Honest review with weekly progress photos after Mentor Boost underarm surgery (long…)

- Review from the early recovery stage after surgery up to the current 6-week mark - Long post ahead, unedited photos included, not an ad, not a no-pain giveaway winner - I don’t even know how to do Photoshop, so I uploaded completely raw photos with my armpit hair not even hidden and zero retouching - I wrote down the things I wish I had known before surgery and I hope it helps anyone who is deliberating over implants and hospital choice. - I wrote it as detailed as possible. If you have any other questions, leave a comment (I do not check DMs) 1. Basic pre-op assets and body stats Pre-op bra size: full A cup (wearing Emaphil 65C), height 165 cm, weight 51 kg 2. Why I chose the implant (Mentor Boost Moderate Plus 320cc/340cc) Most people get Motiva or Sebbin implants, but I decided on Mentor from the start. Mentor has FDA approval in the U.S., and they said that if an implant were ever to rupture, lifetime free replacement would be guaranteed, so I did not consider other implants at all. I had originally planned to have surgery with Mentor Xtra, which has been on the market for over 10 years and has a lot of clinical data. But then I saw reviews saying the newly released Mentor Boost is better suited for a more 'youthful-looking' chest. I have thin skin and a slender frame, and as I got older my upper chest hollowed out, which is what made me decide on surgery. So I ultimately chose Mentor Boost because it has less rippling than Mentor Xtra and fills the upper chest better. I was torn between Moderate High and Moderate Plus for projection, but the projection difference between the two options was about 1.5 cm to 1.7 cm (you know that even a 1 to 2 cm difference matters a lot in plastic surgery). I also did not want the implant to sit too high when lying down and float like a rice bowl... so I decided on Mentor Boost Moderate Plus. 3. Why I chose this hospital Because I had already visited many consults, I had actually chosen the implant before picking the hospital. So I first ruled out hospitals that recommended a different implant from the one I wanted. (Sadly, the reality of plastic surgery in Korea is that most clinics seem to recommend not the implant that best fits the patient’s body type, but the more expensive implant that leaves them the biggest profit after surgery -_-...) The next three conditions I looked at were these: - First. A one-doctor private clinic, not a factory-style hospital Anyone who has been around plastic surgery clinics will probably agree, but in the end, the surgeon’s skill is what matters. What matters is how quickly and accurately the surgery is performed, and how well bleeding, scarring, and complications are minimized. Breast surgery in particular is a procedure where operating time and bleeding control are important. If the surgery takes longer, there is more bleeding, and if there is more bleeding, the risk of capsular contracture increases. (It’s common knowledge that capsular contracture is closely related to bleeding, right? I heard this clinic says you don’t need a drain or a pain-control shot after surgery.) I’m not going to date the doctor, and I’m not going to show up at the hospital every day after surgery... So please, don’t choose a hospital just because the surgeon is kind, the hospital is large and fancy, or, above all, because you’re swayed by the flashy sales talk from the hospital marketing team or the counseling director... I’ll say it again: the result of surgery is determined by the surgeon’s knife skills and aesthetic sense. - Second. A clinic that specializes only in breast surgery The place I had surgery at is a one-surgeon clinic that specializes in 'breasts only' (excluding the anesthesiologist director). Having only one surgeon means at least there is no risk of handing my precious body over to a shadow doctor’s blade, and it also means the director must be very confident in breast surgery, right? Even restaurants that are truly great usually do not have a huge menu; they win with one or two main dishes they are confident in. I think plastic surgery is the same. No matter how skilled a director is, it is not realistic for one person to be equally good at everything... In the end, everyone has the menu item (body part) they do best. Director Kim Eui-geon of Winne apparently sutured 2,000 ER patients a year (!!) during residency, lol. After actually having surgery, I could really see that the post-op incision scar was incredibly neat. In particular, this director is famous for having a short operating time, and the shortest time it took to do both breasts was 28 minutes, which is shorter than the time it takes to properly eat one meal. And you absolutely have to look at the post-op medical photos! I wanted breasts that were natural, balanced with my body proportions, and had a beautiful line. This clinic seems to adjust the size and shape naturally to fit your body type and measurements, rather than making them unnaturally large. I think if you do not get greedy about size and just have the surgery as the director recommends, you will not end up with complications or regret. (Still, I went with the maximum size... lol I wrote the slight backlash from that reckless choice in detail below in the recovery section) - Third. The surgical method and aftercare program Because underarm incisions are apparently hard for doctors without much surgical experience to do neatly and without lingering issues, there were quite a few clinics recommending inframammary or areolar incisions instead. But this director strongly recommended the underarm approach and seemed very confident in their own surgical skill. And there were many clinics with more elaborate aftercare programs than this one, but Winne was relatively simple, so that is why I chose it (capsule care 3 times up to 4 weeks after surgery and scar care around 6 months later). Some of you may wonder, why is that a reason for choosing a hospital? lol Well, after actually having surgery, I understood why there was no long list of scar care or aftercare like at other hospitals... Everyone who had surgery here had such good results that lol there really was no need for much aftercare... To be honest, when I went for a consultation before surgery, I even asked why aftercare only went up to one month;; and the director said, 