Clinic appointment with Mr Russo yesterday......

.........has reassured me a little.

When I showed him the problem with righty he assumed I'd had an infection there. I told him not. He looked puzzled.

I told him that the issue seemed to have occurred after drains were removed. He explained that when the drains come out, any air trapped in the breast is sucked out too.

Mr Russo said that my skin will stretch and the deformity will go in time. He then asked me to stand infront of him so he could look properly - he looked perturbed (bit alarming) and again asked me if I'd had any infection there. I repeated that I hadn't and reminded him I was only a little over three weeks post surgery and that my incisions have healed very well.

He then tortured me a bit (he is a titty sadist!!); forcing his fingers either side of righty's scar (in the middle where the problem is) he pinched painfully and said there was a lot of internal scarring and that was the problem. Pulling downwards he squeezed/massaged the internal scarring and said "can you feel that?".

My internal response was: "you mean the searing agony that feels like you are ripping my breast in two??? erm..... YES of course I can feel it!!"

That's what I thought and yet I said: "yes".

He said I could manipulate the internal scarring in that way myself and it would help.

What he did was very painful and I was concerned he might have ripped my scar open and that I'd be purple/yellow/green with bruising. When I checked, however, I wasn't bleeding or bruised and he has, infact, made a positive difference and the suture line has flattened out a little.

It is painful, but I have been trying to massage the internal scar tissue near the indentation on my right breast. My fingers are - metaphorically - crossed that my doing so regularly will resolve the deformity issue.

The mastopexy scars (on the inside edge of both breasts) are becoming quite raised so I have resumed firm massage of all my scars.

Mr Russo wants to see me in a couple of months so he can see the final result and take some 'after photos' for his records.

One day post surgery.......

I'm home and resting.  I left Dolan Park at 9am after Mr Russo 'popped' in for a minute to have a look.  He seemed very pleased with the results and said "that's what you wanted yes?"  I said there was clearly a lot of swelling and they needed to settle.  He seemed to think not!!!  God I hope so.  I'll be devastated if my titties end up looking like this!

Mr Russo was clearly harassed and in a rush.  He did say that the 'squareness' at the base will round off. 

The augmentation has exaggerated the difference in the size of my breasts (annoyingly the right breast that Mr Russo reduced in July is the smaller and less nicely shaped).

One day post BA

I very much hope that, as I heal, the right breast does not retain this indentation at the base.

Right Breast

Left Breast

I know that my breasts will settle, that swelling will reduce and the implants will soften.  I wish Mr Russo had reassured me of such.  I experience him as so very changeable - very moody - and today he was clearly not in a good mood (maybe he wanted me to be thrilled with the way my breasts look currently and - for obvious reasons - I'm not) .  

Ironic that he was the one who was sullen, since it was me who had been delayed 2 hours for him to spend no more than a minute with me.

Once Mr Russo left I had my drains removed.  Not a pleasant sensation but not exactly painful.  The drain was pushed right into my breast, with approx. 20cm of tubing under my skin, that was a revelation to me.

I'm cross with myself because the nurse who removed the drains did not maintain sterile gloves and I did not challenge her.  She put on gloves and removed the dressings covering the right drain.  Having removed that drain she applied another dressing (touching the sterile area having already touched the old dressing and the wrapping of the new dressing).  As she pushed the trolley around to the other side the drain she had already removed fell on the floor, 3 times, and she picked it up each time.  She then removed the left drain - wearing the same gloves!!

The driver who brought me home in July brought me home today.  I like him very much.  Such interesting conversations all the way and he drives at a reasonable pace.  Got me home in a little over 2 hours (took 3 hours to get there with driver who was much, much slower!)

I'm about to go down to theatre.........

.......I've showered (removing all deodorant etc), dressed in gorgeous surgical gown and stockings (I'll put the paper pants and hairnets on later), had my obs taken, seen the anesthetist and Mr Russo. 

Mr Russo is very pleased with the result of the uplift and is keen (like me) not to increase the size of my breasts too much. Hoping to go up one cup size and to have a fuller more rounded shape. 

I'm second on the surgery list.  Anticipate going down at around 09.30. Surgery should last approx. and hour and will be in recovery for around 30 minutes. All being well I should be back in my room by midday. Giving me the afternoon to snooze and recuperate. 

