[alexandra]

OK, first hello all. This is my first post here. BUT I am very confused....

I first found what appears to be the archived forum...but it is still kind of active...? Well, yesterday I posted this there, but after finding this part of the site figured more ladies might read it here....

(I'm also not sure how much what I have done is truly part of this section ("Breast Pumps & Suction Devices"), but since it does involve several months of use of the BRAVA domes and the procedure is performed by Dr. Khouri, I figured it must be!)

Anyway, here is what I posted there...

On April 16, I had this procedure done by Dr. Roger Khouri, inventor of BRAVA. Short version is that normally the domes are worn for 12 hrs/night for 3 weeks, then 24/7 for the last week prior to surgery (which is liposuction followed by that fat being transferred to the BRAVA enlarged breasts). The breasts are highly vascularized and enlarged, allowing for a greater amount of fat to be transferred and survive.

The domes are then worn for 12 hrs/night for 12 weeks following surgery, to provide the newly transferred fat with a rich, nourishing blood supply. Dr. Khouri's patients average a 90% retention rate over a 5 year period. I began a 36AAA/FLAT and am currently measuring a 34B/C at night (after the domes have been off for 12 hours). Most likely, if I'm lucky, my permanent size will be a 34B. That would be more than 3 cup sizes for someone starting out as flat as me.

If anyone would like to read details of my "journey", it's kind of loooong (I chose to wear the domes for 11 weeks prior to surgery), and see pics of before, during and after, I have it all posted in my forum - www.alexandra-aaa.com/forums . Unfortunately, due to the nature of the site (a flat-chested support forum), the forums are private and viewable only to registered members. I would be happy to answer any further questions anyone might have.

(Has anyone else done this?)

[DollyAmbition]

Hello Alexandra,

Congratulations on your success! I read about this before and it sounds interesting- I would strongly prefer this to implants if I did not feel just Brava was cutting it (haven't used it long enough to know). The link does no seem to be working as I get a "404 NOt Found" message. But welcome to the forum!

-Laura

[roakie]

I have tried making an appt. with Dr. Khouri for 4 months. I have sent pictures at their request and his assistant Rosie will make either an occasional email reply or simply not answer. The receptionist is rude and passes me on to voice mail, etc. It is ridiculous. First Rosie said Dr. Khouri specifically told her to respond and say I was a good candidate. She then gave me a choice of 2 appt. times. I chose one of the days and then looked on the website and found out that I would end up being included in a seminar with many paying doctors in the operating room who wanted to view this type of surgery. I called her back and she kept saying I must have the dates wrong. Then, when I finally got a hold of her once again (mind you, these are ALL my long-distance phone calls, not her!) she told me I was right and she didn't know it was a seminar date.

This was then the end of any response to my phone calls or emails. I have NEVER seen a physician's office operate like this.

I then went on a consultation with another top surgeon who does fat-grafting and he told me I was too thin and my skin on my legs too loose and I would have bad results from the liposuction, although he could probably get enough fat out to put in about 150 cc's each side. I am very disappointed as this was my one hopeful option to go from no breasts to small ones. This doctor was very honest and said I would have to consider whether I wanted to trade one problem for another......have nice small breasts for legs that ended up looking droopy. Since I spend a lot of time swimming, I have opted not to go for it.

Alexandra.....how much fat did you have taken out? How are the results of the liposuction? How old are you?

I would love to read your blog if the link worked. Would you be willing to send me your email address so I can talk with you privately?

PS. I just realized I used to be a member of your forum! I knew your name looked familiar. I remember my user name but not my password. I can't retrieve my old password because I no longer have the ISP email I signed up with. Also, I just tried logging in using various passwords I thought they might be and no such luck. When i went to re-register using my gmail account, I was told it was not a valid email that was supported. Unfortunately, I do not have an ISP-supported email since I am renting someone else's apartment and using their wireless. What do I do?????

[alexandra]

...The link does no seem to be working as I get a "404 NOt Found" message. ...

I fixed the link (it was a typo in my post, sorry!).

Good luck using BRAVA - I hope you get the results you want with just that. At this point in my life (I'm 50 now), I'd had it with patience! I accepted (sort of) being flat chested all my life, then 18 years ago had the biopsies and lumpectomy. I am so glad tho, that when I got to the point of toying with the idea of implants again, I found out about this.

Thanks for the welcome (I had actually been reading the archived forum for a couple of years!)

[alexandra]

I have tried making an appt. with Dr. Khouri for 4 months. I have sent pictures at their request and his assistant Rosie will make either an occasional email reply or simply not answer. ...

Rosie has been really sweet to me, but I do know what you mean about not always getting a reply. I found I have far better results when communicating directly with Dr. Khouri. The email addr on his site's contact page is his now - (rogerkhour "at" aol "dot" com)...I spaced it out like that so spambots can't link to it - and that is the correct spelling, w/o the "i" at the end (hers is very similar, I think with the "i"). You might want to mention to him that you haven't heard back from her and have been trying to schedule a consult (or surgery date).

