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Category Archives: breast volume

The Great Boobie Debate

Wide Set Breasts

This is the great thing about reconstructive and plastic surgery. To some small extent you can personalize your body. Plastic surgery doesn’t allow for you to put your boobs back where they were when you were 16. The lack of skin elasticity and human anatomy doesn’t allow for that. Nor can you have close-set breasts like the example below if you naturally have wide set breasts like the example to the right. Biology plays a large role in the limitations of surgical science.

To some extent you can request what you want in the realm of size but even that has it’s limitations. If you are an A cup, trying to go directly to a DDD cup is simply not possible because the amount of skin and tissue an A cup breast has available is much less than a DDD cup breast. There has to be enough tissue to cover the implant.

There ARE things that we *can* chose though. It just has to be within physical limits. I have decided that I do want to have nipple reconstruction. The articles I have read (I posted these in previous posts) indicate that large nipples tend to collapse in a short period of time. The truth is a reconstructed nipple will never rise and become stiff with stimulation. It is made from breast tissue and not the erectile tissue that natural nipples are made of.

I still cannot find the story and I’m not certain it’s even true. I have read that in Japan, in order to increase protrusion, surgeons implant pearls under the skin. If someone can confirm or deny this, I would really appreciate it. I have also read that nipple piercing increases protrusion. I’d also like to hear from nipple reconstruction patients that have had their nipples pierced in order to improve protrusion

This site gives examples of the various types of nipple enhancement. http://bit.ly/6jiVx8 None of them seem to include a pearl. However there IS mention of cartilage as an implant. I’m going to do more research on that and get back to you.

Close Set breasts

My First Disappointment

14 Jan

I’ve said for months now that I love the Twins. They’re beautiful and I’m so grateful for Dr. Franklyn Elliott and his skills as an artist and surgeon. As happy as I am with them, that doesn’t negate the fact that they are, well let’s face it, Gazongas. These aren’t sweater puppies, they’re sweater Great Danes.

Remember Fluffy from the first Harry Potter movie? Yeah. Like that.

And so, because I now have Monster Tits, I have “outgrown” my formal wardrobe. I have a stunning fully beaded silk sleeveless shell. It won’t zip. Why? Monster Tits.

I have a full length chocolate-brown velvet gown. It’s threatening to rip. Why? Monster Tits.

My beautiful red and gold velvet pattered bolero shrug with beaded fringe? You guessed it. It fell victim to Monster Tits. And sadly, the matching shirt must go with it.

And finally, my black sheer silk with the beaded blue and green floral pattern with sheer jacket? About one size two small.. Through the chest.

I LOVE those pieces. Now they get to find a new home through a local consignment shop.

I was going to say that perhaps disappointment was too strong a word but it isn’t. Adding to the disappointment is frustration. Now I have to lay out more money for formal wear because my dear, sweet husband has surprised me with a four night cruise for my birthday (Jan. 30). If you have ever been on a cruise or have seen cruises shown on the Travel channel, you know that there is a Formal Night. Rather than waiting, now I’ve got to spend the money for a formal gown.

On TOP of all that, at the beginning of March we’re going on the Amazing Adventure 5: Skeptics of the Caribbean Cruise. Since that’s a 7 day cruise, there are not one but TWO formal events.

I’ve already found a gorgeous evening gown on IGIGI.com http://bit.ly/6HbPfJ Now I have to find another. I’m hoping that the consignment shop that I’m going to tomorrow will have something reasonable and stunning in my size.

I knew that I would have to replace wardrobe pieces. I’ve already talked about having to donate a big chunk of my casual wardrobe. I just didn’t make the connection to my formal wardrobe as well.

And so, tonight Dear Reader, I am signing off as:

Disappointed and Frustrated

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Posted by Maria_Myrback on January 14, 2010 in Anxiety, boob job, breast, breast size, breast volume, emotional healing, Reconstruction, Recovery, Uncategorized

More of The First Two Weeks

12 Jan

This is another BoobCast Flashback episode originally dated Oct. 8, 2009. There are a few more drafts that I will continue to flesh out and post over the next week or so. Then I will really start more on the medical aspects of plastic and reconstructive surgery.

As the days passed, I saw that there were places where the bruising was getting lighter. There were other places that the skin just got darker and turned black. In the black areas, the skin felt a bit like rubber. It was slick but firm, a bit like what a dolphin’s skin feels like. It’s rather like thick, slick rubber if you’ve never petted a dolphin. Normally my skin has a slight grainy texture to it. These areas didn’t.

It was also about two weeks in that I noticed that my chest felt heavy. Yeah, I know. It seems obvious that my chest would feel heavier with two big water balloons shoved under my skin. My chest was insensate though. It wasn’t weight. It was pressure. For those of you who have read previous installments, you know what the cause of the pressure was.

