swelling/ size difference.. advice please?

ok guys.... i have a bit of a serious question.

so: guess most of you know i had just a lift, no implants. so its been a little harder for me to figure out exactly what to expect. // so its been 3 weeks, they are sort of settling in and im really starting to love them. //

now though something sort of unexpected has happened and i seriously want to ask what you guys think.

right out of surgery, it was very obvious that the left one was bigger. this one was also more bruised, more painful, and the scars were thicker. this one was -slightly- bigger to begin with and i figured that was why. the difference was previously totally unnoticable though. i figured it took more trauma in surgery and also figured because of that, it will also likely take longer to heal.

so: for the first week or so, i felt the size was perfect, and they seemed to match ok in clothes. however the size difference remains. // the swelling goes up and down, and when they are more swelled they seem to match better and i like the size of both.

at other times, it is very noticeable that the right one is quite a bit flatter. this is especially noticeable if i put on one of my old bras, the left side still fills the bra completely, the right side does not. at times the difference is very noticable, like a cup size difference. so i guess with no implants there wont be any 'fluffing' on the right side hehe.. guess the only option is for the left side to settle down and match the right.. //

my question:

how long should i wait before i think this might be a problem? // i know its only been 3 weeks. i am going to mention it to the dr next week. //

my other question: i know if they end up smaller than they were, that is just a risk i took, and im prepared to deal with that.. but.. what if they end up noticably asymmetrical?

since there was no noticable asymmetry before.. would this be grounds to ask for something to be fixed? and what could they do to fix it? this surgery even withiout implants cost almost $8000 (because i had to pay for anesthesia separately) and there is no way i could pay for another.

i could handle being smaller if they match, (though i prefer the swelled size hehe) but i dont really think i could handle noticable asymmetry after an $8000 op. what do you guys think. // im not really worrying yet but i want to know what you would do and how you might approach your dr about this. // hes been very conscientious and caring so far about everything and seemed to do an extremely professional job in pretty much every way. // i know its very early and i expect them to heal differently, but what do you guys think? //

i think what i really want to know is what to say to the dr and what i might expect // what exactly is conisdered grounds for being 'fixed' and does it vary dr to dr? thank you!

Hi, I think around by 3 months they should have settled and most swelling should have subsided. I had an uplift with 390 implants as well and had swelling probs to. I am 10 weeks po and still getting a little bit of swelling but mostly settled now. My right breast is definately bigger than my left and like you the scars are thicker on this one had more bruising etc so most have been the mischevious breast during surgery lol.

My ps says about 3 months to settle but also says you can't ever get both breasts looking exactly the same shape size etc but should wait until then.

All you can do is mention your concerns about the size difference at your next appointment so it is on your file, he will probably give you a time frame of how long to wait for them to settle and then ask him how the problem will be tackled if it still exists by then ie will it need a re-op and at who's cost etc.

Don't panic to much though as it is still early days and they have alot of settling to do and they will go through so many changes. Good luck hunny xx

thank you i will try to stay cool what was really the problem is i hadn't yet been able to wear -any- bra for support and it was starting to freak me out.. // they gave me prednisione last week, to help the reaction to the surgical glue.. (that i got from trying on a bunch of way too tight bras that didn't fit!!!! GRRRRR! and ouch! the ladies in the bra store were very rough and made my incisions bleed and my skin had an allergic reaction after that i was very upset and it really hurt)

since then things have calmed down a lot and i can wear at least one of my old bras, and with that, the shape is starting to feel more normal and start to settle around the the front and be more full and look more normal in clothes which is what i was hoping for. // i dont really expect exact evenness in reality but just, you know, basicaly visual evenness. being able to wear a real bra is really helping and i know i have months to go before they really settle. ^^ i think im doing pretty good actually for 3 weeks right now, now that awful rash is gone, that was very painful. // thanks very very much for the encouragement.

if the swelling of your breasts is still going up and down, then you're still very much healing sweetness, I really wouldn't have a clue on what to tell you about the healing time for an uplift alone, but I suspect less then with having an augmentation too as there is less trauma to the breast.

I wouldn't panic hun, but if you're overly concerned I'd give your clinic a quick call after the holidays hun and ask the 'general' healing time you should expect for an uplift alone hunni. xx

thank you very much cookie your daughter is so pretty!!!!!!! haha i love her user name ^^

i see them on tuesday and maybe i will just wear some of my usual clothes, and see what it looks like in them. // if i can see a difference wearing my usual clothes i will point it out and ask what they think. they told me before things will setlle around to the front with time and settling time is 3 months up to a year.. if wearing a normal bra i look about the same in clothes, that is what i wanted. //

really didn't expect it to be so uncommon to just have a lift alone! @@ in my case he said even if i wanted implants too he would only do it in stages, just his preference i guess he wanted things to settle before adding anything... // @@ i will ask on tuesday.

I think it's just a surgeons preference babe, I have heard of surgeons prefering the uplift and aug as two seperate ops, but not that many.

Good luck at your consultation on tuesday hunni and thank you for the compliment about my daughter and yeah, she sure did pick a cracking name didn't she! haha! xx