...I chose one of the days and then looked on the website and found out that I would end up being included in a seminar with many paying doctors in the operating room who wanted to view this type of surgery...

When you read my "story", you'll see that I was included in one of the fat grafting workshops. I didn't realize it until the day of surgery, but it was kind of interesting, in an exhibitionist kind of way, lol! Really tho, I didn't mind.

...I then went on a consultation with another top surgeon who does fat-grafting and he told me I was too thin and my skin on my legs too loose and I would have bad results from the liposuction, although he could probably get enough fat out to put in about 150 cc's each side. ...

Curious who the surgeon was. There is a gyn (not a board certified plastic surgeon) in AZ who claims to do stem-cell fat transfers, which is a blatant lie, uses pics of Dr. Khouri's patients on his site, and just rubs me the wrong way. I hope it wasn't him!

....Alexandra.....how much fat did you have taken out? How are the results of the liposuction? How old are you? ...

I don't know how much he took out (looking at my before/after lipo pics I don't see that much of a difference, but I know there's swelling for a few months after), but I did ask how much he transferred. He said 400cc (I believe in each side). I turned 50 last fall, but am in relatively good shape (but obviously w/fat to spare!!). Dr. Khouri tho, did explain to me, as well as to the surgeons observing, that he often has the best results on very thin women. There is another surgeon, in Boston I believe, who worked w/Dr. Khouri. He has before/after pics of a very thin woman, with modest, but very nice results.

...I would love to read your blog if the link worked. Would you be willing to send me your email address so I can talk with you privately?

PS. I just realized I used to be a member of your forum! I knew your name looked familiar. I remember my user name but not my password. I can't retrieve my old password because I no longer have the ISP email I signed up with. Also, I just tried logging in using various passwords I thought they might be and no such luck. When i went to re-register using my gmail account, I was told it was not a valid email that was supported. Unfortunately, I do not have an ISP-supported email since I am renting someone else's apartment and using their wireless. What do I do?????

My email address is alexandra "at" alexandra-aaa "dot" com . Send me you're user name too, and I'll give you a temporary password so you can log in and change it (I'll email it to you).

I'd be happy to talk more. I'm running out of town for the day, but should be back online tonight or tomorrow. I'll check my email before I go in case I have a chance to at least change the pswd for you before I leave. (I did fix the link to my forum in my other post.)

[hopeful31]

Hi Alexandra,
I had a consultation with Dr. Khouri last week and I started wearing brava in preparation for surgery, I'm so excited!!
Anyway I read your story on the other forum but some how I cant get back to it. I want to thank you for all that useful information

Also I have a few quick questions for you. How long did it take for the bruises and "holes" from the lipo to heal, (so that you could wear a bikini ) ? Do you have any "ripples" or indentations due to the lipo? And what about the "holes" from the injections to the breast? Any scars? Thank u, thank u thank u!

[alexandra]

Hi hopeful31!

I saw your post here and on the old forum - I'll copy/past my answer on both....

You said you saw Dr. Khouri last week and are wearing BRAVA now to prepare for surgery. A while back I had seen some of your posts about BRAVA. Have you been wearing it all these months? If so, what did Dr. Khouri think about it?

As for the bruising - I would say somewhere between week two and three, the bruises had significantly faded (kinda yellow-ish) and between weeks three and four they were completely gone. I should say, that was for the lipo bruising. The breast bruising was significantly less, and gone significantly sooner.

On the old BreastNexus site I explained....The lipo holes are also tiny - what's left of them, and you can't even find all of them now, are lighter and smaller than any of the moles/beauty marks/freckles I have on my legs. Answering if I have dent/ripples is hard to answer. My legs weren't the smoothest prior to lilp, and being 3 months out, I am told that you can expect to see improvement after lipo for up to a year! (Makes me less panicked to lose the 7 pounds I put on since surgery!)

The incisions around the breast are small needle incisions. I must have had around 15-20 per breast, and you can't find one today.

(Are you a member of my forum (listed in the first post)? I have weekly pics documenting all of this from the beginning thru this past week, but they are private and only viewable to members.)

[b2cmom]

How much does it cost?

[alexandra]

How much does it cost?

From the FAQ's of Dr. Khouri's site (the Miami Breast Center):


What is the approximate cost of the procedure?
There is a wide price range- total costs, all inclusive varies from 3000 USD to 9000 USD. This will depend upon many factors. If you are a breast reconstruction patient by law insurance covers your procedure.

[alexandra]

Ladies,

Over the past few weeks I've met several ladies who are currently in the process of preparing for surgery with Dr. Khouri. As I was during my pre-op weeks, all are very interested in talking to other women who have either gone through this process, or who like them, are in the middle of it. I am currently talking to ladies from FIVE different forums!.

To consolidate things, I decided to start a separate forum for patients of this procedure - http://alexandra-aaa.com/forums/index.php?showforum=64

Please feel free to come there to discuss and meet one another.

Hope to see you all there,
Alexandra
.