Breast Augmentation (NSFW)

All you wanted to know about my experience

What does nearly every transgendered girl want? Breasts. Like most girls, it was a dream of mine for many years and was one of my first major goals in transition to achieve.

For years I had always thought of myself having C cup breasts. I really do not know why I thought this, perhaps it’s because my mother has a size C chest. In any case, C was the size I stuffed my bras to when I did not have breasts and the size of silicone inserts I later purchased to replace the socks, bird seed filled pantyhose, etc… It just “looked” right in the mirror.

After I was hired at my first job out of university I began saving my money. It was not easy though with other expenses such as HRT to pay for, let alone the rest of life’s bills. A couple of bonuses at work helped out a lot. I think I saved for about three years before I was able to afford the surgery.

I read as much as I could about breast augmentation. The pros, the cons, real life experiences both transgendered girls and cisgendered girls alike. I began researching local surgeons and calling their offices inquiring about the price. To say the least, I was rather discouraged as the average price for the surgery was between $8,000 and $10,000! One down side to living in Florida is that this is a pretty vain state, meaning, it seems that so many people care so much about their appearance and altering it that plastic surgeons can charge those prices in this market.

Fortunately, I met another transgirl through a group therapy session that my therapist hosts monthly. She is slightly younger than I, by a few years. We went out one night and she told me about a surgeon in Clearwater that did her breasts for $2,500. I was surprised and immediately thought if this surgeon was legit although I never asked that. I read online that the best method to judge a surgeons work was to see it and feel it first hand. She offered to show off her breasts that night and honestly, they looked natural. There was no tell-tale rounded definite shape like you see so often and they were really “squishy” feeling, much like natural breasts felt.

After that evening I came into contact with a few other women that had breast augmentation by the same surgeon and I was able to experience a few more examples of his work. I was convinced at this point that based on the chests I had seen, prior patients being transgendered, and the price that he was the surgeon for me. Now, keep in mind that I do not have “the letter” from my therapist saying whatever it is that needs to be said to allow a surgeon enough confidence that I was ready for breast augmentation. Honestly, I did not even think about it and during this period I did not see my therapist much at all to discuss this so it never really had the chance to come up during a therapy session.

So I made a consultation appointment and within a few weeks I was in his office. Dr. Brown’s office is located in downtown Clearwater, only a few blocks from the Intracoastal Waterway. It is a charming two story renovated bungalow. When I arrived I was greeted by one of his employees and asked to fill out patient information forms. There were other girls waiting for their appointments, not anyone that I could recognize as being transgendered. I sat quietly in a room that was once a dining room.

I was called in and greeted by one of Dr. Brown’s assistants. I believe she was his wife but I cannot be certain. I was asked to take off my shirt and wear something that resembled a hospital gown. When the doctor entered I was surprised at his age. Never-the-less, he went on to discuss my options and examine my chest. He said that I’d have a gap between my breasts because my chest was too wide and that my nipples would be located on the high side of the breast. My only option at this time was saline implants. I walked away from this consultation informed and feeling good that I had started the ball rolling on something that I had dreamed of for most of my life.

It was not until about four months later that I had all the money saved up to actually go ahead with the surgery. In February of 2007 I had made another appointment with the doctor. By this time the FDA had approved silicone gel implants for breast augmentation! This really was good news because this type of implant was really what I wanted mainly because of the feel of the breast. Silicone gel implants have a more “natural” feel to them when touched by others (at least from what I understood). However, I was informed by Dr. Brown that I could not get silicone gel because I was not biologically a female. WTF?

By the time I had left Dr. Brown’s office, I was all paid up for saline implants and had an appointment at the hospital for blood work and to pay the anesthesiologist and operating room costs. Dr. Brown’s office did not handle all that for reasons I cannot recall. For the size I chose, I actually left it entirely up to the doctor. I had made the suggestion I wanted size C breasts and the one stipulation that I wanted to as big as possible but still look natural. My end goal was really to not be out of the ordinary in breast size. Looking back, I’m surprised I put so much trust into him.

The date was set, February 15, 2007!

Immediately after the pre-op I head over to the hospital where the surgery was to take place. The hospital is only a few blocks from Dr. Brown’s office. I had a little interesting experience while registering at the hospital for my surgery. The receptionist, after receiving the paperwork I completed, asked me if my social security number was correct. I said yes and he said that my social was for a male. He was very professional about asking me what my gender was and although I felt a little embarrassed it did not turn out to be a big deal.

After my encounter with registration, I had to pay the anesthesiologist her fee. I spoke with her for a little while asking questions. My main concern was basically not waking up or having an allergic reaction to the anesthetic. She assured me that even if I did have an allergic reaction, they were more than capable of counteracting it and keeping me safe. She also added in she was jealous of my hair which made me feel better. I do not like hospitals much.

The next day I called the FDA to inquire about this information about only anatomical females being eligible for cohesive silicone gel implants. It turned out that during the study to determine their safety, there was a stipulation that a patient had to be of certain age and be an anatomical female.

