If you’re a regular visitor to this blog space, you may have already started reading a personal diary shared by a breast augmentation patient here at Form and Face. Her story continues with her experiences on consultation day.
My Breast Augmentation Consultation at Form and Face
I know I’ve made a good choice for my surgery when Dr Norris spends a lot of time asking me questions. He asks about my health, but he also has lots of lifestyle questions like
- Do you feel comfortable not wearing a bra in public?
- How do you feel in clothes?
- What is an average day like for you?
Based on what I tell him, he has some information for me. First, he tells me how the breast augmentation procedure is performed. What to expect before, during, and after. I find out that I won’t be able to exercise for six weeks, or do anything that increases my heart rate.
Dr Norris explains that he is not there to tell me what implants to have but to guide me down the path of my choice of implants. “While I can’t tell you what size or shape implants to have,” he says, “I will be giving you 3 different sizes that will fit in your chest wall and fit your body well. I will not put implants in your chest that are too big for your frame, because you will more than likely have problems down the track, including capsular contracture.”
Half an hour into my consultation, and I feel I’m in good hands. I also feel that, even though Dr Norris has made it clear that implant size and shape is my choice, he won’t offer me anything that looks ridiculous on me. He seems to really get ‘me’ and what I want.
Breast Augmentation Exam with Dr Norris
Dr Norris measures my chest area, including the length between my nipples and shoulder. He comments that I have almost no breast tissue, so he doubts my breasts will sag very much as I age. (Good news!)
He gives me a sports style bra to put on with the first implants in the bra. These implants are 235gram anatomical. WOW! Even though I can see the implants, they give my body a whole new look! I don’t feel ‘bottom heavy,’ anymore, but wonderfully in proportion.
After another half an hour trying on ‘breasts’, Dr Norris gives me two different sets to go home with and try with different clothing styles at home. I’m barely back in my apartment than I’m trying on the implants with everything in my wardrobe.
I am even more excited than I was before. I can now really see myself with slightly bigger breasts and feel good in the clothes I have. No longer do I feel as though I have a big bum. I feel even more feminine than I did before.
Fast forward…
I’m booked in! My surgery date is in a month’s time. I’m now 100% sure that I want 235gram anatomical implants, placed under my pectoral muscles.
Breast Augmentation Surgery
I’m waiting with my husband in a hospital gown ready to go into surgery. The surgery is performed at East Sydney Private Hospital, which is an amazing place. The waiting room looks like a hotel lobby. It’s quiet and calm, and not at all the usual hospital experience, that’s for sure.
I’m ready!
The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room. My chest is a little tight and I’m wearing the sports bra and bandage Dr Norris told me earlier would be my gear post-surgery. I’m so sleepy after the general anaesthetic I’m only interested in going home to bed. Dr Norris gives my husband the post-operative care instructions for my new breasts and sends me home.
At Home: 24 Hours after Breast Implant Surgery & Counting
I wake up the next day propped up by four pillows. Apparently I need to sleep elevated like this for the next few weeks. I feel like a queen, or a very lucky child. The only catch? It’s almost impossible to get out of bed myself. I get a sharp pain all across my chest when I try to use it to move. OUCH!
My husband needs to lift me up and out of bed every time I need to get up.
I stay in bed the next day and rest. I’m still very tired from the general anaesthetic. My chest feels very tight on this first day after surgery, and I’m finding myself stooped over to accommodate the feeling in my chest. I’m a bit of a lightweight when it comes to taking painkillers, so I take 2 Panadol every 4 hours. This seems to keep the pain at bay and allows me to walk around every few hours.
Chomping at the Bit: Post-Breast Implant Impatience
The next two days are the toughest. Not being able to get out of bed myself is wearing a bit thin. It’s also starting to impact my poor, dear, gorgeous, supportive husband (I love you, babe) when I wake up at 3 am nightly to pee.
There is another hiccup. Sleeping elevated has my back and shoulders getting a bit sore. Apart from these two things, I feel I’m recovering pretty well. And then there’s the good parts…
I LOVE removing the bandage and sports bra every morning to shower, so that I can take a look at my new breasts! Look at me! Whee!
They seem to be a little bit swollen still, as the top part of the breast area is quite full. Given I chose implants where the top part of the implant is a lot flatter, I expect to have a less full appearance at the top of my chest than I currently do.
Lifting Spirits: New Breasts Out on the Town
I am nothing if not a model patient. My strict post-operative rules are to not lift anything heavy, bend down or raise my arms above my head. I stick to all of this, adamant that nothing go wrong with my implants during the recovery period.
I had already pre-planned dinner arrangements with a friend and her husband just four days after my surgery. I debate whether or not to call off dinner the day before, but decide that I’ll go ahead. I realise I’m glad I get out, because it lifts my spirits and cures the cabin fever I’ve been experiencing.
While we’re out, I notice that I’m sneaking glances at myself in the mirror, and just about any reflective surface. I like what I see.
Normal, Only Better Thanks to Dr Norris
This is my last entry. It’s six weeks later. I have slightly less feeling at the base of my breasts where the incision was made, but apart from that, I’m back to normal, only better. I feel amazing. I’m exercising at the gym, lifting weights and not wearing the bandage or sports bra. Only one lingering question remains:
Why didn’t I do this earlier?!
My advice to women everywhere: Wanting a shapely body with all your curves in proportion doesn’t mean you’re vain. It means you have a sense of aesthetic balance. Breast augmentation won’t change who you are, but it may change how you see yourself. Based on my experience, it’s a change for the better!