For those who are new, there was a build up of 300ccs of serous fluid in each pocket. At one checkup one of the HiQ’s nurses even pointed out a place about two inches long on the outside of my left breast where it looked like there was a big bubble.

There was also another point where I took off the post surgical bra because I was having difficulty breathing and it felt better without the bra. So my husband called the after-hours line. When we explained to the HiQ what was going on, the doc actually had the nerve to suggest to Ken that I needed a Valium rather than try to figure out what was REALLY happening.

This person had all the bedside manner of flesh eating bacteria and most assuredly suffered from MDiety Syndrome.

HiQ stands for Hack in Question since I can’t legally reveal the doctor’s name.

How To Tell?

12 Nov

This post is going to be even more personal that I usually am about my experiences. Those who have issues with bisexuality or sex outside of marriage should skip this post and come back tomorrow for more about dehisience.

First, for anyone that hasn’t read my Twitter or Facebook profile or doesn’t know me personally, I’m bisexual. That means that I am attracted to both men and women. Not ALL men and not ALL women. Just, well, just the ones I think are cute.

When I realize six years ago that I’m attracted to both genders, hubby and I sat down and we had a series of discussions. Several of those discussions covered dating. Thanks to a book called “The Bisexual’s Guide To The Universe” we laid down rules that we were both comfortable with so that I could actually experience what it would be like to be with another woman.

That was four years ago.

I’ve been on a few dates and even had a short term girlfriend. Nothing ever happened though.

Now I’ve met someone and I like her. If things keep progressing I can see where this might go.

But there’s a problem.

I have NO idea how to tell her about what happened. How do you tell someone that you’re…incomplete? I’m sure divorced and single cancer survivors have had to go through this. And I understand that it’s not just something you blurt out.

Nothing puts a damper on a fun evening like “Oh by the way my boobs rotted off, I had to get them reconstructed and in case I haven’t freaked you out enough yet, I have no nipples.”.

Yeah. THAT’S a real show stopper.

I don’t want to just give her my blog URL either. That’s a WHOLE lot of trauma right there as my regular readers know. And I REALLY like this woman. I don’t want to scare her away.

I’m thinking that if or when this turns romantic, that’s when I’ll tell her. But I have to tell her soon enough that it doesn’t seem like I’m keeping secrets but not so soon that I scare her off. She’s had to deal with enough medical crap herself lately as it is.

As for the actual telling part, I’ve learned that starting with the phrase “We need to talk.” or “There’s something I have to tell you”. usually sets someone on edge. I need to find an opener that will set her at ease. Maybe “There’s something I want to trust you with”. Perhaps “Can I confide in you?”.

I guess this is just something I’m going to have to work on. I’ve got about a week before I see her next, so I have a bit of time. Trust me, you all will probably hear about this again.

After all you already know that Ken enjoys the Twins and he doesn’t seem to care that I don’t have nipples yet. But that’s because my first set was so sensitive that he couldn’t really do anything with them anyway. This is definitely a different twist to this tale though.

Check Up Part 3

04 Nov

I forgot to include something in yesterday’s post. Dr. Elliott had mentioned that he wanted to make sure that my breast tissue has become softer. For the first few weeks right after surgery, my new boobies were really hard and stiff. They were actually very hard. It reminded me of how hard my breasts were after the initial implant surgery.

I pointed out a place across the top of my left breast that, to me, felt harder that the rest of the breast tissue. After gently prodding at it a bit in examination Dr. Elliott explained that the harder area is the top of the muscle flap. He also explained that in comparison to what HE meant my hard it was actually very soft and pliant.

Something that I found to be extremely bizarre is that where I thought had keloid scarring, upon examination, appeared to have nothing of the sort. I am chalking this up to a slightly poor fitting Caique bra from Lane Bryant. It is just a little too small and it makes the scar line feel a little lumpy after a whole day of wearing that type of bra.

That’s one more reason to have a proper bra fitting done. Even if you think it’s been done properly, sometimes it hasn’t. Even though their customer service is really, REALLY bad,

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Posted by Maria_Myrback on November 4, 2009 in boob job, Bra Fitting, bra sizes, Bras, breast, breast health, breast reconstruction, breast size, breast volume, checkup, cosmetic surgery, Healing, implants, Incisions, keloid, keloid scars, Latissimus flap, latissimus flap reconstruction, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Reconstruction, slow healing, Uncategorized

Check Up Part 2

03 Nov

Dr. Elliott is EXTREMELY pleased with how well the Twins are doing. He’s thrilled with how much they’ve softened and how well the scars are fading. He’s also pleased with how my back looks.

While he was looking and “groping” (forgive me Dr. Elliott, I don’t know what else to call it when you check to see how they feel) we talked about the things I was curious about. First, I found out the reason my back has that plasticky feeling like someone set down a layer of plastic wrap across a wide section of my back.

