Yesterday I had a follow up post op appointment with my spine surgeon. I had a 3 level cervical spinal fusion in June. I have also had a lower lumbar fusion in 2001 and I have severe arthritis in my mid spine that I am also dealing with.

I have lost nearly 30lbs since June when I had my surgery and it seems the closer you get to goal the more noticeable a 30lb loss is. This doctor is a big wig and has an ego the size of Texas but he is an exceptional spine surgeon and I really would not have felt comfortable having someone else do this surgery so I flew in from Wisconsin to have it done.

This doctor walked in the room and did a double take. After going through all the surgery details we were finishing up and he said, "Deb, have you lost more weight? You look stunning!"

That led to discussions about all the loose skin and I told him I still have another 24 to go to get to a healthy weight. He then asked me if I had lost a lot of breast tissue. Of course I laughed and said "yes, the girls have left the building along with my rear".

I told him I was planning on having some plastics to deal with bat wings, tummy, breasts and maybe even put a little back in my rear.

He then said he obviously deals with a lot of female patients with natural large breasts who have severe back problems but has never had someone who has had augmentation where they placed the implant under the muscle. He said that muscle really does a much better job and therefore those women don't have the same pain in their backs.he has had women with issues when the surgeon does not place the implant under the muscle.

It was actually great to hear from a renowned spine surgeon that getting breast augmentation is actually a better solution for those of us with back problems. Of course he said you would not wAnt to go crazy up in size.....

I do plan to go up a size to a full D. Of course my husband who is definately a boob guy then got all happy and told him thank you! He is all excited now because he gets new boobs! At least that's how he sees it LOL!

For those of you that have had plastics, when did you start shopping for a surgeon that would give you a plan? Did you wait until you had stabilized or did you start shopping ahead of time? I know that I definately want to wait for the actual surgery until I am at least 6 months stabile but I am not sure when I should start shopping.

@@Djmohr - since you are willing to travel and want to see the best in any field, check out http://www.paulsilversteinmd.com/about. He may be the best I've ever seen. The man is an artist and brilliant (if anyone has been burned and used silvadene, he is the creator of it...and never took a penny for it, it is his gift to humanity).

P.S. He may not like me saying this, but he loves women and really cares about how they look. He told a friend "her boobs look great and he would not operate on them until there was a problem." He's not going to steer you wrong.)

Interesting! My implants are under my pectoral muscles and while I can't say I really noticed back pain one way or the other, I do have large fake boobies, so it is good to know that in the future hopefully I won't have to worry about my back!

I had my first in-person plastics consult on Wednesday. It was definitely interesting. My three previous consults were virtual -- two MX docs one in DR. Wednesday I met with a Resident, Medical Student and Attending Physician over at Tampa General. There is a 50% off Resident option for plastics. I actually really liked the Resident but was less than thrilled with the Attending.

At any rate, 5 out of 5 docs agree that I need a breast lift -- an implant alone isn't going to cut it. So the Attending recommended a Mastopexy in two stages occuring 6 months apart. The first for the lift, then the implants six months later. I think I'm going to put it on the back burner for now and just get the Brachioplasty. I hate my arms more than my breasts right now. I can't even buy shirts in my size. Then next year I'm having a circumferential tummy tuck in the DR with a BBL.

Rock on Djmohr! Please keep us posted on your surgery and your results.

Thanks for this. I've wanted a tummy tuck since I was 22 years old. Now that I'm over 50, it's boobs too. In a perfect world, I'd get a thigh lift and brachioplasty too. For now though, I'll keep working on the weight loss. I've done so much research over the years, I'll need to find new docs...lol (they have retired now!)

I have nothing to add but my spine surgeon is total tool as well. I can't stand him. That's why I'm getting surgery. To avoid having to see him for more surgeries. Ugh.

Oh I do have something to add. I was a D cup in high school. My back hurt all. the. time.

I have D cup under the muscle implants and have never experienced any back pain from them at all. Not to sound gross but I think it's because they "sit there" rather then "hang there" so they aren't pulling on your back.

I have under the muscle implants as well... Though technically my surgeon said they are "biplane" I think that's what he called them. I asked him (as I did all my consults) whether he did under or over and he said about 3/4 is under and the last 1/4 is over which gives a more realistic shape.

Anyhow yeah no back problems at all and I run a lot so I challenge them daily!

I wish I had D cups though... They can't guarantee size with implants and typically chose what's most proportional by placing sizers while you are out and seeing what looks proportional... I do agree they look proportional and I would never have believed it looking at them, but because of my small band size (32) they are actually a DDD! They don't seem that big and really fit my body well, and I still wear a S/M top, but bras are not easy to find and pricey!