Here it is, the beginning of the highly anticipated (at least by my former co-worker Wendy) post on my breast reduction surgery. I say “beginning” because I will probably update this several times as the weeks and months continue to pass. Hang on tight, this will be a long one.
Let’s start with the backstory. I come from a long line of fairly busty women on my mom’s side. I was probably a C/D cup (or more) in college and my friend and old roommate Leah has memories about me complaining about my boobs as I layered on 2 sports bras to go to the gym. This was at my “fittest” point in life. Well meaning friends would tell me “maybe they’ll shrink after you have a baby, my friend so and so’s completely shrunk after she breastfed”. Unfortunately this was not the case for me. I was great at nursing those 3 babies but with each successive pregnancy my cup size crept larger. I worked out, lost 30 lbs, but my boobs pretty much stayed the same (36G). The idea of having a breast reduction definitely wasn’t a new thing– Jason has been listening to me mutter about it for years. I always said “if the insurance will cover it when I’m done having babies, I’ll do it in a heartbeat”. Luckily we are blessed with some kick-ass insurance through Jason’s work right now and they covered it 100%. Let’s touch on cost for a moment. The pre-surgery cost estimate was around $15,000. Not chump change, but if you have severe back pain (which I did not), I could see how you would still consider this surgery, especially if your insurance was still willing to cover a portion of it. I also had the surgery at one of the largest hospitals in the state. It gave me piece of mind, but there are probably other options for surgery clinics and places that may not be quite as pricey. Knowing my insurance was going to foot the bill allowed me to not really shop around.
I really started contemplating this seriously about a year ago. I was done having/nursing babies, the boys were getting big enough to be a little more self sufficient, and I had realized no amount of diet/exercise was going to magically shrink them away. I chose to do it this fall because 2 of 3 were in school all day and the youngest could spend as much time at daycare as I needed during recovery. I talked to my general practitioner (who I absolutely love) during my annual physical this summer and she supported my plans fully. Two weeks later I scheduled an initial consultation with the surgeon.
The initial consultation was interesting. They asked me the questions I was expecting “do you have back pain?” “rashes, shoulder indents, uncomfortable working out?” and a few I hadn’t thought about like “are you on any hormonal birth control?” It helped that I had already consulted with my GP and she was on board. It also helped that I was not taking any hormones, at a reasonable starting weight, old *but not too old*, done having kids, and had recently had a mammogram. (I REALLY planned all this out). I had a supporting letter from my GP within 24 hours. The plastic surgeon submitted the 2nd recommendation (my insurance required 2) along with pictures/height/weight for the insurance to make a determination if surgery was deemed “necessary”. Insurance basically uses a formula based on your height and weight to say they will cover the surgery as long as X grams are removed. The surgeon then needs to remove at least that amount for the insurance to cover the procedure. More can be taken to achieve a desired size, but if the patient/surgeon thinks the estimated removal amount is too high an appeal needs to be filed delaying the process. Luckily the amount my insurance recommended (600 grams per side) was something I, and my surgeon, felt comfortable with.
Here’s another tidbit…my surgeon asked me what size I wanted to be. With all the details I had thoroughly planned out, this is a question I really didn’t have an answer for on my first consultation. No one had really asked me that before and I figured the surgeon would tell me what he thought would be proportional or ideal. Come to find out, as long as the insurance requirements were met, I could decide how big or small I wanted to be post-surgery. My surgeon suggested going to a department store and looking at various bras of different cup sizes in my band size. I found this really helpful, and decided to aim for a C cup after surgery.
I was pretty anxious leading up to surgery, anxious enough to trigger an ocular migraine (my last one was over 3 years ago). I guess no matter how much research you do ahead of time there is still the fear of the unknown. I won’t go into details about which paper doll pattern was used to make my new boobs (after all I slept through it so I’m no expert), but if you want to google it, search “anchor breast reduction technique”. The surgery itself lasted 2 1/2 to 3 hours. I went to sleep a G cup and woke up 3lbs lighter and a C cup. In my particular case a little over 700 grams per breast was removed. Surgery went just as planned but surgery recovery was pretty long for me. I’d never been sedated for that long and it took me most of the day to work the sedation out and be ready to go home. 10 hours after we checked in, I went home in an ace wrap with 2 post surgical drains.
