Why I Got My Breast Implants Removed (my experience with explant surgery)
First, a little raw and revealing love note from me to you. This is one of those posts that I know in my heart can help people, and I think it’s part of my responsibility not only as a blogger, but as a fitness professional, to not just share fun pictures of workouts and food, but to show the struggles and obstacles that come along, too.
But letting you in on some of these moments that are more personal and private means that I’m putting myself out there for criticism and judgement. To be totally honest, I wrote this post, trashed it…and then brought it back. So, as you read, please know that I’m as vulnerable as anyone else, and while questions and even dissenting opinions are always welcomed, any personal attacks on me or anyone else who comments and weighs in will be removed.
Breast Implant Removal Results: My Explant Surgery Story
Why I Got My Breast Implants Removed
Recently, just a little over 11 years after having my breast implants put in, I had them taken out.
Aesthetically, they stood the test of time, and still looked pretty darn good.
They were soft and I had no capsular contracture.
So why the heck did I say goodbye?
They starting hurting almost two years ago, and it slowly turned from a dull pain to a burning sensation.
It started in the fall of 2015, shortly after I had P. I figured it was a fluke from breastfeeding and pregnancy, so I waited it out until she was a year old before going to ask about it. I visited my plastic surgeon’s office in Tucson over Thanksgiving, and had them checked out to make sure nothing was wrong. The doctor assured me it was just hormonal, and that if it didn’t get worse, to leave them alone. Well, they continued to get worse, and it reached the point where I fantasized about ripping them out from my skin. It went from being an inconvenience, to a “these things have to be out of my body now.”
Some Facts About Breast Implants
-According to the FDA, they’re not intended to be lifetime medical devices. You will need to have your implants removed or replaced when (not “if”) you have problems with them (usually pain, rupture, and/or capsular contracture). The life of a breast implant depends on so many different factors. Some women can have them for two years and need a replacement, others can have theirs for 22 years without problems. The type of implant and fill volume can impact this, too. If you have saline implants, you’ll almost immediately know that you have a rupture (because it will deflate quickly) and with silicone, you could potentially have a rupture and not know. With saline, if they used valves to fill the implant, you could have a “slow leak” and be unaware that it’s rupturing, but the salt water is absorbed by the body. Saline implants are in a silicone shell.
-My plastic surgeon had told me that they would “last a lifetime” but now it’s commonly recommended that they should be replaced every 10-15 years. Since you need to replace implants, possibly multiple times over the course of your life, I decided that I wanted to be free of them. I could have gotten mine replaced, but know I’d need a future breast surgery (or surgeries) to maintain them, or I could just stop with the surgeries already. I decided to roll with the latter, especially since I had two surgeries last year (one to repair a severed nerve in my hand, and the other was a repair after P was born and I wasn’t stitched correctly. woof) and 6 weeks of downtime sucks.
My Decision to Get My Breast Implants Removed
When I first got my breast implants, I 100% made the best decision for myself at the time. I remember riding in the car to surgery and not feeling the least bit concerned about the result; I was so excited to finally have symmetrical, regular-sized boobs! I was looking forward to being *even* again since I had a benign tumor removed when I was in college.
My implants were, by far, one of the best purchases I’ve ever made, and I’ve never regretted it. They’ve been with me through a lot: our wedding, many moves, 3 deployments, 2 babies, and a lot of sports bras and workouts. 😉 Even though I enjoyed them and thought they looked awesome, they never defined me. That’s why I felt similarly going into this surgery: even though I was nervous (anesthesia always freaks me out a bit), I was confident I was making the best possible decision, and was ready to let them go.
Breast Implant Removal and Diastasis Recti Repair
I did a lot of research in the process, and found a Plastic Surgeon in Atlanta who is double-board certified and does implant removals often. When I called the office, his receptionist said he does 4-5 explants per week, and has been for the five years since she’s worked there. He’s so kind, and Facetimed me three times to answer all of my questions. His bedside manner made me feel at ease, especially paired with the fact that he had hundreds of awesome reviews online and lots of great testimonials.