I informed Dr. Brown’s office of this new information and after some talking it was now my choice whether or not I want silicone gel implants. This decision was not as easy as I had thought. He informed me of a few facts:

Surgery Prep

Danielle drove me to the hospital for 8am and stayed with me as long as she could. She was my driver back home and my care-giver while I recover. It was not a big deal for her though since we lived together and she is my best friend.

As I filled out paper work I started to feel nervous. Seriously, I was choosing to go under the knife? Danielle was a great comfort though. She had already gone through SRS and really made me feel better reassuring me that everything was going to be OK. I eventually ended up in the OR prep area where I got dressed into one of those infamous hospital gowns but this one opened from the front, not the back.

Dr. Brown eventually appeared and talked to me a little bit while he took out a marker and started to draw dashed lines on my chest. He also took a few photographs I suppose for a before and after comparison. Probably the worst experience so far was the nurses who attempted three times to get an IV into my veins poking both arms. This was rather disturbing though because I seriously get anxious around needles.

It was about a little after 10am when I was wheeled up to the OR on the gurney. I was not given anything at this time to put me to sleep. I remember going up an elevator and entering the OR. The OR was decorated in a yellowish tile on the walls with a table in the center of the room. It reminded me of a scene from House. I was lifted up on the table, asked to count to 10 after the gas mask was applied. I think I made it to 5…

Post-op

The next thing that seemed to instantly happen afterwards was that I woke up in an entirely different room with Danielle by my side. I had been laying there for a couple of hours because it as almost 2pm at this time and the surgery was only to take about an hour. I was so out of it though. After I woke up I had to get dressed but to get dressed I needed to go down the hall a little bit to a different room, something like a checkup room at a doctors office. I remember it felt like a urinated all over the floor while I walked down the hall but that proved to be a figment of my mind.

I passed out on the way home from the hospital after vomiting once. When I got home I laid on the couch for the rest of the day sleeping on and off while vomiting in between. The anesthesia can make you sick feeling afterwards for a little while. Surprisingly, I was not in any pain; however that could of been due to the pain killer. I was prescribed a few medications for recovery: 1. a pain killer, Vicodin, 2. a muscle relaxer, Valium, and 3. a sleeping aid that I do no recall.

The next day I had a follow up scheduled. This was the first time I would see my new chest because it has been wrapped up in a compression bandage. To be honest, I was actually scared to see my chest because I expected bruising and just plain nastiness from having 350cc worth of silicone stuffed into my chest through three inch incisions. This was not the case though. Besides the very rounded appearance they looked great although the nurse said they are larger than they are supposed to be due to swelling.

Several weeks passed before I had the stitches removed. During this time recovery was unexpectedly pleasant. Don’t get me wrong, I had pain but for the most part I had stopped taking pain killers after a couple of days. I never really had any bad swelling and bruising was nonexistent. I was relieved because I would of been grossed out by any kind of bruising! I took official measurements, 34 inches around my chest and 39 inches around my bust. That is a 5 inch difference meaning a full C cup

I was allowed to resume HRT at this point. It was a relief. I just didn’t feel myself being off HRT for the past 2 months. I didn’t have any hot flashes but I did feel rather unfeminine. Another welcomed allowance was being able to wash my chest, like in a shower with soap. Up until this point I was instructed to keep the incision area and bandages dry thus preventing me from really doing anything but sponging the surrounding area with soap and water. Cleaning yourself with a sponge just really never feels like you’re cleaning yourself, ick.

Years later…

I have absolutely no regrets about getting breast augmentation. In fact, I’ll state that it has been the second best thing I could have done to help my self-esteem. I have no regrets about the size of my breasts although I think I may opt for a tad larger when I get them replaced at that magical 15 year-ish mark. It sounds rather superficial but having boobs makes me feel good about myself. It gives me a level of confidence in public that a pair of falsies could never achieve.

The silicone-gel implants feel natural and stay rather perky and young looking. I don’t get much bounce to them but I’ve learned that it’s not such a bad thing. When they have bounced because of strenuous activity such as working out, it hurts! A down side which isn’t really that important is that you are not supposed to wear bras with underwires because the wire can rub against your skin and irritate it bad from pressing against the implant. There just aren’t any cute wireless bras out there!

The negative side affects that occurred are:

So, a word from the wise:

1 Year Before BAThe size of my breasts before breast augmentation the following year.

Incisions (Days After)Taken days after my breast augmentation.

Top Down View (Days After)Taken days after my breast augmentation.

Frontal View (Days After)Taken days after my breast augmentation.

Incisions (1 Month)Taken 1 month after my breast augmentation.

Top Down View (1 Month)Taken 1 month after my breast augmentation.

Incisions (4 Years)Taken 4 years after my breast augmentation.

Frontal View (4 Years)Taken 4 years after my breast augmentation. The left breast appears somewhat deformed in shape because I have had some muscle contracture occur on that breast.

Side Profile (4 Years)Taken 4 years after my breast augmentation.