Was it painful? I didn’t really think so. The first two days I took the narcotics as prescribed and for another two days I took Tylenol and/or ibuprofen. After day 5 I just took Tylenol and ibuprofen as needed (mostly at bedtime to get comfortable or right in the morning to help with the showering/dressing/getting ready routine). More than any actual pain, the drains were honestly the worst part of the initial post surgery recovery. For those who aren’t familiar, the surgical drain consists of a piece of tubing inserted under the skin near the surgical site attached to a little suction bulb to collect excess fluid being produced initially during recovery. Drains greatly reduce the risk of infection and some other post-surgical complications, but they are downright awful to deal with. First off, although there are a couple stitches holding them in place, the tube is basically sticking right out of your body (in my case through it’s own hole near my rib cage at about bra level). The tubes and bulbs are attached to you at all times and need to be pinned to your clothing to keep them safe and secure. Thank you to my hubby for emptying them diligently and clearing out the clumps (I forbade talking about clots) so I could close my eyes and ignore them. The thought of snagging one on something post surgery was enough to keep me maneuvering VERY cautiously.
The first time I was allowed to shower was 48 hours after surgery. I kid you not, I thought it would feel so good to take the ace bandage wrap off and feel some freedom, and I quickly realized I wanted to put it right back on. It had become my security blanket. My first shower I sat on a stool in the tub with my eyes closed and let my husband hose me down. Honestly everything was so foreign (and gosh those DRAINS) that I didn’t get the courage up to really look at my new boobs until about a week had passed. Another unexpected occurrence the first week was I was insanely itchy! I tend to react this way after surgery. I’ve never figured out what part of the surgery process causes me to be extremely itchy but this was not my first rodeo with post surgical itching. This time however I think the itching was compounded by the post surgical swelling which made for a really fun time. They say swelling post surgery can last up to 8 weeks. I found it to be the most extreme for the first 2 weeks and has slowly gone down since then. One other note on showering…I pictured standing in the shower enjoying the hot water. However, for about the first 3 weeks showering felt like pelting my brand new boobs with small rocks. I found myself thinking “why is the water so pointy!?!”. In hindsight this was probably due to the swelling, but man showers were not enjoyable!
For me, the drains came out on day 6. I was TERRIFIED but SO ready to be done with them. Taking them out was a little like taking off a band-aid. It was pretty dang quick and although not entirely pain-free, really not that bad. Once the drains were out I transitioned from the ace bandage wrap into wearing a sports bra. Getting the drains out allowed me to start walking the boys to school again and feeling more free to move about. At this point I also started driving again without any real discomfort. This was also the point when I became a little braver about looking at my new boobs. I had been oblivious to the mental impact of how different they would look and feel. They were mine, but not mine, as if someone had sewn a foreign object to my body. They were also swollen, stitched, and bruised (and the DRAINS!!). My mom, who was here to help me in the week post surgery, said all things considered they looked a lot better than she expected, but that wasn’t enough to make them look or feel normal to me. I really underestimated this part of the recovery, but as the weeks go by everything is starting to look and feel more “mine”.
Having a breast reduction comes with its fair share of rules, for instance I’m encouraged not to raise my arms over my head for 4 weeks (good luck!). My calves sure were sore after the first few days of doing toe raises every time I tried to reach for something I deemed a little too high! I was only able to sleep on my back for the first week. After the drains came out, it took me another week to even think about trying to sleep on my side. I must wear a sports bra, front close, no underwire, 24/7 for EIGHT weeks except when showering (at 4 weeks I’m getting really tired of this particular rule). I won’t be able to try a back close bra or anything with an underwire for a few more months. Finding a front close, non underwire bra is kind of like finding a 4 leaf clover, they exist, but few and far between.