Since I was already going to be knocked out and under the knife, I made another decision: to have my abdominal muscles repaired. After working to rehab my diastasis recti for the past year and a half, it got to its *best* point, which still left me with protrusion around my belly button and abnormal ab separation. As Katy Bowman would say, sometimes the connective tissue becomes a “quitter,” like an old sock. Friends, my linea alba was a quitter after growing and birthing two babies (one of whom was 10 lb 13 oz and stretched me out to the max). I wasn’t stoked about the recovery time, but my heart was telling me to go for it. So, I did. While he repaired my abdominal muscles, he also got rid of the excess skin from being stretched out so much.
Thoughts About Plastic Surgery
I’ve always been an advocate of making the best decision for yourself; no one else. If you have the means and desire to change something, do it! Excess skin following weight loss and ab separation post-pregnancy are things I’ve seen so often with my personal training and postpartum clients. They hit their goal weight, but are left with a lot of loose skin which honestly will not likely disappear over time. With DR, sometimes you can repair it to the point where it’s within a normal, functional, range again; other times, it can be so stretched out that the tissue doesn’t have the ability to fully recover. My doctor told me my abs were still a solid 3 fingers apart, and that’s after 8 months of Physical Therapy and daily rehab exercises.
Women on Instagram and celebrities will sometimes say they look awesome because they “work their ass off.” They also got lucky. So many women work hard, eat clean, and are super consistent, and left with things that will not change, no matter what they do. You can’t change skin elasticity, and you can’t physically repair connective tissue. I have to admit that it was really frustrating to work daily on my core rehab, work out wisely, and eat extremely clean, and know that nothing I did would change the appearance of my skin or the protrusion of my stomach.
Even though having smooth skin again is awesome, I really wanted the functionality of my core to be restored. I’ve been modifying exercises for so long, and wanted the freedom to do everything I used to do, without feeling like I was compromising or overcompensating. If I did the full ab series in my barre classes, I looked pregnant afterwards because it was so much stress on my connective tissue. After filming the HIIT workouts for our last Winter Shape Up, I was severely bloated and had back pain for the rest of the week. Any time I did anything that wasn’t DR-friendly -and most of the time I was really good about sticking with *safe* exercises- I paid the price, usually with back pain, or uncomfortable intense bloating.
Honesty and Transparency
I wanted to share this story with you and be completely honest with my situations. I wanted to share this for any of the mamas or friends out there who may be having issues with their breast implants, or struggling with abnormal ab separation postpartum.
I feel like there’s a lot of dishonesty in the fitness world, and the online world in general. There are Instagrammers who post these gooey decadent food photos, and throw them in the trash to eat chicken and broccoli instead. There are fitness celebrities hawking a healthy diet and exercise plan when they’re loading up on steroids and fat loss pills. There are a LOT of people who have gotten plastic surgery, and haven’t said a word about it. It’s all “Buy my diet plan!” even though they had lipo and a lot of Photoshop.
This is where the gray area comes in. If you have Botox, and someone comments on your beautiful, smooth skin, do you HAVE to tell them you had Botox?? I don’t think so. But, if you make your living promoting healthy skin and selling a skin rejuvenation program, I think it would be important to share.
This is one of the reasons why I want to share this story. (In addition to the fact that I’m an oversharer and like being real with you all.) You guys know what I look like. I eat well, I exercise, I enjoy life and drink a lot of red wine. I also promote health and fitness, and doing what’s best for you, and what makes you happy. I want everyone to live their best and happiest life possible.
