Full reveal and...........

.......it can only get better from here.

I was, or so I thought, prepared to see a "car crash' under the dressings.  But.......




................whoa!!

The lovely nurse at the clinic asked me to remove my top and bra and to lie on the bed.  She removed the very, very, very, well adhered dressings and then all of the steri-srtips.

My first sight of my surgically 'improved' breasts

At which point I took a photo [see right].  That was the first view I got of my new titties (that image on my phone).



Silent scream!!!!!!!!!!  



I was horrified yet appearing, outwardly, to take the whole thing in my stride.

I now very much wish I had not taken that photo......


The position I was lying in, and the "pully / tuggy / ouchie" process involved in getting the dressings and steri-strips off made what I saw so much worse than if I had waited until I got home.

I am sharing the offending photo here because, from the moment I decided to write this blog, I have been determined it will be as honest a depiction of my experience as I can bear to share; even the potentially 'ugly' bits.

I am now desperately hoping it won't get any uglier than that photo........

After I'd taken the horror picture, the nurse applied new steri-strips, I got dressed, thanked her and then bid her farewell.

Outside the clinic, I sat in my car and looked again at the photo [above].  Horror!  All I could see was:

• the bruising - the horrible yellow bruising;
• the waxy 'dead' look of my skin;
• two nipples that looked like they belonged to different people not the same persons' right and left breast;
• gruesome wounds and stitching worthy of a horror movie or post mortem table!

I sat there transfix-idly looking at the image and thinking longingly of the photo of my breasts from that morning - with snow white dressings still in place - and wishing this new image had not just obliterated it.

I remember thinking that there was no way I was going to show my husband my breasts looking like that - no way in the world.

I drove home feeling on the edge of panic - what had I done????


------------


When I arrived home I rushed to my bedroom and tore off my top and attempted to remove my bra.  It took some doing because the adhesive that remained on my breasts had stuck fast to it.  I peeled my bra away as gently as I could: ouchie!!

Standing infront of the mirror I was relieved to see my breasts didn't look anywhere near as ghastly as the image I still had swimming infront of my eyes.

With me upright my boobies fall into more even shapes and they actually resemble breasts (phew!!).  I am very happy / impressed with how level Mr Russo has got my nipples and I can now appreciate the reduction in areola size and I like it.

Clearly there is a lot of bruising still - and the wounds need to heal - but now I can see the placement of the stitching and appreciate what a neat and well executed job Mr Russo has done.

Dressings removed - day eight post-op

Left side

Right side

I attempted to remove as much of the adhesive as possible - the nurse had given me two tiny (1 inch square) adhesive removal wipes to use at home (they were next to useless - 100 of them wouldn't have done the job).

I used nail varnish remover on the adhesive away from the wounds - with very limited effect;  I tried wet wipes - no joy.  I thought and thought about what might remove the adhesive before coming up with a novel idea: how about trying to cleanse skin with soap and warm water.  Genius!

I have removed a lot of the adhesive - I massaged liquid soap onto the adhesive and then used a clean warm wet flannel to gently wipe the soap and adhesive away.  I was careful to avoid my wounds and not to make my skin any more sore than it already is.

I intend to post on Breast Buddies to see if any of the amazing women on there have any top tips for removing the adhesive.