I'll update this afternoon if I am feeling up to it. 

Mr Russo has been drawing on me again

Mr Mario Russo's boob art 

Augmentation surgery booked!!!!!!

I went to see Mr Russo today. He is very pleased with the way my boobies are healing and with the result of the uplift surgery. He measured; and my nipples are - apparently - perfectly even (he measures from place where collar bones meet down to each nipple).

He is now happy to perform part two of the procedure. I am booked in for 10th January.

I had hoped to have the augmentation done just before Christmas, to fit in with my having a quiet time in my business diary, but the surgery slots were all taken for then. I was initially disappointed.  Having had time to reflect, however, I am now thinking that is probably for the best. I am exhausted,  and have not had a break from work (other than the two weeks post-op recovery in the summer and an occasional weekend day off) since last Christmas.

The last op took much more recovering from than I anticipated and I need a proper rest. I will get one over Christmas (I adore being at home and taking care of everything and everyone there).  I will then be nice and rested going into the second op.

I'm not hoping for my breasts to be massive - I'm looking for a bit more volume and a rounder shape (particularly up top).   Mr Russo said he can definitely deliver that and he is confident my final result will be lovely 😊.





X

18 weeks post surgery

Review appointment with Mr Russo......

...........has left me feeling a little deflated; our meeting lasted less than 5 minutes and was, largely, an opportunity for Mr Russo to admire his work.  If I had known what the appointment would entail I certainly would not have rushed away from the conference I was speaking at this morning to attend it.

I have not got a date for my second surgery as I had hoped.  That surgery will not be scheduled for a number of months. At my initial consultation I definitely heard Mr Russo say that he would be willing to perform the second operation as little as six weeks after the first. I am not sure if I misheard or simply misunderstood but today he was talking in terms of 6 months, not weeks.

On the plus side Mr Russo is totally thrilled with the results thus far and is very happy with the way I am healing.

When I arrived at the clinic I was taken straight in to see Mr Russo.  He gave me a hug and kisses on each cheek hello, and asked if he could have a look at my breasts.  I, of course, said he could and I removed my top and bra.  He looked simply delighted with his 'work' and said the result could not have been better. He had a bit of a squeeze and prod and then took some photos for his records.

I asked about the potential timing of the second op and he said for me to come back and see him in early January and that, if the scars were well enough healed, we would schedule for late January.

He said he was now certain doing the procedure in two stages was definitely the right decision for me and that the scarring will be minimal and my final result will be "just lovely".

He scrunched my right breast - ouchie - to push the tissue upwards and said the implants would give me that look and asked if that was what I was hoping for.  I agreed that it was.

I got dressed and asked if he would be willing to meet with me in early December and discuss the possibility of surgery later that month.  I explained that December is a quiet month for my business and scheduling surgery and time to recover will be much easier than in January.  He agreed and said he would have to see how my scars are healing at that point but that he would certainly consider it.

He again said how pleased he was with the way I am healing :)

He said I can bathe and swim and do anything else I have been avoiding (I can't think what he is referring to!)

To be honest the way Mr Russo handled my boobies today has given me a lot of confidence to let hubby have free reign with them.  Hubby would never be so rough with my breasts and if my surgeon is happy to handle them without concern of causing damage/harm I don't think there is any reason to treat them as if they are made of glass any longer :D.

Review appointment later today.....

I have a 5pm meeting with Mr Russo at my local Hospital Group clinic.

I'm feeling unaccountably anxious about it.  Maybe because my boobies associate him with sadistic torture ;)??  Also, I guess, I am hoping he will be happy with the results and will be willing to discuss the implants and the timing of such.

I am very keen to get a date for phase two of my tittification process into my diary. Booking work into my diary is difficult - but essential -  when I don't know when my second operation is going to take place.

I'm not fully confident that getting the second operation (which I have already paid for) will be all that straightforward. The process of booking the date for the first operation happened before I paid the balance. I hope my lack of confidence is not founded and that this evening I will be able to post and confirm the date of my second procedure :)

Mr Russo came to see me this morning......

.... and has just left.  The surgery went very well from his perspective - couldn't have gone better he said.

