated.  My sister had very large breasts.  Somehow, the family genes didn't quite stretch themselves far enough to reach me.  I never got much past the training bra stage.  Let me tell you, it wasn't fun in high school.  If I had a dollar every time I heard "What happened, did your sister take them all?" or some similar comment, I could have paid for my BA by the time I was 17.   

So, needless to say, this surgery has pretty much been a life long dream.  If the only thing to consider had been the size I wanted, I would have done this 10 years ago.  But, alas, there are health and money issues to consider as well.  This is a very big decision and should be treated as such. It is a life-changing event that should never be taken lightly. The best advice I can give is research, research, and research. Find out all your options. Arm yourself with information and then make the best decision possible.  

That is exactly what I did. I spent the better part of a year just looking up information. I learned everything I could about breast augmentation. I visited all different kinds of websites. I even purposely looked for negative information about the procedure.  I researched the different incisions, along with the pros and cons that went with each.  I also did some research on Mentor and McGhan and even went so far as to research silicone. Yeah, I know, a little overboard.  Finally, I looked into the advantages to over and under the muscle.   

Then, I started contacting women about their own experiences.  I think this is very beneficial.  While a surgeon can tell you exactly what to expect as far as the surgery and the recovery in a physical sense, they can't always tell you what to expect to feel on a personal, more emotional level.  Also, it helps to get perspective for things like post-op pain and recovery time.  But, even more important, it is wonderful to have someone to talk to about this on a personal level whenever you need to.   

When I felt like I knew enough I started looking for a plastic surgeon.  It wasn't hard for me to decide on Dr DeWire.  I definitely wanted to go with the best. I was determined that I would pay any amount as long as I felt that the surgeon was extremely skilled and could offer me all the choices that I wanted.  For me, that was a transax incision, and complete under the muscle placement. I didn't have to ask for praise on Dr DeWire.  Women everywhere were ready and more than willing to tell me how wonderful a surgeon he was/is and what a great person he is.  I tried to find one woman, any woman that could tell me something bad about him.  Didn't happen.  I couldn't find one.  So, I got onto one of those sites that allow you to research a Dr and see if he has anything on his record.  Dr DeWire, was as expected.... perfectly clean.   

I started contacting Dr DeWire as I was getting closer to being ready to commit to the surgery.  I sent him pictures of me for his evaluation.  He was so nice and responded super fast.  He felt I was a good candidate for augmentation.  So, now it was just to save up the last of my money.  I scheduled with him in the middle of June for an August 3rd, 2001 surgery date.  This is how the cost of the surgery breaks down:  Dr DeWire $3050, Anesthesiologist $500, Hospital/OR Fees $1400.  I also had a $400 hotel bill (Marriott $79/night plus tax).  I had a $200 rental car bill (Budget Rent A Car with an extra driver listed for 5 days), and a food bill of about $60.  I didn't eat much!  LOL I spent about $60 on my meds. I also spent about $50 on misc. Things such as a post op bra, etc. I bought 2 tanks of gas for about $30. And, finally, I spent about $30 on recreational things...museums, the botanical garden and 2 movies. My plane ticket was $300. Grand total $6080.  Just don't forget to budget for things other than the surgery itself!  
 
 

The Consult  

My appointment wasn't until noon but I showed up at 10:30 so that I could meet Amanda and Nikki. Amanda is great, very sweet and she looked very good (she was 2 days post at the time). Nikki didn't get to make it, she was sick. Dr DeWire's office is very simple, very down to earth. It isn't stuffy and over decorated. I really hate it when a Dr's office looks like he spent more time decorating his office than he will spend with you. Anyway, his staff is great. They are so friendly. I felt very comfortable from the first moment I walked in. They didn't just take my name and tell me to have a seat. They asked me how my flight was and if I needed anything.   

