New Readers: Start Here
After over two years of writing, there is a great deal of information to digest here. So for you who are new I would like to welcome you.
This is my story of surviving complications from a boob job that went horribly wrong. Some of it is horrifying, some is uplifting and I hope you will find it all informative. I have also included medical information and links to even more info on standard complications with breast lifts, augmentations and reconstructions.
I want to stress here that Dr. Franklyn Elliott had absolutely NOTHING to do with my first surgery which ended in disaster. He was not consulted until AFTER I had fully healed from dehescience with the help of the VAC machine. He and his staff have been incredible and I can’t say enough good things about all of the people there at Atlanta Plastic Surgery.
There is a search feature. But I would like to suggest that new readers start here.
For a direct link to my breast necrosis photos, go here
Thank you again for visiting Boobcast and I’m so sorry you had to come here in the first place.
Please visit the Contact page. I am and always will be, available to talk.
Michelle Wedlake
February 3, 2012 at 10:04 pm
Thank you for sharing your story. I have a problem with keloid scarring and I just wanted to see some pictures to prepare myself if I ever get a breast reduction. From the time I was twenty years old until now ( I’m now forty years old) and I have been wearing the same size clothes. I think the same bra size too, but its been so hard to find bras that I usually wore the wrong size and got that double decker look. I wear a 44G cup now. After all is said and done and now that Dr. Franklyn Elliott repaired the first surgery, are you happy with the results now? Do you feel any numbness, hardness of anything else now with your breast tissue?
Maria_Myrback
February 4, 2012 at 12:32 am
Michelle;
If you look at the one year photos, you’ll see that I have a bit of keloid scarring, myself. For me, it’s no big deal and a tremendous improvement over what I had. Any surgery is going to leave scars. What may help is leaving the tape on the incisions longer.
As for numbness, it gets better all the time. I know I’ll never have normal sensation, but I’m happy with what I have.
Instead of surgery, have you considered a proper bra fitting at Lane Bryant and bra shopping online at herroom.com? It’s a site with bras for ladies our size. I’m an E cup and a well rounded woman and I know they have pretty, supportive things that will fit you, too. It’s an option to consider.
Dawn
February 8, 2012 at 10:36 pm
I had a second breast reduction after 32 years in November 2011. The first surgery was very successful. At that time I was a 40 DD the same size I was for the second surgery. I had develop complications after my second surgery around the 10th day and the doctor decided to do an OR procedure to do a debridement on my left breast. About ten days after that procedure I developed intense pain in the same breast and was admitted to the hospital to control the pain. The doctor decided to do another debridement on my breast I was in the hospital for 8 days. The dressing changes were unbearable. They were packing the large wound. Later on they said that I would heal quicker with a wound van. I was on the wound vac for a month. My right breast is a size B and my left is an A?? and disfigure. I have dart tucks under my arm pit. My right breast sags at slant. I asked the physician why the breast hung at a slant, and his response was because I was older and my elastiicty in my skin was different when I was younger. I asked what could be done and he said we need to wait several months for everything to heal and soften up before we do anything else? I had my surgery done at a teaching hospital and was wondering if a resident did my surgery? Nothing was mention to me that a resident would be doing my surgery? I did call another plastic surgeon in my area to get another opinion and know one seems to want to get involved. I have several friends that are nurses and when I showed them the results they were disappointed and said I should seek an attorney for advice. However, I did sign a release before the surgery that I would not hold the doctor responsible for infection or complications from the surgery. Do you have any recommendations???
Maria_Myrback
February 9, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Dawn;
Your Doc is right. You have to wait a while to see how things settle. In the mean time, get a copy of your surgical records from the hospital. Don’t delay, especially if you’re going to sue. Those records will give the details of the surgery, including any possible errors.
As for the sagging, you didn’t mention how old you are but my reconstructed Twins are a little saggy and hang at an outward slant, too. That’s just the way my body is. I have wide-set breasts and no amount of plastic surgery is going to change that.
The difference in size can be explained by the amount of tissue that died. The Wound V.A.C. just closes the wound. It doesn’t add tissue. This is what my chest looked like after the V.A.C and before the bilateral latissimus flap reconstruction. You can see in those pics that the V.A.C. doesn’t heal things into a breast shape. It just makes it so you don’t have to pack the open wound with saline-soaked gauze for months.
I can tell you why no other PS in your area will touch you. You are still under the care of your current Doc, so no one else in the area will go near you. I had that problem when the sutures started tearing open after my explant. The only place I could get care was the ER at the hospital.
My advice? Get the surgical records and talk to a malpractice lawyer to see if you have a case. Most will do a free consultation. Just know that, based on what state you are in, there may not be enough money after the suit to pay for reconstruction. For instance, in Florida a PS is only required to carry a minimum of $100,000 in malpractice insurance. Was this doctor even a board certified plastic surgeon? Just because it’s a teaching hospital doesn’t mean that you’re getting the best. Good plastic surgeons are artists and sadly, any surgeon can call themselves a plastic surgeon even without the specialized training or board certification.
When you have your reconstruction done, find a Board Certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Do your research. Find out where the surgeon got their training, how long they’ve been doing it and if they themselves teach.
My other advice? Give yourself a chance to emotionally heal before having another surgery. Surgery with a qualified surgeon will repair the physical scars, but trust me when I say that the emotional scars stay with you much longer than you think they will.