He removed 100ml of fat from my right breast to even out the sizing. He had a look at how they are today and was clearly delighted with his work - as am I   (:  

He looked at my new titties with much more reverence than he looked at the old ones I can tell you!!!

Now it's down to me to look after myself properly:

• Must not get the dressings or site wet for 2 weeks.
• Need to wear post-op bras - day and night - for at least a month (to ensure good final shape).
• No heavy lifting or strenuous exercise for 6 weeks.
• Not to bear weight on my arms for at least a week. 
• Attend wound care appointments with nurse at the Southampton clinic (usually 7 & 14 days). 

Mr Russo said over the next few weeks my breasts will drop a little and the fullness at the top will flatten out - that will be rectified with the implants.

I will see him again in a month and at that stage we will be able to discuss when the implant surgery can take place. 

sexy post-op compression bra - flattering (NOT!!)

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In other news:

Cannula is now out - YAY!  Hospital bracelets removed :) and I'm waiting for my driver to come and collect me (I was told 7am but I think that changed because Mr Russo wanted to see me).

The hand the cannula was in is quite stiff and swollen.  My wedding, engagement and eternity rings, usually loose on my finger, will barely go on.

Pre-op meeting with Mr Russo

Mr Russo has just been to see me. He jotted down some of his thoughts about what he needs to do once I am under the anaesthetic.  See picture below that I took of his jottings.......

Mr Russo's surgery notes :). -  photo taken in mirror (breasts are reversed)

He is going to reduce my right boob in size so the two should be more even (to be honest until I met Mr Russo nobody had ever pointed out the great disparity in the size of my breasts!!).  I think the way he is thinking about this surgery is as a foundation for my eventual implant surgery :)

The way he looks at my boobies is far from flattering - lol.  The way he handles them is hardly gentle either. I'm a bit sore already and he hasn't been near me with a scalpel yet!!

I am second on the surgery list so should be going down in about an hour.........

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I've managed to do a pee in the sample pot as well :). My nurse will never know I completely failed the simple task she set me when I arrived :)

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I will try to update again later today (if I'm up to it that is).

Consultation with Surgeon

I met Mr Russo for the first time earlier today.

Charlotte (my patient co-ordinator) offered to be present during the consultation - I declined figuring if I didn't feel comfortable/confident in Mr Russo's presence without a chaperone he was not the correct surgeon for me!

I actually felt surprisingly at ease with him.  Initially we spoke about my reasons for wanting surgery and what I hope to achieve.

I explained to him that I have lost a lot of weight (6st 7lb loss between December 2010 & August 2012) and that my boobs have not fared well.  The skin is stretched and my breasts sag pendulously unless supported by a bra.

He asked me to remove my top and bra and to stand infront of him (he remained sitting in his chair putting his face at approximately the same level as my breasts).  He examined my breasts and spoke to me about the procedure.  

This should have been a bizarre experience - standing facing a man I don't know with both of my breasts held firmly in his hands as he manipulated them and chatted - but I was curiously put at my ease by Mr Russo's interest only in the aesthetics of my far from satisfactory boobs!

The consultation resolved in my mind that as well as an uplift I want an augmentation.

Mr Russo told me that an uplift will result in my losing at least one cup size.  I have always been large breasted and the thought of losing even more volume is not a welcome one for me.  Since losing my excess weight I have been very happy with my body shape in underwear (my bare breasts are another matter entirely!) and I am fortunate to have an hourglass figure (41 - 28 - 41); I wasn't happy at the thought that after the uplift I would become a pear shape.

Mr Russo spoke to me about the option of augmentation as well as uplift.  He said in my case he would not do both procedures together (although that would be usual).  He said that the weight of the implant added to the weight my own breast tissue would be too great a risk for nipple loss and would definitely result in more visible scarring.

I was initially very disappointed at the thought of having to have two operations and was concerned I would have to pay for an uplift and then for an augmentation.  Mr Russo, however, assured me that I would pay only the cost of the combined procedure (i.e. as if the implants were positioned during the uplift operation; despite him having to operate twice instead of once).  

I will, however, be required to pay an addition £500 for the second anaesthetic, overnight stay, nursing etc.

I am happy with that.