My Body After Plastic Surgery
I had something done that altered my boobs (they’re tiiiiiiiny again! and they also don’t ache and burn anymore) and my stomach is totally different, though I’m the same size. (My separation is repaired, and my wrinkled skin is smoothed out. I also have a visible scar. I also got a lift at the time of explant so I wouldn’t have deflated water balloons.) But you guys who know me and read the blog know I didn’t do this as a way to swindle or cheat anyone. I’ll continue to promote my post baby bod plan; all of the photos within are indeed my post baby bod, and I have zero plans to reshoot them. But now you know any pictures from now on where my stomach looks different, it was the combo of my hard work over the years, plus the repair from Dr. Ghazi. He ended up not needing to do lipo (which is awesome because I heard it could be painful), and just stitched my abs back together, pulled my skin down and made a new hole for my belly button to live. While my breasts look tiny compared to what they were, they feel amazing. They’re free of the large bags that were making my entire chest ache and burn, and I feel a lightness. I can take a big, deep breath again, and man, it feels awesome.
Just after surgery:
What I Learned From Explant Surgery and Diastasis Recti Repair
During this whole experience, I fully realized that health is wealth. My boobs looked great, but were causing me significant pain, so I was happy to get them taken out. Now that the implants are gone, I LOVE my new (aka old) boobs. They’re small and perky and cute, and ME. I couldn’t be happier with the results.
As far as the implants go, I’ve done a lot of research, and started to discover that thousands of women all over the world are having problems with theirs. When I asked my naturopath if he had any suggestions about how I could heal the pain they were causing me, he said that the burning and aching was an immune response to a foreign invader. Some people do well with implanted devices in their bodies, while others start to reject them.
I also learned about breast implant illness, which is how I found the Facebook group I’m currently in. I learned that thousands have suffered various ailments from the implants (silicone and saline), and I feel like they definitely may have contributed to the fact that I persistently felt exhausted, had increased depression and anxiety (I always had anxiety but didn’t suffer from panic attacks until the summer I had them put in), numbness and cold in my limbs, and dry, red eyes. Over the past couple of years, I got comments saying I looked tired or worn down. I felt tired and worn down. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the pain and inflammation in my body, or the fact that I am indeed getting older. You can’t really pinpoint what caused what, but I can say I feel markedly better after having them removed, which is all the matters. The constant pain and burning is gone, so I’m calling it a win. When I told a good friend and teaching coworker that I was having mine removed, she told me that she had also gotten rid of hers after they began to wreck havoc in her body, and it was the best thing she ever did.
I don’t want to share this story to freak anyone out who has breast implants. If you have them and you feel great, that is amazing news. This is just my story; it doesn’t necessary mean it will be your story, and I’m just sharing my experience. My implants had reached their figurative expiration date, and my body was letting me know. I don’t hate on plastic surgery at all -I just had some more to fix my core!- and wholeheartedly believe that it’s a personal decision.
My husband is the best man in the world, and I’ve never felt so loved on by our tribe. When I first told Tom that my implants were hurting, he was like, “How do we fix it?” and has supported me along the entire way. He wanted me to get them out as soon as possible, and made me feel so cared for and loved while I was recovering, with drains sticking out of my body and scars and bandages everywhere. He lifted me out of bed when I could hardly walk, set alarms for my medicine, changed wound dressings, emptied drains, REMOVED said drains (I was terrified but it was NBD), and it brings me to tears when I think about how much love and support he gives to all of us. My madre was here, helping us wrangle the girls, making food, doing laundry, giving everyone baths, and here to keep us company at night. We were helped out so much by our friends here in town, and I feel overwhelmed with gratitude and love for all of the wonderful people we’re so blessed to have in our life.
What’s Next
Here I am, 5 1/2 weeks after surgery! It’s been hard to take time off from the gym -gosh, I love those endorphins- but I’ve been walking in between Netflix sessions. I’ve enjoyed just being: enjoying the girls, relaxing, just taking it easy and loving on my family.
I’m not going to flood the blog with posts about this, but I do have a post about recovery + some tips that I may be publishing in the next week or so. I just wanted to wait and see how this goes over with everyone. (aka if people are being hater-y about it, I might just let it be.)
