Wellness

[gazelle77]

Can they fix sagging breasts without using an implant?

[moon]

It's true getting small implants can lift the breasts. But you can also lift sagging breasts by just getting a lift. They've come a long way with breast lift techniques. With less scarring & internal laser techniques. Although i am not having a breast lift. Fat grafting into the upper pole of the breast can also give a slight lift.

[luvmyteddy4]

Sometimes with a rupture they have to go in and dig out the implant. It will make a deeper indentation than you originally thought especially if they ruptured into the breast tissue and stuck to it or you have scaring. If you are not having implants put back in there might be a bigger hole than anticipated. They don't normally know until they get in there and look.

I know many, many women that have them and all the problems that can go wrong. A friend of mine had cancer and she waited five years to have them put implants in but they also used fat from her back and hip area. She had to have tubes attached for drainage and had problems with them healing. They finally did.

Most I know had silicone but one had saline and the saline leaked out after she had them done. It went flat right away. They went back in and added more saline. They also made sloshing sounds with the saline mixture.

You may already know and have pictures of everything so I hope everything goes as planned. Good luck.

[moon]

Yes, I am aware of the complications with implant removal. Mine will be difficult. I have textured implants under the muscle and know they are stuck to the muscle. If i knew that textured implants have more of a tendency to stick to the muscle, i would have chosen smooth ones. They push textured ones to those who are prone to capsular contracture. And i believe the anatomical implants are all textured because they dont want those to flip inside the breast, which would distort the breast. I know my breasts are now asymmetrical due to previous problems, so i am aware of the fact that i will not end up with perfect, perky (smaller) symmetrical breasts. I dont mind a little sag, they dont have to be 100% symmetrical (hoping for 90%) and they don't have to be full Bs (hoping for at least a full A). I am looking for an improvement. At this point, i just to look normal.

[busygirl]

I always wanted my boobs reduced but never did it. I didn't want to be as small as they said I would have to go for insurance to pay.

[TootyJane]

Interestingly enough I had my breast implants removed on April 22. I am 57 and got my first implants (silicone) smooth above the muscle when I was almost 19. I had my first mammogram at age 40. The right implant had ruptured. Even back then I talked to the plastic surgeon about removing them. He answered back by telling me that I would regret my decision to remove and I would be terribly sorry. I had them replaced with saline textured implants. In September 2010 just three days before I was to leave on a cruise with my Mom I found a lump in my right breast. It turned out that it was the implant and the top portion had folded over on itself. I lived with this and last year my dh and I went to talk to a plastic surgeon about removing my implants. She told me I'd be so unhappy and suggested I replace them with smaller implants. We left her office and I was very upset. I walked in knowing exactly what I wanted and walked out questioning myself. By the grace of God I found a website where there is a ""Breast Implant Removal"" forum. It is called www.realself dot com. Lots of lovely women have posted. Reading all the stories and seeing the ""before"" and ""after"" pictures gave me the courage to find another plastic surgeon who didn't question my decision to remove my implants. My breast implants served me well. Aside from the rupture I loved my boobs! I'm just at a point in my life where I don't need big boobs anymore. The surgery itself was very easy and removing them was one of the best things I have ever done and I do not regret it. HTH

[moon]

TootyJane.......I have also discovered realself.com and have acquired a lot of inspiration from the stories and pictures. I think its awful how these PSs try to talk you out of removing implants. Afterall they are doctors FIRST, artists SECONDLY. And its obvious having the implants removed is a healthier choice. My PS never tried to talk me into replacing them. But she was really frank about my end results, they are not ever going to look the way they used to. And I'm glad. Again, I just want to not look disfigured and more importantly, to feel real again....and free of any unnecessary foreign bodies.

[TootyJane]

Moon, thanks to RealSelf I got a pretty good idea of what I might look like. When I got my implants, I was almost 19, probably 100 lbs and flat as a board. Since then I got married, we had three children, gained some weight along the way and went through menopause. The PS said I had a lot of breast tissue but since I started with nothing I could only imagine what they might look like after having implants for 38 years! Surgery was super easy. I did not need to take pain medication. I took one week off from work but was bored out of my mind. I could have gone back after 2-3 days off. I did experience a few days of feeling blue but I had read that was to be expected. I am looking forward to life without implants, possible complications and further surgeries. Heck, I'm even thinking those mammograms are now going to be a piece of cake! I am super happy I explanted.

[moon]

TootyJane....I almost feel implant free since they are deflated. So i already have an idea of what i will look like. I had a mammogram and a breast ultrasound a couple weeks ago and it was a breeze. In the past with INTACT implants, it was always an ordeal . All that pulling ,tugging and pain....and it took awhile. Now, all deflated....it was quick and painless. Were yours under or over the muscle?

[TootyJane]

Moon -- my implants were over the muscle. Back in 1976, I don't think they even started placing implants under the muscle. I'm not even sure saline implants were out yet either. All I know is my PS at that time told my Mom and me that the "implants will last forever." I do not regret ever getting the implants. However, 38 years later I'm just at a point where I don't need them anymore.