I’m now 4 weeks out. I still have some open sore spots at the t-junction as they call it–basically where all the incisions meet, but the doctor has checked them and assures me it will take more time but they will heal. The shape of my breasts is getting a little more “real” as the swelling goes down and the stitches dissolve. A note on dissolvable stitches. They’re kind of gross. I pictured them just disappearing, but in my case they tend to fester as the part of the stitch under the skin dissolves, then form a bit of a pimple looking blister before finally draining and IF I’m lucky a piece of stitch comes out. It reminds me of what happens when you have a sliver and your body reacts to expel it. Having the stitches slowly come out is gross and oddly satisfying at the same time. I’ll be super glad when this part of the healing is over. A lot of people wonder what kind of sensation they’ll have post surgery. I can tell you in my experience I have a few numb spots around the incisions but nowhere that feels completely dead. Oddly one nipple has more sensation that the other, but nerve healing is slow and I won’t really know the full outcome for 6 months to a year.
Immediately after surgery I was relieved that I finally did it. At 2 weeks I could notice a difference in my posture, and at 4 weeks it seems the spot of my spine that always bugged me around my bra line doesn’t bug me anymore. I bought a few new shirts that I wouldn’t have considered pre-surgery, one even has buttons on the front!!
Through all of this it has helped immensely to have a good sense of humor about the whole thing. I got some post surgery flowers and care packages dedicated to my new boobs, while Jason got lots of condolences for his loss. We’ve joked about how my balance will be all messed up now that they’re gone and I’m getting reacquainted with a portion of my rib cage I hadn’t fully seen in a few years. I’ve basically run an educational clinic for my boob-challenged family members about why someone would actually have this done in the first place and the discoveries I’ve made along the way. I learned, or instance, that if your tummy was a little chubby before surgery, it’s going to look lots more chubby after a reduction–it’s just a matter of relative size. Your field of vision also changes as you realize your boobs are no longer in the way when you’re trying to shave your legs, tie your shoes, button your pants etc. We’ve had a lot of good laughs. And how does my husband really feel about it/them? He didn’t think anything was “wrong” with them the way they were, but as he told me near my surgery “I love you and they’re a part of you so I love them, no matter what size they are.”. He’s a keeper.
In summary thus far, I agree with the people who told me it wasn’t a super painful procedure. I’m glad I did it even though I’m still healing. When you google breast reduction healing time it gives you a window of 2 to 6 weeks. Anyone who says 2 weeks in my opinion is full of sh*t. I went back to my stay at home typing job on day 5. If I would have been working at my old office job, I would have been better off staying home for a week to 10 days and if I had any kind of physical job what-so-ever I’d say two weeks minimum to TRY to work, definitely not fully healed as the internet would lead you to believe. There you have it!
Stay tuned….
4/12/2020
I thought I should check in and give a little update. I’m now 7 months post op. At this point I would say I’m back to relatively normal breast sensation. My scars have also lightened significantly and I can work out/move/lay in any position without discomfort (and have been able to for some time). I’m still NOT wearing an underwire bra, but have a couple normal wireless bras that are a good option. After living in a sports bra for weeks/months, it’s hard to want to go back to a “normal” bra. I’ve also found a few tiny spots around the scar lines that are healing and not fully back to normal. I question whether my body is just taking FOREVER to fully dissolve a few of the internal stitches. I am still completely happy with my decision to have this surgery! I love my new boobs…especially compared to the old ones! In the time since surgery I also completed a course of physical therapy for my neck and my back/neck feels better than it has in years. The only thing I may have changed if I went back to do it again, is that I may have asked about doing some liposuction under my arms to help with the overall shape a little. Again, not a deal breaker, but it’s something I’m curious about after the fact. I’m excited to get my summer clothes out and see how things fit after being in baggy hoodies all winter. Again, I’ll stress…no regrets. If you’re thinking about doing it, go for it! I’ll post another update if anything changes significantly or I think of something else.
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