The reason for that is that he basically disected my back, probably doing more surgical maneuvering back there than in my chest. The crackly feeling is where scar tissue has formed in kind of a sheet. It will probably take another six months or so for that to release. He gave the same prognosis for the numb areas, although those could take even longer.

We also talked about how subjective the term “recovery” is. You “recover” in the recovery room. You “recover” in the hospital. You “recover” after the surgery and that can take over a year dependent on which aspect of healing we’re talking about. For instance it took me about six months to get my endurance level back to where it was. Some people take more time. Others take less.

It’s subjective.

We also discussed nipple reconstruction. I told him it probably wouldn’t be until this time next year. He said it didn’t matter. We could do it tomorrow, next week or five years from now. Personally *I* was just relieved that he wasn’t planning to retire any time soon.

Another thing we touched on was doing a breast lift. His concern is that there wouldn’t be much point to it because as heavy as the Twins are, they would end up right back where they are in no time at all. I would have to lose at least 30 pounds before it would become feasible.

My big issue with that is around that point the Twins will start getting smaller. As I’ve written before, to watch them shrink away is like watching my original breasts rot away. I just can’t handle that right now. I just can’t. As i sit here typing I can feel the panic rising and the tears filling my eyes. I CAN’T lose them again.

Okay, okay, I know logically that I’m not losing them. They’re a part of me and I love them dearly. I’m just SO not ready for that. And for the first time in my life I’m content to weigh 218.

We also discussed the two little places on my sides that look like little handles. he called them puckers I think. (Dr. Elliott, if you read this please leave a comment and correct my verbage). He said they were normal and occurred as part of the surgery. We could do a little lipo to lessen them but to tuck the skin would require another incision. Dr. Elliott didn’t seem very keen on another couple of incisions on me and I’m really quite okay with that. He explained that when you do the tummy tuck type breast reconstruction you get the same thing at the hip bone area.

Dr. Elliott made a point of mentioning that he was SO happy we had gone with the latissimus flap reconstruction rather than the tummy tuck. We both had been extremely concerned about possible complications. The tummy tuck procedure simply carries more risk and more risk was the LAST thing I needed.

So all in all the Twins are doing great. He wants to see me again Aprilish for my one year check up. In the mean time I REALLY hope that he checks in. He seemed really interested in my blogs.

And in case I haven’t said it enough, he’s an amazing doctor. Every woman who has to go through reconstruction for ANY reason should go see Dr. Elliott at Atlanta Plastic Surgery (http://www.atlplastic.com).

Surgery #2

01 Nov

As my regular readers know I developed necrosis two weeks after the October 2nd breast augmentation and lift surgery in 2007. After several weeks of Hell I was scheduled for a second surgery on November 2. This surgery was for the purposes of removing the implants and the remaining necrotic tissue. We showed up in the afternoon at the surgical center – which we had to pay the fee for – I was prepped and before I knew it, part two of my nightmare had begun.

When I was able I looked at what had been done. It seemed, in retrospect, Frankenstinian. The line of vertical sutures looked like someone had whip stitched the skin together. I also found out that, on the left side, there had been a half inch spot left open.

I also found out that over 300 ccs of serous fluid had built up in each pocket. The implants were both intact. That explained the pressure and the bubble under my flesh. Fortunately this time the HiQ put in what passed for really crappy drains. He had inserted open-ended surgical tubing. The outer ends were covered in gauze to absorb the leaking serous fluid that my body produced. Compared to the closed-system drains I had after my reconstruction, these things were positively primitive.

I was also an A cup now down from a DD cup and before that a C cup. This wasn’t nesecarilly a bad thing. I finally had the ski slope breast shape I had been after from the beginning. By ski slope I mean the breasts that are heavy and rounded on the bottom and on the top the breast gently slopes down to be capped by a pert, rosy nipple.

I was just missing the nipple.

The HiQ assured me that after i had healed, we could do reconstruction. At this point I was already starting to have my doubts. But I’ll talk more about that later.

For those of you joining me from NaNoBloMo and reading my blog for the first time, please go read the first post for more information about what BoobCast is all about.

Things They Don’t Tell You

01 Oct

As I continue to heal I figure things out. The latest is the reason my chest ached for longer than it could have. Keep in mind before the initial surgery I was a B+/C- cup. Little boobies…by comparison anyway.

I had heard about back pain caused by larger breasts but no one ever told me that they could ache and hurt just from their own weight. For quite a while after the surgery I wore shelf bras because they were so comfortable. Even after I was cleared to wear a bra, I still, for some time, preferred to wear the shelf bras.

BUT when I did, there were times when my cleavage ached as though there was a small elephant standing on it. It wasn’t until I talked to my best friend about it. Her girls are almost the same size as mine and are completely natural so I know she has experience with this.

I’m just chalking this up to another thing they just don’t think to tell you.

