The day before surgery

Tomorrow I go for surgery! Yay! Let me explain why I made the choices I did, and what the doctor told me. I know some of you are very interested and some of you less so, but I promise in another week or so, I'll probably be done talking about boobs.

In brief, I chose this doctor because of his credentials and attitude. He is a FACS (Fellow, American College of Surgeons) and I thought that was impressive. He didn't try to do anything smarmy (like try to convince me I need a little lipo) and he wasn't perverted at all. I have a defect of the sternum and ribcage, which he noticed within two seconds of seeing me with my shirt off (it's not that obvious of a thing to the eye, really, but he saw it immediately). He told me I don't want to look like Dolly and didn't put any pressure on me to go ahead and sign paperwork or anything like that.

I guess I just liked him. After a day to reflect on my consultation with him, I cancelled my other appointments.

He said he'd do whatever I wanted--Overs, Unders, Crease Incision, Areola Incision, Armpit Incision--but convinced me to go with Overs and a Crease Incision. Here's why.

Your chest has a sheet of muscle over it. I can't remember what it's called. On top of that are your pectoral muscles, which basically lay on your chest like two big pancakes. They're tethered down to the chest-wall muscle in several places. To get an implant under the muscle, the surgeon must clip these pectoral tethers so he can lift the pec muscle and slide the implants inbetween the two muscles. I do not want anyone clipping my muscles and he prefers not to clip muscles, either. With only skin and fatty tissue being cut, an Over surgery means much less pain and faster recovery.

Basically, he made it seem that a good surgeon can make either Overs or Unders look great, but he also said that less experienced doctors almost always prefer to do Unders. Basically, any small aesthetic errors they make will be concealed by the muscle, and it's easier to create a nicely shaped breast pouch under that muscle. And, if you are extremely flat-chested, have very thin skin, or want to go much much larger than your current size, you NEED Unders to make the implant look more natural.

I have nice thick skin and I don't want large implants, so I'm going with Overs. Unders *move* when you exercise your pecs. This is not bothersome to most women, but I don't like the idea of *flexing* my boobs. And, of course, I don't like that muscle-clipping thing.

Also, Overs make more anatomical sense, according to both my doctor and common sense--breast tissue does not grow under the pectoral muscle. It grows on top. And we're trying to mimic breast tissue here, not big pecs.

Overs will sag with you if your breasts sag as you age or have children. I know saggy breasts don't sound great, but if you have Unders, you run the risk of the implants NOT sagging with your natural breasts. And that results in a "double bubble" which is horrendous. If you have terribly saggy breasts, sometimes you have to get ptosis (sag) repair along with a breast job to get improvement. But I'd rather run the risk of developing saggy, but full, breasts as the years wear on than risk a double bubble.

The incision: If you do the Crease Incision, yes, it may leave a scar. But sometimes, as the years go by, you have to have an implant replaced. This is usually a very easy surgery compared to your first surgery, cause there's no skin stretching, etc. But they do have to cut your scar open again. And when it heals again, it will heal a bit less smoothly. And, heaven forbid you begin to have reactions to your implants and they have to open that scar several times over the years...well, the scar will get gnarlier each time. The point is this: your initial scar will usually heal up well and be inconspicuous. Invisible, if you go with an Areola Incision. But if that scar has to be reopened a few times...do you want a big gnarly scar under your breast or right on the front of it on your nipple? Well, after the doc put it that way, I changed my mind and agreed to the Crease Incision!

So that's it, in brief. I have decided to go with 330cc smooth, standard-profile implants (he says in his experience high-profile look too rocket-launcherish). On my frame and with my current physique, that should make me a big B or small C. I'm not sure anybody will even notice at work; my big puffy bras make me a small B right now. And that's fine with me--it's for my *personal* well-being that I'm doing this, not to show 'em off. Except to you guys, here in blogland, if you want. I know I have at least two girls out there who are dying for before-afters, so I'm going to take a picture of me in a bathing suit later this afternoon...and another picture Wednesday morning.

I can't believe I'm doing this!! Yay!!