It took me about a month, a relatively short time, from deciding to get surgery to choosing a hospital. Thankfully, like many people whose surgeries went well, I’m also pretty satisfied with the hospital I chose. For people who are scared because it’s their first surgery, I’ll explain the criteria I used to choose a hospital. Please understand even if this is a bit disorganized.
I narrowed it down to about 5-6 places through my own research(?) and went to consultations at all of them in person before deciding. I remember excluding hospitals that felt more factory-like than expected, or places where operating room CCTV wasn’t possible. Since safely getting through the surgery was the most important thing to me, no matter how famous a place was or how many strong reviews it had, if it wasn’t classified as a plastic surgery clinic, I filtered it out (there were some I passed on with tears in my eyes). I prioritized hospitals based mainly on how precisely the consulting doctor explained things, and how they would handle things if side effects occurred. After that, I also looked at the price range and extra benefits. The first priority is that I have the surgery safely.
Among the 3 places I was considering until the very end, there was one hospital I kept feeling regretful about not choosing after I picked my current hospital, but that hospital disappeared 2 years later;; The hospital where I had surgery has now expanded and relocated, and it seems to be doing even better. They also support annual ultrasounds, so until last year I made appointments and went in for ultrasound checks. Whenever I asked questions then, they were less kind than before the surgery, but they still answered everything, so I still think I chose the hospital well.
As you can see in other surgery reviews too, in the beginning I also experienced similar things like heat sensation, muscle soreness, and so on. But even though mine was through the armpit, I seriously did not bruise at all~~ so even among people I was exchanging reviews with at the time, I heard a lot that I was lucky. I heard that bruising differs a lot depending on how skilled they are when first creating the breast pocket.
I was very satisfied up until around years 2-3. I think the biggest thing was that in summer, I didn’t have to wear silicone NuBra pads heavier than my own breasts, and even just putting on nipple patches made clothes look good on me lol
For reference, my ribcage is 70, and I had 345/325 cc placed on each side. I was told I’d probably be around a full D cup. But after surgery, my size came out as 70F.
Honestly, maybe because my center of gravity changed as much as my breast size did, exercising is a bit hard. I think it’s probably because of the foreign-body sensation. These days I regret not going with 325/300. I’ve always lived with pain behind my neck, so I thought it was just me, but after looking at a few reviews here, it seems there are sometimes people like me. Of course, I also have a foreign-body sensation. During the first consultation, they say you’ll regret it less if you go big no matter what, but I think the best is going moderately large in a way that fits your ribcage size.
And unlike other people, I developed a skin allergy. There are probably hospitals that prescribe oral medication as capsular contracture medication. It seems the trend is that most say you don’t have to take it, and I saw many people who were prescribed it but didn’t take it. But if I hadn’t had that medication, I think I would have removed the implants right away because of the itching. Even now, I still experience sudden flare-ups and calming of skin itchiness at least once every day. It’s not as severe as it was at first, so it’s not to the point of taking medication, but it’s hard to imagine what it would have been like without that contracture medication in the beginning.
I heard that among people with a small ribcage who go much bigger in size, or people with thin skin, one possible side effect is rippling on the inner side of the breast. In my case, it’s probably because I went much bigger in size. On the inner side of the breast where the larger implant was placed, the skin feels a bit wrinkly/uneven to the touch. Sometimes I feel some pain, but the hospital hasn’t given me any opinion that it’s a rupture or that I need revision surgery yet, so I’m just living with it.
Summary Choose your hospital carefully.
Pros My size increased, so I’m very happy with how clothes fit.
Cons Foreign-body sensation Neck pain Allergic reaction Keep the size moderate
I’m not good at writing, but I think I wrote too much. I did summarize it too, but if anything about the pros and cons I experienced can be helpful, I’ll answer. I’ve been thinking about revision surgery to reduce the size for a little while now.. If there’s anyone who had size-reduction surgery and is satisfied, I’d be really grateful if you could leave a review.