A really funny thing happened. I found these cheap, but wonderful water bra's at Target. I was an A, but that bra alone made me look like a C. I was wearing one that day, with a tight shirt. I saw one of Dr DeWire's office staff looking at me kind of funny. She said something to one of the girls, but I couldn't hear. I thought it was about me, but I wasn't sure. She opened the door then and smiled at me and told me to come on back.  She is very sweet.  I followed her to the room and she closed the door.  She asked me, "are those yours?" (or something similar) kind of pointing to my breasts.  I laughed and said, well, it is just a REALLY good water bra.  She smiled really big and said, "well I was asking the girls if you were here for a re-do?"  It was so funny and I think she was relieved.  LOL  

She went through the standard questions and we talked a little about size.  She had my chart and was writing everything down.  I told her that I loved Dr DeWire's views on size...as big as possible, but holding on to a natural look.  That is exactly what I wanted, however big that was.  Then we went over the "are you allergic to any meds?" and so on.  She was so nice and genuine.  I liked her very much.  She gave me one of those lovely gowns you always get to wear (don't you hate those?) and told me that Dr DeWire would be in momentarily.   

I wasn't kept waiting.  Now, keep in mind that I have just traveled to a place I have never been, to meet a man I have never met so that he can perform major surgery on my body, so I was a little nervous about meeting him.  I heard Dr. DeWire talking out in the hall, right outside my door. He has a very nice voice. That is just something I notice about people...as weird as that is!  LOL He came in and introduced himself, calling me by name.  I really like that because it shows that the person is interested in getting to know you.  He shook my hand and said, "I always like it when I finally get to see what people look like!"  I laughed because I was thinking exactly the same thing. I had emailed him many times before my trip and he always graciously responded...quickly I might add.  But, it was nice to finally get to meet him. He smiled and started talking to me, asking me what I wanted, in terms of size.  We discussed that I definitely didn't want an un-natural look.  He asked me again the standard medical questions.   

I was really impressed that he had such a great sense of humor.  He put me totally at ease. I thought how ironic it was that the meeting was the one thing I was nervous about and it couldn't have turned out better.  He is so great!!  Next, he asked me to take off the gown. He looked at my chest for a few moments and started explaining to me how the right side of my ribcage sloped more to the back than the left. That is mostly likely what accounts for my right breast appearing smaller than my left.  Although they have about the same amount of tissue, it is the slope of the ribcage that made them appear different sizes.  He also showed me that the distance from my nipple to my crease was slightly different on each breast.  This is very common.  It was neat to be able to view my body that way.  I had never give thought to either of those factors.  He thought maybe he could even them up a little more with different fill volumes, but explained that it is more important for my breasts to look the same size than to worry about the amount of cc's.  I have never really understood why women get so hooked on that?  Don't get me wrong, I had some ideas in my head, but I certainly wasn't going to be disappointed if I didn't get 425 cc's in each breast.  I had NO idea what would look good on me. Just because someone is my height and weight doesn't mean we will look good with the same thing.  I have seen so many of his results and they all look wonderful.  I totally trusted him to make me look MY best.  That was my ultimate goal.  

We then went into another room that had a computer and a camera. He had me stand against a black background and took pictures of me. He pulled them up on the computer and began showing me the differences in each side of my ribcage, as he had explained to me before.  It was so weird.  I was thinking in my mind, geez, I am deformed!  LOL But, Dr. DeWire didn't make me feel that way at all.  He told me that they were all common findings.  He even showed me that I stand with my right shoulder slightly higher than my left....also normal.  How funny!  Never noticed.  It was so interesting.  I am telling you, I could have stayed in that room with him all day, it was so interesting.  He has a wonderful gift for viewing the body.  He truly IS an artist.   He had also taken a picture of me lying on a table. With that view it was very easy to see the difference in the slope on each side.   

