I did it!!! My 9 year old, 500cc silicone gel breast implants are removed and the first thing I noticed was how well I could breathe! I went in at 6:15am. My surgery took almost 3 hours. One implant had capsular contracture which I didn’t even know I had and a lot of scar tissue attached to my ribs. @drlujeanfeng did a complete enbloc , meaning the entire capsule was intact and explanted. So important when having your implants removed.
I woke up smiling and asked if I could put on music LOL. I was still so high from surgery but put on an album called Revival, Vancouver sleep clinic!! Check them out. Anyway, I’m so so honored and grateful for the support and love around this. I was really prepared for this surgery. It was a decision I made completely on my own and knew I had to do it. My health was being jeopardized..It also helped a lot that my partner was super supportive of my decision and just wanted me to be healthy and happy @danielletortorello . I didn’t cry at all on my surgery day , or after for that matter. I took deep breaths and knew I was on the road to recovery. Everyone’s experience and choice to explant is different. Some girls are really really sick. I consider myself lucky as have found out about #BII and decide to explant while my symptoms were somewhat mild. Some girls are super emotional , but for me, this is a happy time in my life. I’m proud of myself for my bravery and courage to get rid of something that had brought me joy and confidence for so many years. 15 years to be exact. I say this a lot because I don’t want girls with implants to feel a type of way about their implants or choice to keep them. I LOVED my boobs. They were beautiful and big and great while they lasted. But once I started to feel a decline in my health, their vacation in my body was over and it was time for them to go. I have drains in now and hope to get them out by Saturday.
Well!!! Here it is. My not so “big” reveal of my new “old” self. Hahah. I couldn’t wait to use that phrase.
I’m 1 week post op and feel really good and I’m loving my little itty bitties so far!!( recap- my implants were 9 years old and 500cc silicone under the muscle )
I’m sore but haven’t taken any narcotics for pain during this entire process and haven’t taken anything since I arrived home from Ohio. I still need to wear this compression / ace bandage to keep everything compressed so fluid doesn’t build up in the space where my implants once were. Im told this is the worst they will look, and once the bandages can come off, the tissue will “fluff” and not be so pressed or flattened.
Once my implants came out – I instantly noticed how well I could breathe despite being tightly wrapped. Probably the deepest breathe I’ve taken in years. I had no idea it was even effecting my ability to breathe. I was also told, one of my implants had capsular contracture which is a hardening of the capsule surrounding the implant which you can see in one of the images once you swipe and a lot of scar tissue attached to my ribs
Since then, I haven’t had one single headache or migraine which I used to suffer from daily.. literally every single day of my life for years!!! I’m keeping track of the differences I see and feel and will update in post soon.
I still can’t lift my arms up, or push or pull but I’m much more mobile now then I was. I needed to have muscle repair since my implants were placed under the muscle for 15 years. This healing process takes much longer than just removing the implants. Little by little I’m seeing and feeling the positive effects of not having implants in my body that were effecting my health. I’m grateful for my platform to be able to share this journey with you and appreciate the constant support and love from all of you.
Eager to see my progress in the weeks to come.
Again, my amazing dr is @drlujeanfeng .
I did not need a lift and I did not do fat transfer.
It’s almost been 2 weeks since I removed my 500cc silicone gel implants completely.
To recap for those who may not have read : I first got implants when I was 18 years old. I saved all my money and bought them myself my first year of college. In middle school, I was teased and quite frankly, tormented for being “flat as a board”. I still can recall the kids (mainly boys) who called me names and teased me about it. It effected me deeply and all I wanted when I turned 18 was to have boobs. That was 15 years ago.
Since then, I underwent 4 breast augmentations , 2 of which were reconstructive. My last set I had for 9 years and 6 years in is when I started noticing a negative change in my health both mental and physical.
After having my boys, I was planning to go smaller as I was measuring in at a 32D-DD and just didn’t feel the need to have them so big anymore. It fit that time period and a time in my life when bigger was better for everything. But then I discovered @breast_implant_illness through some girls on social media and after looking into it more, I instantly knew I needed to remove them. It just came to a point where it was jeopardizing my health and really started to worry me, not to mention suffering from headaches daily and migraines weekly. It was progressively getting worse as the months went on.
Skip forward 4 months and here I am, standing before the internet to see and judge my bare body, and for the first time I feel truly “naked” and vulnerable. But, at the same time I have never felt so beautiful, womanly and comfortable in my own skin as I do today.
Breast implants and explanting is equally a personal choice and I am certainly not here to judge you or your decisions to have, keep or expel of them. Sharing is caring and knowledge is power. What’s most important to me about sharing my story of #explanting is so if and when you begin to not feel 100, you have something that you could look into. For all the people who suffer and doctors don’t have an answer, for all the misdiagnosing and for anyone who has implants to just be aware.