Nikki's Story by Nikki I'm a 31 (30 at time of surgery), married, and mother of 2 boys - neither of which were breast-fed. I received Mentor, high profile saline implants under the muscle. The fill was 500cc's on both sides which made me a 32DD. I started as a 32C/34B, with sagginess and loss of volume. I just wanted to be perkier and fuller. Nikki prior to augmentation Originally, I wanted to have a "lift", but both my husband and I were frightened by the scarring, so I agreed to look into having implants. I told my plastic surgeon that I wanted to be "fuller and perkier" (my exact words). She told me that I could not get that without implants. Then I said I wouldn't be opposed to implants, as long as i wasn't more than a small C cup. She indicated to me that if I didn't go to a small D cup I would still need a lift. I asked what the difference was between a small C and a small D and her exact words were "splitting hairs". This indicated to me that it wasn't much of a difference. Since I couldn't really picture how truly large either size would be on my body, I asked about sizers and pictures and she had neither to show me. This should have set off a warning bell in my head...but it didn't. I have to admit that I rushed into this decision. I wanted to have them done by the time I took my Florida trip in April, so time was a constraint. I should have shopped around when she couldn't answer my questions, but she was so confident and sure of herself that I trusted her. We consulted with her for 2 hours. During that time, she was more and more forceful explaining more as to what she thought were my "problems". She told me that I had massive sagging and I ended up leaving feeling as though I would die if I didn't get the implants. I scheduled my surgery for 2 weeks later. My surgery was on 3/19/03. I will admit that I rushed into it and I cannot blame her completely for the way things turned out. I chose her, based on the following things: 1. She was very self-assured. I trusted that her opinion was based in fact and therefore should not be questioned. After all, I thought, "she is the surgeon and should know best." 2. I had time constraints so I could have my surgery in time for a trip to Florida. 3. Her appointment was the only consultation I had. When I woke up from surgery, I was huge and in a tremendous amount of pain! 9 mos. post BA I just kept thinking how huge I was, but considering I was in extreme pain, Ii didn't really give it serious thought until 2 days later when the bandages were removed. From the beginning, I told her and the nurse that I was way too big. They just attributed it to swelling and said the swelling would "go down". After the surgery, I cried every single day for 3 weeks. I began researching removal after about the second week. I hated them- based soley on size. I indicated my hatred for them on each post-op visit and my doctor continued to brush it off as "post-op blues". She told me she wouldn't even consider removing them for at least 6 months. I was so depressed! I couldn't believe I had done such a stupid thing to myself. How could I have spent $6,500 of our money on something so selfish and stupid? How idiotic could I have been to allow someone (who didn't have my best interest at heart) operate on me?!? My husband told me we could get them removed in 6 months, if i still wanted them removed. This calmed me down enough that the crying stopped and I could move on with my life. At 4 months, I liked them no better, but I was getting used to them. Over the summer, Ii got quite used to them and really hoped that I would grow to love them. I remained optimistic until winter hit. I then realized that I couldn't wear anything that wasn't tight fitting or i would look dumpy, top heavy, and fat. I had thought about this throughout summer, but it was never an issue because each and every day I wore "tanks" with "built-in" bras. At about 10 months, my muscles must have decided that it was time to loosen up and my implants got VERY mobile. Sleeping in any position became very uncomfortable because the implants were quite heavy (1pound each) and they would flop into my armpits when laying on my back. They were too big for me to sleep on my stomach without pain. Laying on my side caused pain, because of the top breast resting on the bottom breast. It was a nightmare! I slept poorly for the last few months. The only time I was comfortable, was in a "built-in bra" tank top. I wore them under everything... T-shirts... hoodies... everything. I used to really enjoy working out at the gym and that all but stopped once I got those "babies". I could no longer do any upper body workouts without constant fear of harming something or getting capsular contracture. I could no longer do aerobic activities or run. I was not happy with these things and I was simply trying to convince myself that I was. I still felt enormous (in addition to all the other above mentioned issues) so I decided that "enough was enough". I was never going to love them and all the negative things were outweighing the positive things. I returned to my P/S and told her that I wanted them removed. She examined me again and this time told me that I would look much much worse, would be much much saggier, much much flatter, and that she had to tell me these things so that I would be prepared. She said could have adherance of the tissues, causing me to be deformed. She told me she would have to remove the capsule completely,and this would also cause more trauma to my body and could possible destroy some of my breast tissue. During the consultation, she kept skirting around the issue of price. I asked several times and didn't like the way she dodged the question. I also reminded her that I didn't want to be this size in the first place, and her exact response was "yes you did.". I was dumbfounded that she could say such a thing to me and decided right then and there that I didn't trust her to operate on me again. At the end of the consultation, I again asked about the price and she said that the nurse would call the hospital and find out how much the room and anesthesia would be and then come back and talk to me. I got the impression that she wasn't going to charge me a fee for her services. That actually made me feel "ok" about her, but still nervous about trusting her to operate. The nurse came back in and told me that the surgeon's fee was $3,200 and that the total would come to $4,150. I couldn't believe it! That day, I went home and started looking around for another doctor. I found Dr. Korkos on "implantinfo's doctor search" as well as a few others. I called around, explained my situation to the receptionists, who would then transfer me to the nurses, who would then give me ball park figures before I decided to spend the consultation money. Dr. Korkos is the only doctor (out of about 10-15 that I called) who actually got on the phone and talked to me for about 20 minutes. I immediately felt that he had my best interest at heart. He listened to me and was compassionate and kind. I scheduled the consultation and loved him. The surgery for removal was on 2/17/04. The cost of the surgery was $3,225.00. He removed them through the same crease incision as my augmentation surgery. He first drained the implants then removed the implants. The capsules were scored (or reinjured) so the pockets would heal shut against itself. Since the capsules weren't thick, he didn't think they needed to be removed and that my body would absorb them over time. He sewed me up and it was over. The entire staff was wonderful. I am so very pleased with my experience there! Right after explantation 3 1/2 weeks post op 7 weeks post op Scars at 7 weeks. There was no iodine staining on me after the explantation surgery, so they were quite thorough in cleansing me following the surgery. I remember having quite a bit of iodine on my sides and lower belly after the augmentation surgery. Dr. Korkos' staff is exceptional in their care. I will never get implants again. I like how my body looks proportionate and streamlined now. I don't feel self-conscious and I feel that I look normal now. I didn't feel normal with the implants. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I would love for women to know all sides of this issue before undergoing the surgery. Too few of us talk about it when we dislike our implantsI don't feel that getting smaller implants would have changed my dislike for implants. I didn't like them and they weren't for me. E-mail Nikki CLICK HERE TO VISIT NIKKI'S WEBSITE