He has this awesome program that manipulates your picture so that he can give you an "idea" of what your results might be like.  That was really neat to watch.   Of course, he explained to me, and I completely understood that my breasts would not look exactly like the manipulated picture.   It was more of a guide I think for me to get comfortable with size. Now, he never asked me how many cc's I wanted or anything like that.  He knew that I wanted to be as big as possible and still look natural.  But he wanted to know if I would rather be a little bigger than optimum size or a little smaller than optimum size.  I couldn't really decide, so I just said, I trust you! LOL  

We also discussed things like the anesthesia and the safety of it.  I have been under anesthesia before so I really had no fears about it.  But, he mentioned that it is very safe for someone of my age and health status.  The time I was under anesthesia (for a miscarriage) was very easy.  It felt like I was asleep for 5 seconds and then someone was waking me up.  We also discussed things like post op pain, what I could expect as far as results realistically, and he went over the massaging and post op care.  There were many other things, but I think I have gone over the major points.  He let me feel the different implants (silicone, saline, Mentor, McGhan, smooth and textured.) In my opinion, the Mentor silicone felt the best.  But, I did not want silicone. So, in the saline, hands down the Mentor saline was much much nicer than the McGhan. The shell was thinner (this doesn't have anything to do with strength) and felt much more "realistic" to breast tissue. I mean lets face it. This will be in my body; I want it to feel as natural as possible. And no offense to you ladies that have them, but I thought the textured implants, in both brands, felt horrible. They were definitely not for me.  And definitely last but not least, he went over complications, risks and concerns.   

I got dressed after that and was ready to go check into my hotel.  My friend hadn't arrived yet, so I was by myself with several hours to kill before I had to pick her up.  I decided I would check in and then make a preliminary run to the hospital so I would be able to find it easily.  Dr. DeWire gave me great directions to my hotel and to the hospital.  Broad Street has everything and the hospital isn't far off broad. I got there with absolutely no problem.  I even got out and went into the hospital making sure I would know where to check in and all that good stuff.   

 

Surgery!!!  

Up at 4:30 a.m.....YUCK.  I actually slept very well the night before the surgery.  I was afraid that I would be up all night.  I woke up feeling great.  I was ready!!!  I think the thing I was looking most forward to was shaving my armpits after having to hold off for 10 days. It was driving me nuts!!  LOL I made sure I got my hair really clean because I knew I wouldn't be able to do that again for a few days. My friend and I got ready and headed to the hospital. I hadn't had anything to eat since about 11 the night before, so I was starving. But, no biggie, I knew in just a few hours, I would finally have boobs, so I didn't mind.   

We got to the hospital at 5:45 and checked in. They had me put all my belongings in a bag and I put on another of those lovely gowns and socks. I made sure I used the bathroom. The nurse came in and asked me those standard questions again. They are really cautious about that stuff!  LOL Soon a man came to take me to the OR holding room.  He wheeled me on a bed.  I was in a large room with about 5 other patients also waiting for surgery. They pulled the curtains to give me some sort of privacy. A really friendly nurse came over and went over my chart with me, to verify who I was and what surgery I was having.  I almost had to laugh because while I was grateful, I could imagine waking up and hearing them say, "it was successful, your liver is now working!" LOL   

Now it was time for my IV.  I hate this part.  I am not scared of needles in anyway. However, I am scared of the tape they put it on with! Trust me, it likes your arm hair as much as you do....and the tape always wins in the end.  The IV was no biggie.  They gave me a small shot of some kind of anesthetic in the IV site with a very small needle and then put in the much larger IV needle....made it much nicer.  But, let me tell you, he taped me up good. That sucker wasn't going anywhere. I was already dreading having it removed....YIKES! In retrospect, it is very funny that this (the tape) is the one incident that stands in my mind as the only point in which I was nervous....well, add later when they actually took the tape off! LOL  

Dr DeWire came in and talked to me.  He asked me how I was feeling, and made sure I wasn't nervous.  We went over again how big I wanted to be.  He made some marks on my breasts.  One on each crease and then one on the breast that was slightly larger to begin with so that different fill volumes could even them out if necessary. (I am speculating on this, Dr DeWire did not tell me that is what he was doing) He was very reassuring and trying to make me feel at ease, which he did very well.  I felt totally comfortable with him.  He smiled and told me he would see me in the OR.   