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Posted by Maria_Myrback on October 1, 2009 in boob job, Bras, breast, breast reconstruction, breast size, breast volume, communication, cosmetic surgery, Healing, Latissimus flap, latissimus flap reconstruction, plastic surgery, Plastic Surgery Disaster, Reconstruction, Recovery, slow healing

The First Check-Up

09 Sep

The afternoon after the initial surgery I had my first check up. So we headed over to the office of the HiQ. It wasn’t a very fun trip. I could feel every pebble and bump in the road.

Regardless of the pain meds I was still something of a hurting unit. I was probably a 2-3 on the pain scale until the meds kicked in. Because of that I just stayed in my PJs and robe. I figured ‘screw it’. It was a little unnerving being in the waiting room like that but I was SO sore and tender that I didn’t actually care how I presented myself at that point.

Ken came with me when I was called back into the exam room. I was told to take off my robe and PJ top and they would take care of the rest. It took me a minute or so because the meds may not have kicked in completely yet.

The HiQ’s PA came in and she was very gentle as she removed the bandages. Once everything was off I could finally see. I must admit right then I was happy with what I was seeing as far as size went. Now that I have some distance and a little more perspective I can say this: It looked like someone took two small Nerf footballs and shoved them under my skin. In retrospect, it was disappointing. Sure they were bigger but the shape was awful.

I was also VERY deeply bruised from my collar bone to my waist. This includes my breasts, although the initial bruising was splotchy. There were dark spots on my nipples and areolae and it looked like there was a little separation around the areolae where it was supposed to meet up with the rest of the breast.

In places the bruising actually looked like hand prints. That was also disconcerting that people manhandled me so badly that I was black and blue.

Much later I posted the situation on another forum and I was contacted by a nurse specializing in plastic surgery. She thinks that something went really, really wrong during the surgery and THAT was the reason that I had so much bruising. I wish now that I had taken more photos earlier.

With all the bruising I was quite obviously concerned. When I brought it up the HiQ he said that bruising was normal. I figured he knew what he was talking about so I let it go. I chalk it up to ignorance.

I would also like to point out that I noticed that the HiQ did not put in drains to drain off the serous fluid. This will come into play later so remember that point.

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Posted by Maria_Myrback on September 9, 2009 in anchor breast lift, boob job, breast, breast implants, breast lift, breast size, breast volume, complications, cosmetic surgery, implants, mastopexy, Pain, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Plastic Surgery Disaster, Surgery, Surgical complications, Uncategorized

Gimme Credit & Implant Fitting

13 Aug

In the business office we talked about various ways to pay for the surgery. Of course, as I mentioned the surgical fees were on barter. The fees for the surgical facility, The Bougainvillea Clinique, as well as the implants themselves, were to be fully paid for two weeks prior to surgery. That’s where Care Credit came in.

Care Credit does financing for a wide range of cosmetic surgical procedures. I got them to finance me for the full amount over a three year span of payments. If I remember right, the payments were under $200 a month. The interest rate was pretty rough though. It was somewhere around 9% if memory serves. Of course I didn’t care. I was headed full boar into this.

With the financing in place and confirmed, we set a date for October 6th. All that was left was to figure out what size implants I wanted. Now THIS is a process in and of itself.

I was told to get some knee high stockings and raw rice because rice is the most accurate type of filler as far as weight goes. One cup of raw rice equals approximately 236 ccs. The following table gives more conversions.

1 cup = 236cc
½ cup = 118cc
¾ cup = 177cc
¼ cup = 59cc
1/3 cup = 78cc
2/3 cup = 156cc
1/8 cup = 30cc

So you start by filling two knee highs with one cup of rice, lightly tie it off so that you can untie it again later and stuff them into a properly fitting sports bra. I did four different sets so that I could compare the various volumes. 425cc is an approximate full D cup so play with the volumes and see what looks best. I ended up with about 625 ccs which is about a DD.

Once I had the implant size figured out, I called in the volume that I had settled on. NOW I think I should have been fitted in the doctor’s office, but they had their own routine. I figured these people knew what they were doing so I just went along with it.

Two weeks before the surgical date I received a box in the mail. In it was vitamins to fortify my system, antibiotics as a preemptive strike against infection and Arnica for bruising. I was given instructions for what to take at what point. So at two weeks out I started the regiment.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about the surgery itself.

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Posted by Maria_Myrback on August 13, 2009 in boob job, bra sizes, Bras, breast, breast implants, breast size, breast volume, cosmetic surgery, implants, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Surgical Fees, Uncategorized

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Boobcast

Category Archives: breast volume

The Great Boobie Debate

My First Disappointment

More of The First Two Weeks

How To Tell?

Check Up Part 3

Check Up Part 2

Surgery #2

Things They Don’t Tell You

The First Check-Up

Gimme Credit & Implant Fitting

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