'The result of surgery depends on how well the surgery was done. No matter how much aftercare you do, if the surgery itself was not done properly, the result cannot get better.' Lastly, unlike other hospitals that split capsule care into small sessions over several weeks, here the once-a-week capsule care session itself was longer than at other hospitals, which was convenient for someone like me who had to travel far for follow-up care. 4. Recovery period after surgery (not a no-pain giveaway winner) - Surgery day to week 1: From day 4 after surgery, I walked for 1 hour every day without missing a single day, and maybe because of that the swelling went down very quickly. The clinic where I had surgery is very famous for no-pain giveaway winners(?), but unfortunately I was not one. My lower breast stretched well so I did not even need an upper band, and I had no swelling after surgery, but I was a case with unusually severe pain Just looking at clinic reviews, I wondered if I had taken breast surgery too lightly... Honestly, until the one-week mark after surgery, I hurt so much that I seriously regretted why I had even done it. In fact, I have no allergies, no keloid tendency, and my body usually handles surgery very well... so I thought hard about why this surgery hurt so much more than usual... First, it may have been because of my condition before surgery. Due to personal circumstances, I had not slept properly before surgery and went into it extremely tired. I think the pain may have been worse because the muscles were already fatigued and tight when I had the operation. Second, implant size selection probably played a part too. I got greedy and asked for the largest size that could fit my body stats. But because my breast pocket (the space for the implant) was small, one side needed more expansion, and that side hurt so much... So my advice is: make sure to get enough rest before surgery, and if fast recovery after surgery is important to you, choose an implant with a diameter smaller than your own breast pocket. I had been wanting this surgery for years, so I planned for a long recovery period and took plenty of leave from work. For that reason, I prioritized satisfaction with the post-op shape and size over a fast recovery (once you have the surgery, it is basically a chest that will stay with you for the rest of your life...). So I ended up with an implant whose diameter was a little wider than my breast pocket... and now, at 6 weeks post-op, I am completely satisfied lol. If I had gone even a little bigger or smaller, I think I would have regretted it. Of course, depending on personal taste, there are people who like the Kardashian-type, influencer-style chest that is a bit obvious but full, right? Then, instead of going with a larger implant diameter, choosing a higher projection would probably be the implant choice that minimizes post-op pain as much as possible while still increasing your satisfaction - Week 2 to week 3: Usually people say they can wash their own hair 2-3 days after surgery, but for me it was not until week 2 that I could shampoo by myself and tie my hair in a low ponytail. Any movement that used arm strength still hurt, so working on a computer was hard, and washing dishes was especially miserable... I found out after this surgery just how much the pectoral muscles are used for dishwashing lol - Week 4: Most movements, including shampoo pumping, became easier. Putting my arms up over my head and tying my hair high was still slightly uncomfortable. My breasts were still hard and would not come together, and this was the period when I was overwhelmed by skepticism and irritation, thinking, 'Will these really ever soften?' It upset me that my pain seemed to last longer than other people’s and my recovery seemed slow. - Week 5: Finally I stopped wearing the corrective bra and switched to a sports bra! But intermittent stinging pain still remained. - Week 6: Occasional throbbing pain (the frequency and intensity of the pain had clearly decreased). I am naturally a cautious person, so I have not tried lifting heavy things. Starting from around the areola, the breasts gradually began to soften, and they come together well! If it is not too heavy, I can now even go grocery shopping alone, and movements like stretching, raising my arms overhead, and upper-body stretching are possible without much difficulty. As you can see from the unedited photo, there is still a slight upper fullness. But from other reviews too (not ad posts), I heard it takes about 3 months for the upper fullness to go down, that a sports bra should be worn until around 6 months, and that it also takes about 6 months for the tissue to fully relax... so for now I am thinking, 'time is the best medicine~' while waiting for the texture and shape to settle more. 5. Satisfaction with the surgery & closing thoughts I am truly, genuinely super satisfied with the surgery! The doctor produced exactly the overall breast shape, position, and nipple position I wanted and had imagined. The underarm suture scar also turned out very neat, and above all, even while wearing a sports bra, my clothes already fit so much better, so my satisfaction with the surgery is 200% (my satisfaction 100 + my boyfriend’s satisfaction 100...The boyfriend who had strongly opposed breast surgery up until the operation... after seeing the result, he likes it even more than I do) I tried on the bold low-cut clothes that had been sitting in my closet unused because I could not wear them before, and it was truly moving. If I ever have children later, or if I get older and need a lift surgery or revision surgery, I think I would come back to this clinic without question (Director Kim Eui-geon looks young... I personally hope he keeps running the clinic for 10 or 20 more years). If anyone around me says they are getting breast surgery, I think I would recommend this clinic 100% lol Breast surgery is a bigger surgery than people think Don’t get swayed by ad posts and think of it too lightly; it is also a surgery that needs careful consideration, and it is true that you should not do it while being overly greedy relative to your body... But if you find a truly skilled doctor like I did and have the surgery, the satisfaction afterward is really high, so rather than agonizing for years like I did... I hope you gather your courage and get the chest you want.