During this whole process, I had seen about 10 different people. The guy who wheeled me in to the OR waiting room, the nurse who took my info, the next nurse that took my info, the nurse that helped me with the bed to go to the bathroom, the anesthesiologist, etc. etc. Every single one of them told me what a wonderful Dr, Surgeon, and person Dr DeWire was. It was so comforting to know that so many people feel that way about him. So, the next person I talk to is the nurse that will be with me in the OR.  She was sooooo sweet.  Again, she told me how wonderful Dr DeWire was and that I was in the best hands possible.  That really made me feel comfortable.  If she has worked with him before, at ground zero, and could still say that, how much better can you get than that?   

The anesthesiologist came back and told me he was giving me a little something to help me relax.  He injected it into the IV port and told me that it worked pretty fast and I would start feeling a little woozy.  At the same time, the OR nurse and another nurse started wheeling me just across the hall into the OR.  By the time we were out of the door, I could definitely feel the shot.  I just felt very tired.  I remember wheeling into the OR and noticing how bright the lights were. They started pushing the bed backward and my last conscious thought was, "it is really cold in here".  I was out within 45 second of getting that shot.   

Next thing I know, I am waking up in recovery on the other side of the OR holding area.  Dr DeWire was there.  He was telling me that the surgery went very well and that everything was great.  I asked him how many cc's I got.  He told me 325 in the left and 350 in the right.  I think I smiled, but I am not sure!  LOL He told me that he would see me tomorrow. I still felt so tired.  All I wanted to do was get dressed and go to the motel and go to sleep. I don't remember feeling an overwhelming sense of pressure.  But, I could tell that I had a bandage wrapped around me. It was pretty thick at the top and I couldn't get my arms to lay against my body. A nurse came over to help me sit up. I remember asking her, "did I just talk to Dr. DeWire, or did I dream that?" She laughed and said, "no, you just talked to him." Once I sat up, I started feeling more alert and much better. Then came the part I had been dreading. They came to take my IV out. Yes, it was horrible. Yes, I lost most of the hair on my wrist. Yes, it is the worst memory I have of my entire experience!! LOL   

They took me over to the first room I had been in, where I had changed clothes earlier that morning. The lady came with my clothes. She insisted on helping me put them on, which was really annoying me. I just wanted to leave and she was taking her time! LOL Now, I look back and realize she was just doing her job and doing me a big favor. But, at the time, I just wanted to yell, "either hurry or let me do it, because you are making me mad!!!" LOL Poor lady, I should send her a thank you and I am sorry card!  

Dr. DeWire had called my friend Julie and told her that I was fine and I should be a medium to a large C.  She came to recovery and they discharged me. Of course, they wheeled me out in a wheel chair.  I really hate this, but understand why the have to do it.  Dr DeWire had gotten me some flowers, which were sooooo beautiful.  I smiled the whole way to the car holding my flowers.  I bet everyone was thinking, what the heck is she so happy about?? LOL  
 
