Breast Augmentation Q&A
General Information: The Cosmetic Institute, Bondi Junction clinic. My surgeon was Dr. Daniel Kwok. 365cc right & 385cc left, under the muscle, round, high profile implants. I was a small 10B before surgery, I am now a 10D.
Q) Why did you choose The Cosmetic Institute? A) I originally looking at going overseas to get them done, however I came across The Cosmetic Institute and after doing some research and hearing great things about the clinic, I decided I would get them done there. Plus it was a great price Q) There are a few different surgeons at The Cosmetic Institute, how did you choose who to go with? A) I didn’t pick my surgeon, I rang up and wanted to get in ASAP, so my surgeon was picked for me Q) How much did it cost? A) I paid around $6200 for the procedure, consult & post op bra Q) When did you have your consult? Did you have to fly to Sydney twice. A) I flew into Sydney on Wednesday morning, had my consult in the afternoon, then my surgery was 8:30 the next morning. Q) How did you choose the size you wanted? A) I was looking at LOTS of pictures, mostly ones that The Cosmetic Institute was posting. I liked the look of 350cc – 400cc but had in my mind 385cc. After meeting with Dr Kwok, expressing the look I wanted and showing him pictures, he got me to try on sizes, which was 365cc right & 385cc left, which was perfect! He picked the profile and shape I was thinking, based around the look I was wanting! Q) Why did you get 2 different sizes? A) My breast where 2 different sizes before, that’s why. Q) How long did you stay in Sydney for after the surgery? A) I flew home after 48 hours! Q) Did you feel anything during surgery? A) Not a thing, I was talking to the nurse, next moment I was asleep then woke up with boobs! Q) What is the pain like? A) Basically it just felt like I had done a massive chest workout, my chest felt quite heavy and tight. It was my back that was probably in more pain, from sleeping on lots of pillows and the extra weight. I started to feel a lot better by the 2 week mark. Q) But what about complications? A) There is going to be a chance of complications in everything you do! The complications with a BA are extremely low. Q) What is the recovery time like? A) They say 6 weeks. I could start doing very light cardio (stationary bike) 2 weeks post op. Light legs 4 weeks post op and light upper body (no chest) 6 weeks post op. Q) Did you feel bloated? How long for? A) I was very bloated, I felt awful for about 10 days. Q) Are you limited in what you can do afterwards? A) The first 48 hours I couldn’t do very much for myself. Once I got back to Brisbane my partner had to do a lot of things for me, and help me get changed and dry myself etc. I had a lot more moment in my arms as the weeks went on. Q) What’s the difference between over the muscle and under the muscle? Why did you choose under the muscle? A) Under the muscle requires more recovery time, but it looks a lot more natural. From what I have heard, above the muscle your implants will move quite a lot when your arms move. I didn’t like the sound of that, and I didn’t want them to look like bolt on’s. Which is why I decided on under the muscle. Q) Did you get silicone or saline? A) Silicone Q) Does a boob job affect breastfeeding? A) From what I have heard, no. But I am not even thinking about kids at this stage. This is the question to ask your surgeon Q) Do they feel fake? A) The first few weeks they were as hard as a rock! They didn’t move and it was a weird sensation, but they started to get softer. Now I am 6 weeks post op and they are quite soft, and they can move. They will continue to soften, drop and fluff. Q) How long does it take for them to be fully dropped? A) It can take up to 6 months to a year for them to be fully settled! Q) Where did they insert the implants? Under the breast, underarm or through the belly button? A) They went under the breast Q) Do you have any scars? Are they noticeable? A) Yes I have scars. They aren’t noticeable unless I lift up my boobs or if I am laying down, but I am using bio oil on them daily Q) Did you get any bruising? A) Nope, I was lucky and didn’t have any bruising. However, everyone is different. Q) Can you train chest afterwards if you went under the muscle? A) I believe you can in time, however I have chosen to not train chest now Q) How did your family react? A) My parents & partner have known I have wanted a boob job for MANY years, so it was no shock to them. However if they didn’t approve I wouldn’t really care to be honest. It wouldn’t have changed my mind : ) Q) How long do you have to sleep on your back? When can you start sleeping on your side or stomach? A) Everyone will be different! But I started on sleeping fairly upright on about 4-5 pillows, after a week I went to 3-4 then after 2 weeks I started sleeping pretty flat on 2 pillows. About 3-4 weeks post op I would roll on my side during my sleep and when I realised and moved back my breasts would ache. However for the last week or so I have just been sleeping on my side without any pain, and occasionally wake up and I have been sleeping on my stomach, sometimes its comfortable and sometimes it hurts a little bit. Q) How much time off would I need off work? That is completely dependant on what your surgeons recommend what you do for work! Q) How long do you have to wear the post op bra? A) They recommend for 6 weeks. I wear a sports bra with thin straps if I am going out, but wear the post op bra to bed. Q) When can you start wearing an underwire bra? A) 6 weeks post op Q) Do you nipples and breasts feel numb? A) Mine were completely numb for a while. I am slowly getting sensation back in my nipples, and my breasts are only a little bit numb still in some areas
Q) How long where you in recovery once you woke up? A) Not very long at all! I woke up, the nurse dressed me, sat me down, I had some food and water, walked around abit then left and went back to the hotel to rest. Q) How did you feel as soon as you woke up A) This was my first operation, I was so confused when I woke up, I cried haha. I didn’t feel any pain, just felt out of it and a bit tight in the chest. Q) Anything you recommend to bring to the op? A) Don’t bring anything to the operation, but if you are travelling interstate like I did, I recommend asking for extra pillows if you are staying in a hotel, wear button up, or zip up comfortable clothing, neck pillow! Q) Did you have to travel back to Sydney for check up appointments? No, I stay in contact with them via email, and phone calls. Any questions I have I email them and the lovely post op nurse always calls me and answers my questions directly.
I am EXTREMELY happy with how everything went, I am so happy with them and I couldn’t thank Dr Kwok enough. He was a great surgeon, so easy to talk to and he knew exactly what I wanted! The whole team at TCI made me feel completely at ease. The environment at The Cosmetic Institute was just so fun and positive! I couldn’t have picked a better place to get it done. Any other questions, contact them!