By Terrye Tebbetts

Question ~

With 16 days until surgery, I’m basically at the point where I can’t think of anything else aside from surgery. I’m just curious about a few things – I know everyone’s answers will be different, but I’m looking to figure out the averages.

- How long did your PS have you wear a surgical bra?

- How long did you remain on prescription pain meds, before switching to something OTC?

- How soon was your first post-op visit?

- When were your stitches removed?

- How long after surgery did it take before you felt back to completely “normal”?

- Were you happy with your final size? Do you wish you’d gone larger or smaller? Were your implants overs or unders?

My surgery is 3/5, we’re going out of town (PS knows & approves!) 3/16-3/18. It’s a 4 hour car ride there, two nights in a hotel, attending an NBA game, and a 4+ hour ride back with a stop to visit some good friends. I’m trying to gauge what shape I’ll be in for this adventure. If anyone has suggestions for travel 11 days post op, I’m all ears!

Answer ~

You should really go to www.thebestbreast.com and read the TWO chapters on recovery.

With 24 Hour Recovery techniques there are no surgical bras, bandages or drains or straps.

There are no pain meds – only Ibuprofen from the get go.

First post op visit is the next morning.

There are no stitches to be removed, all are under the skin to give the best healing and no chance of “track” marks on the surface.

Feeling normal is relative, but when you can return to normal activity the day of surgery – showering, drying your hair, caring for your kids, shopping, making dinner or going out to dinner – - normal is attainable the afternoon of surgery!  Now, for you to completely forget you ever put a device in your body, for me, it was 6 months (Before you forget that they are there and can roll over them like they are yours!)

Final size happiness depends on the operative planning you do with your ps – the reason ladies are unhappy – wish bigger or smaller – is because neither the PATIENT nor the SURGEON planned the operation based on objective, real criteria (cup size, sizers in bras, rice tests, photos of others, or 3 D imaging do not count because they have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with YOUR body!  You are going to operate on YOUR body right????)  So happiness in your results rest on your ability to work with your ps to make realistic operative plans based on the breast that is actually going to be operated on.  That covers pocket location too – over vs under – if you don’t have 2 cm worth of pinch thickness, then your body is telling you that you need more coverage or unders.

If your ps did not measure your breasts and apply the measurements to the High Five Formula….who is he or she operating on????  How do they know what is best for you???

Whether you can go and enjoy your NBA game rest solely on what that ps does in the operating room…you have to ask about breast augmentation recovery and be sure you talk to at least 2 patients to verify the recovery…then you will know what you can do relative to what he or she really does to you during the operation.

Please go read the information on The Best Breast 2 web site—-PLEASE.

About the Author: Terrye Tebbetts is one of the most knowledgeable women in the world about breast implants, with 27 years of experience educating patients and 11 years as a patient herself. For more information about breast implants or breast augmentation Dallas surgeons, please visit www.thebestbreast.com.