 
  On The Road To Recovery  

I was surprised at how easy the first day went. I made one mistake though. I forgot to take my pain meds.  Yes, if you can imagine, I forgot.  My friend finally woke me up and said, you need to take this.  I was in a little bit of pain and it was hard to sit up. But, a half hour after I took the meds, I was right back to sleep.  I did wake up several times that night because the pressure was getting a little bad.  I got up once to go to the bathroom.  My friend helped me up, but I did everything else by myself.  I was surprised because I had absolutely NO pain, just pressure.  It felt like I was breastfeeding and was very engorged. I hated that big bandage that was wrapped around me though.  It was so tight.  I couldn't wait to take it off.  I had explicit orders not to mess with the bandage, so I didn't.  I wanted to look sooooo bad, but I didn't.  Looking down at them, I thought "They don't look very big".  I was a little disappointed.  But, then my friend said, "Have you seen your profile?" I went to the mirror to look and OMG, they looked huge!!!  I called my husband and he was surprised at how coherent I was.  I told him how everything went.  He was very relieved.  We decided that we didn't wan to stay in the room the whole night so we went out to eat.  I ate light.....chicken noodle soup and a chocolate milkshake.  It was nice to get something in my stomach besides crackers.  Then later that night we stayed just stayed in and rented a movie off the TV.  It was "Along Came a Spider". Good movie for you James Patterson fans!  I pretty much woke up every two hours to take my meds.  That bandage was driving me nuts though.  I was so ready for it to come off!!!  

I woke up the next morning (Saturday) and went to Dr DeWire's office.  The first thing he did was take off the bandage.  What a relief.  Also a shock.  They looked like torpedoes. Luckily I had seen enough photos that I was fully expecting this!   LOL He told me that they were looking great.   He had me lay back and showed me how to massage.  I had taken 2 Percocets that morning in anticipation for the pain of the first massage.  But, it wasn't bad at all.  In fact, it was a total relief.  It helped take the pressure off so much.  I knew I was going to be massaging as often as possible. We discussed a few other things and he told me that if I needed anything to call him, even at home if necessary. He told me I would need a tube bra and to bring it to my Monday appointment so that he could show me what to do with it. That meant I would have to go shopping.  Boy, that would be tough.  But I was willing to sacrifice myself if necessary.  So, we shopped, went to the Botanical Garden, saw another movie (Legally Blonde this time...excellent.... (Very funny) and then ate.  I was really tired by the time we got back to the hotel.  I made sure that I kept up with my massage though.  It helped so much.  I went to bed early since I had such a full day.  But, I still woke up every 2 hours to massage and take my meds.   

Sunday was great too.  I was very tired from the meds and from waking up so often but, it wasn't that bad.  We went and toured a couple of the Civil War Museums and sites.  It was pretty cool.  Richmond has a lot of history.  I drove my friend to the airport that evening and then back to the hotel...no problem.  I just made sure I lay off the meds for at least 6 hours before I drove.  I just took Advil and it worked fine as long as I massaged.   

Monday I had my last post op appointment. I brought the tube bra and he showed me how to roll it up and wear it across the top of my breasts to push the implants down.  He wanted me to wear an under wire also to keep the crease from going any lower. He made sure that I was massaging right and that all my questions were answered. I bid everyone a fond farewell and headed toward Target!  

I had a few hours to kill before I had to head to the airport, so I decided to go to Target and find an under wire.  This didn't prove to be as fun or rewarding as I always imagined it would be.  I found myself looking at the A and B bras out of habit.  I even picked one up before I thought to myself, what the heck am I doing?  LOL so, on to search for a C with an underwire.  One thing I should mention is that I absolutely hate pointy bras.  I want a bra with a totally round, smooth curve.  Yes, that is right, absolutely NO POINT.  The Madonna look went out years ago, okay?  That proved to be my first problem.  Second, I couldn't find an underwire that would rest on the sides of my breasts. Everything would rest on the outside edge. Let me tell you, this is very uncomfortable at 3 days post. Third problem....unbelievably, I had a hard time finding a C bra with no push up pads.  I was shocked by this.  I mean, this is why I got boobs, so that I no longer had to buy bras with pads.  Now if they had been removable, I wouldn't have had a problem. Alas, they were all built in.  I didn't think that push up pads would be good for my breasts that early post op. FINALLY, I found a bra that would work long enough for me to get home where I knew I could find a better selection.   

I was very lucky in that I had absolutely NO bloating.  I have no idea how I lucked out on that.  I am assuming it is because I was drinking about 14 glasses of water a day...literally.  I had brought my black work out pants to wear home.  I bought a shirt to match it at Target in a Large so that they would disguise the torpedo appearance of my breasts. Actually, I was surprised, with the larger shirt and my new bra I looked pretty good for being so early post op.   

