Explant Surgery and why I did it!

Day 3 of my explant surgery. 

Yes, I finally had it done, I had my breast implants removed. I've been thinking about it for about four years now, and after interviewing nearly 8 plastic surgeons in the Denver area, I finally chose one whom I thought was the best fit for me. 

I had my implants placed about 17 years ago, and never really had any trouble with them. They were saline, under the muscle and the doctor who performed the procedure was wonderful, very professional and had an eye for detail. 
I made the decision to have implants because I have always been a pretty small framed person, and after I nursed my third child, the girls looked deflated.  I was living in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the time and there were no breast augmentation surgeons in the Santa Fe area so I had to research out of state. I found a great surgeon in Englewood, Colorado and began the process. 
Everything went smoothly, when he and I had our consultation, I told him what I wanted, showed him a few pics that would work for my body and I figured everything was set. Although, when I woke up from surgery, I was shocked to discover that he and I were in fact not on the same page. Yikes! Instead of the cute, a little larger, maybe a full C cup we had talked about, I now had D cups. How I was going to carry these things around??
But, I couldn't really go back. I was a single mom who had saved for new boobs for a few years now and they were there to stay.  Over the course of 17 years, I always felt like they were far too big for my body, I didn't feel comfortable in a lot of shirts, and I could never really wear sun-dresses (my favorite thing to wear in the Summer!), and I could never ever wear stripes, forget that business! 
I knew if I explanted, the results could be disastrous (picture heavy water balloons hanging out in boob skin for years and years, add gravity, age and BOOM, 120 year old Grandma Jean and I have something in common!) but, I wanted them out, I was done. I told myself that if I spent one year everyday wanting them out, I would do it. And to be honest, once I made the decision to have them removed  I never had any second thoughts.  
After I started looking into it, there were several ways I could go, either have an En Bloc with Capsulectomy which is a total removal of all scar tissue along with implants, or removal with lift, or just removal and leave scar tissue intact. Now, because I didn't have much in the way of scar tissue (the surgeon could feel that not much scar tissue had formed, things were very soft in there), I opted for just a removal. Maybe after a few months when things settled down I would go back in for a lift, time would tell. 
I chose Dr. Buford in Englewood, Colorado because of his whole approach to surgery and the human body. Not only was his assistant Jennifer absolutely amazing and incredibly supportive, Dr. Buford's demeanor, professionalism and awesome bedside manner were, for me, the seller. Even though they see thousands of patients every month (many come in from out of town just to see him), he and Jennifer treated me like I was their only patient. They were attentive to my needs and requests and really listened to me. 
After doing a ton of research (as usual!), I had decided that I wanted to do the procedure with just a local. Dr. Buford hadn't done a lot of explants using only a local (he had however done TONS of explants!) but after carefully talking with me and really connecting to what I could handle and where my head was, he decided he would do it. 
Surgery day, the nurses were amazing and Dr. Buford checked in with me one more time before wheeling me in. He wanted to get a feel for where my I was, and I truly believe in the short time we spent together talking about it, we had developed a trust where we could do the surgery together (when you're going under the knife and are only doing it under local, it takes a great team of people and a great doctor who is somewhat empathic and tuned into to his/her patients to be able to trust how they will handle that sort of trauma; the feeling of cutting, tugging, sounds, noises, etc. And he didn't take it lightly. Even though I spent time interviewing him, he did the same with me and wanted to really get clear how this would go). And I must say, I would do it again (not that I will need to!). Dr. Buford was nothing short of awesome. He's so straightforward, which was one of the things I loved about him, that during surgery I was asking him things and at one point said "Now, let me do my thing, you want your stitches to look good right?" In other words, shut the Hell up  and let me work!
Anyway, it went really well and I'm on my way to healing. After reading Buford's nutrition book, and stock piling all the goodies he recommends before and after surgery, I truly feel as though my healing is better not just because of the supplements, but because of the wonderful care I received from beginning to now. 
I will need to have the drains pulled on Monday (drains suck!), and a few follow ups after that to make sure the girls are healing properly, but I will update you on how things go. In the meantime, if you are thinking of having an explant and are in the Denver area, check out Dr. Buford, you will not be disappointed! But, whomever you choose, make sure its someone you COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY  trust! I cannot stress that enough. Choosing to have this surgery should not be taken lightly and if you don't find the right doctor or even feel not so great about their staff, move on, it's not worth it! 

Take care all, have a great week and stay healthy! 
Namaste! 

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The binding and the drains that hang from my neck. Such a pain!

The binding. The girls aren't nearly this size, the binding makes them appear larger.