01-05-2010, 00:50
I've struggled with first being flat chested (36AAA/FLAT all my life (not too horrible, because tho tiny, they were at least pretty), then in my 30's I had 3 surgeries (2 biopsies and 1 lumpectomy to remove fibroadenomas). So for the past 18 years dealt with flat and ugly.
Turning 50 in November I had enough and couldn't decide what I was going to do. In 2003 I had gone as far as trying "breast enhancement herbs" which really only increase prolactin and often cause induced lactation (which they did, and I continued without the herbs for quite a while because it increased my size somewhat, hid the surgical "defects", looked natural, and lactating is actually medically beneficial (decreases cancer risk)). In December I'd actually given up and sent pics to a plastic surgeon to scedule a consult for implants. I ended up changing my mind, just as I did after 2 consults in the 90's, since implants really won't hide the lumpectomy "hole" - it's way on the outer side, and about 1/3 of that breast was removed. (The plastic surgeons I saw in the 90's told me that for one, I don't have enough (any!) breast tissue to hide implants, under or over the pecs, and also that they wouldn't hide the lumpectomy indentation.)
I had researched quite a bit about fat grafting, and while previously banned in the US, it is not anymore. I ended up learning about Dr. Roger Khouri's procedure (whom I had heard of since he is the inventor of BRAVA, which in my ignorance, discounted years ago). I flew from NJ to Miami, FL for a consult in January, and scheduled my procedure for April 16.
He had a 5 year clinical trial just completed, using BRAVA prior to fat grafting, with no negative results. He explained how the technique he employs, by using BRAVA first to create space and new blood vessels to support the transferred fat, as well as doing micro-fat transfer as opposed to injecting a large amount of fat, which would die and/or be reabsorbed with no blood supply to support it.
To prepare for the surgery, the BRAVA device is typically worn for 3 weeks prior for 10-12 hours a day, then 24/7 for the last week before surgery. I saw Dr. Khouri January 28, ordered the system on the 29th, got it and started wearing it on January 30 (11 weeks prior to my procedure), so I wore it quite a bit longer.
His website is www.miamibreastcenter.com. There are quite a few pics of before/after augmentations as well as reconstructions. There are also videos of the procedure and an explanation of how it works. It's pretty amazing, and beautifully natural looking. The thread I already posted has information on how (if you're interested!!) to read my looooooong story/journey from January to now, along with before/during/after pics.
I would love to talk with some other ladies who have had/will be having this done.
(Sorry for posting "backwards"! I didn't see the intro thread until I had already made my first post!)
Turning 50 in November I had enough and couldn't decide what I was going to do. In 2003 I had gone as far as trying "breast enhancement herbs" which really only increase prolactin and often cause induced lactation (which they did, and I continued without the herbs for quite a while because it increased my size somewhat, hid the surgical "defects", looked natural, and lactating is actually medically beneficial (decreases cancer risk)). In December I'd actually given up and sent pics to a plastic surgeon to scedule a consult for implants. I ended up changing my mind, just as I did after 2 consults in the 90's, since implants really won't hide the lumpectomy "hole" - it's way on the outer side, and about 1/3 of that breast was removed. (The plastic surgeons I saw in the 90's told me that for one, I don't have enough (any!) breast tissue to hide implants, under or over the pecs, and also that they wouldn't hide the lumpectomy indentation.)
I had researched quite a bit about fat grafting, and while previously banned in the US, it is not anymore. I ended up learning about Dr. Roger Khouri's procedure (whom I had heard of since he is the inventor of BRAVA, which in my ignorance, discounted years ago). I flew from NJ to Miami, FL for a consult in January, and scheduled my procedure for April 16.
He had a 5 year clinical trial just completed, using BRAVA prior to fat grafting, with no negative results. He explained how the technique he employs, by using BRAVA first to create space and new blood vessels to support the transferred fat, as well as doing micro-fat transfer as opposed to injecting a large amount of fat, which would die and/or be reabsorbed with no blood supply to support it.
To prepare for the surgery, the BRAVA device is typically worn for 3 weeks prior for 10-12 hours a day, then 24/7 for the last week before surgery. I saw Dr. Khouri January 28, ordered the system on the 29th, got it and started wearing it on January 30 (11 weeks prior to my procedure), so I wore it quite a bit longer.
His website is www.miamibreastcenter.com. There are quite a few pics of before/after augmentations as well as reconstructions. There are also videos of the procedure and an explanation of how it works. It's pretty amazing, and beautifully natural looking. The thread I already posted has information on how (if you're interested!!) to read my looooooong story/journey from January to now, along with before/during/after pics.
I would love to talk with some other ladies who have had/will be having this done.
(Sorry for posting "backwards"! I didn't see the intro thread until I had already made my first post!)