Finally, it is time to go to the airport.  I turned my car in 3 hours before my flight so that I wouldn't have to pay for a whole extra day.  That meant lots of time at the airport.  I had bought a James Patterson book to help me pass the time and decided that I would just eat there at the airport.  I called home, and then my parents.  I wanted everyone to know that I was okay. Then, I went to one of the only places to eat in the Richmond Airport. It is a little BBQ place.  Not too bad...but BBQ is better here in Memphis!  LOL It was very funny though because 3 pilots came into the restaurant.  It was kind of crowded at that time. They asked me if they could sit with me.  I said, "sure." They were all fairly young and fairly attractive....how could I say no?  Anyway, since I had my work out pants on they were asking me if I was some sort of trainer.  I laughed and said, "no I am just a mom."  They were very nice and I didn't have to break open my book until my actual flight took off.  Now, I can't say that my new additions were responsible for that whole scene, but it sure did make me feel good. LOL .

The rest of my recovery has been just as easy.  I have these shooting pains every so often that travel from the outside edge of my breast, up to my nipple.  Those really suck.  But, luckily, they only last a few seconds and then they are gone.  My incisions look great.  I can tell they are going to fade nicely. By the time I got home and had been home a few days I felt like my old self again.  I have to mention that my implants have never felt weird to me.like something foreign in my body.  They have always felt like a part of me.  I can feel them move when I massage, but it isn't a bad feeling.  I hardly notice it anymore.  I am glad it turned out that way.  Also, my nipples seem to have a mind of their own.  I was lucky in that they did not stretch out.  However, they are on high beam all the time.  I have come to understand that this is normal and will go away.   It does make them very sensitive though.   

Other than that, it has been much easier than I ever imagined.  I had to really watch myself so that I wouldn't try to do too much too soon.  Now, I did have some backaches.  I don't know if that was from the extra weight up front or from sleeping on my back for a week straight.  I think it was probably the latter.  LOL I finally learned to use pillows to help me sleep on my side. Now, I just sleep any way I want. All I have left to do now is continue to settle. Unfortunately, the rate of that isn't up to me! :)  
 
 
 
  8 Weeks Post  

Well, it has been 8 weeks now.  I can hardly believe it.   It has gone by so fast.  It has been such a wonderful experience.  I notice changes all the time.  They have fully dropped and settled (well, righty has a little more, but not much).  I think I did it a little faster than most people do.   That made me kind of nervous at first.  I thought that maybe I would bottom out.  Of course, I didn't!  WHEW  

I have to admit that I did have ONE problem in this whole experience.  By 8 days post, I still had not gone to the bathroom.  if you know what I mean.   I was miserable.  I knew that the regular methods were not going to help me.  Trust me, it was bad enough that I thought I was going to have to go to a doctor.  It was horrible.   So, I would definitely recommend taking a mild laxative as soon as you are able to eat after your surgery.  Or at the least, a stool softener.  You will thank me for this, believe me! LOL  

In any case, I am so glad that I did this.   For the first time in my life, I feel like a woman.  It is awesome to buy a bra that doesn't have 5 pounds of padding.  I can buy any bra I want now.  I can tell that it has also helped my confidence.  I feel so much better about myself.   I have absolutely NO regrets about doing this.  I had such a wonderful experience and the BEST surgeon on the face of the earth.  My recovery was a breeze and I look so much better.   I wish that I could have done this 5 years ago.  But, truthfully, I am glad that I waited until after I had my children.  Your body changes so much during pregnancy.  You never know how your breasts are going to look after.    Anyway, I am very happy with all the decisions I made in this process.  It has all turned out so much better.

Leslie

©Just Breast Implants -  Your Complete Guide to Breast Augmentation and Breast Implants - 2001 - Present
All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Service/Usage Agreement