I had lap-band surgery in October, 2007. It took some time (and lot’s of effort), but I managed to lose 110 lbs.

Like many of you, I was thrilled with the weight loss, but, very uncomfortable in my own (sagging) skin. Specifically, my breasts. After losing the weight, my breasts were elongated, droopy and resembled deflated balloons. Very unattractive, to say the least.

I’ve always had large breasts, no matter what the scale reflected. I decided to have breast reduction surgery, and started searching for a surgeon.

My criteria was quite simple; must be board certified in Plastic Surgery, close to my home, easy to talk to (not all “doctor-ish”), and perhaps most important – results!

I found Dr. Kasden in Southlake, Texas. He had a Web site with lots of pictures, and I immediately liked what I saw.

I made an appointment, and within 2 weeks was in his office. I instantly liked him. He was very casual, yet professional. Exactly what I was searching for.

At this point in time, I had lost about half my weight, still had quite a bit to go. Dr. Kasden was candid, and advised it was not the right time for my surgery. For optimal results, I should be within 10-15 lbs of my “goal”. He explained doing surgery then was not in my best interest. Breast size will change as a direct result of my weight, and doing the surgery while still planning to lose 50 additional pounds was not ideal. Although the news was disappointing, I appreciated his honesty.

He then took measurements and we talked for over an hour. I left his office feeling highly motivated to lose the weight and come back as soon as possible!

Fast forward 6 months. I did lose the weight, and made another appointment as soon as I hit the 10-15 pound range. Things took off very quickly!

Dr. Kasden took measurements again, and my breasts hadn’t changed much at all. It was finally time to get the ball rolling! I met most of the criteria to have insurance cover the costs, and Dr. Kasden did all the rest. Within 8 weeks I was approved, and before I knew it, surgery was scheduled 2 days before Christmas!

I met with him several more times prior to surgery. He explained everything in detail, answered my same silly questions over and over. I took my mom with me at one point, and she had the same silly questions. He addressed all our concerns and made me feel very confident and comfortable.

The day of surgery is honestly a blur (luckily!). I have an extreme phobia of needles, blood, hospitals…. doctors in general. I was prescribed some valium to take before surgery, which helped ease my fears. Surgery went very well, and I was home that night. There was very little pain during recovery, and I’m a HUGE baby. I had a slight reaction to the antibiotics, and ended up calling Dr. Kasden Christmas night. I imagine my phone call was quite the intrusion, but, he was nothing but courteous and showed much concern. He opened his office the next morning to see me, and was diligent in aiding my recovery.

It’s been 6 weeks since surgery, and I’m absolutely thrilled with the results! Although my scars are new and “fresh”, I’m still 100% satisfied with my new perky and proportionate breasts! Dr. Kasden says they’ll only get better from here. It can take up to 6 months for the final result. I was back to work within 2 weeks, and wearing sexy bra’s from Victoria’s Secret within 6 weeks. Unbelievable!

For all of you wondering if breast reduction is worthwhile, I can say without any doubt that is most certainly is! I feel petite, and slender, and confident. My clothes look completely different, I walk completely different…it’s amazing! I went from a 38DD to a 34C. They fit my new frame perfectly. I can’t recommend Dr. Kasden enough. If anyone would like more information on Dr. Kasden, or, the surgery itself – please contact me directly.

Best of luck to all of you!

http://www.southlakeplasticsurgeon.com/

Does he do abdominoplasty also or strictly a boob guy?

It's a little early for me but it's really never to early to research and plan.

Never mind!! Went to his website and apparently he does tummy tuck too.

Edited February 3, 201016 yr by btrieger
Ansswered my own question

Oh sure, he does it all! Check out the pics on his Web site. His specialty is weight loss surgery patients. He's very familiar with the challenges we face once the weight is gone. He really is excellent. I can't tell you how thrilled I am with my breast! I'm thinking of a tummy tuck as well.... maybe.

Yankeerobin - thanks for posting your experience specifically with Breast Reduction. I have an appointment on Feb 15 with a Plastic Surgeon in the Columbus area that came highly recommended to me - a woman surgeon. I am going through the process of getting a medically necessary recommendation from my PCP - she wrote the letter and gave it to me right while I was in the office! Fabulous. That coupled with the size of my breasts -- 42G now down from 52DDD -- so I would love to be a C cup!!! I have never not known the pain of large breasts and am looking forward to having a chance to be more physically active.

I am also considering having my brachioplasty done on my arms (it is self-pay) to see if I can combine two surgeries together for 1 anesthesia fee, 1 hospital OR cost, follow up doctor visits, etc. since all of that would be covered by my Aetna insurance and then mostly just pay the surgeon extra cost for the additional surgery time/procedure. We'll see what she says. I figure if I am going to be bandaged up on the top, I would like to try to do them together.

Anybody else do BR and Brachioplasty together?

I have another year to go before I can get insurance approval for panniculectomy - and then I plan to pay to upgrade to abdominoplasty (out of pocket extra) at that point. My goal is to lose about 50 lbs this year before going forward with that surgery. I have not lost more in the top even though I am losing around the band size for my bra. I don't think (or at least I hope) my PS won't ask me to wait for 6 months for BR to see what else I lose. That would be disappointing and if she did, I definitely will get a second opinion.

Thanks for your post - you really have a lot of good information in it. Believe it or not, I live in the Dallas area and was already looking at Dr. Kasdan for when I am ready to move forward with a breast reduction. I still have around 50 pounds to go to get to my goal, and I have lost around 120, so it seems like I am very similar to where you were on your first visit.

I don't know how I will ever muster enough courage to go into a plastic surgeon's office and bare all, but I know it needs to be done. I was wearing an "I" cup before my surgery and I am now wearing 38DD. Because I know my body from years of yo-yo dieting, I don't really think that the cup size is going to go down much more.

Thanks again for sharing your information. It makes me feel a little better about the idea of going in for a consult - but I do think I will still wait until I am closer to my goal.

Sheri