So there’s my story. Thank you so much for reading and for your kind and heartfelt comments as I continue to heal. I’m thankful to all of you for being here, and for all of your support on life’s crazy adventures over the years.
xo
Read about my recovery and healing timeline after surgery.
348 Comments
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Yay! Welcome back to the iddy biddy club! Yes, how I deal with life…in awkward comments. It typically goes over better after the crowd has had a few drinks.
So proud of your bravery! So many difficult topics and you faced them head on, front stage, naked, in a crowd full of friends and strangers.
Thank you for being transparent, keeping it real, and remaining true. You are beautiful because of your inner beauty! <3
Thank you for sharing your story and I’m glad to hear that all went well and that you feel so much better! You are such an inspiration to many.
Yay for feeling better!! I’m so happy for you and as others said, your honesty is what makes us love you and keep coming back to read.
I have a quick question as I have DR and have gone down the Katy B rabbit hole – post surgery will you still have to watch for exercises that may make it stretch out again? I guess I’m just wondering if/how your exercising will change solely in regards to the surgery, and the long term outlook for it. (Maybe I’ll just read your recovery post!!! )
I think you’re so brave to share this! It’s what makes you one of my favourite bloggers, you’re so real and honest and not afraid to talk about things. I really think it would potentially help other women. I would be interested to hear more, particularly about the skin removal, as I am currently working to lose weight and something I am really paranoid about is having loose skin afterwards, I know it’s something I would definitely get removed myself (I need to lose around 100lbs in total, lost 42lbs so far!)
As always thank you so much for your lovely blog and sharing, I think you’re awesome 🙂
Gina, thank you so much for sharing your story! After breastfeeding each of my 3 children for about a year each, (they are now 22, 20 & 16 – yikes!!) and one of them being over 10 pounds, I too had diastasis recti repair and the excess skin removed from my lower belly. I also got breast implants. This was almost 15 years ago now! The time has gone so fast and looking back, I’m glad I made the decision to have those surgeries. It really did change my life and boost my confidence level. My implants are still okay, but I have a feeling there will come a day where they will need to be removed, and will likely need a lift and possibly more implants. Hopefully, I have some time before I have to make that decision. Wishing you the speediest of recoveries! The DR repair was probably the most painful thing ever to recover from, I’m glad the worst part of your recovery is over now!
This was an amazing blog post! I thank you for being so honest. I tend to beat myself up when I see some fitness bloggers on social media because of how “perfect” they look after having a baby. It is something that I always strive for and when I don’t see the results they have I get discouraged. This is amazing info to have. Thank you
I hope you feel better and are up and after those girls as soon as possible. You sure have been through the wringer with medical issues here lately, and my heart goes out to you.
I have been following your blog for, goodness, like a decade?! And I just want to say that, although I have no experience with implants or plastic surgery, I really appreciate your honesty. I have tiny boobs, and one is bigger than the other, and I have pondered the idea of implants for years but just never pulled the trigger. I agree that it’s a personal choice, just like many other “hot topic” choices people tend to get SO hot and bothered about (whether to breastfeed, whether to have kids at all!, whether to be a stay at home mom or work, etc). All that matter is doing what is best for you. Props to you for doing what makes you happy and healthy. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you’re one of the few that remain honest and true to yourself. I’m glad you were able to fix and heal yourself, even if it requires surgery to get you back to feeling like you again!
One of the things that does drive me crazy in social media is all the dishonesty. I know i can always count on you to be real with what you’re eating, doing, and just being you. Keep being you!
Wishing you a speedy recovery! I also have DR, and will likely need surgery. Thank you for being so honest about your experience. <3
Thanks for sharing I love your honesty!
Gina, Gina, Gina, thank you for this honesty! This is the most refreshing thing I’ve read in a while.
I especially appreciate your saying that lots of women look awesome not just because they “work their asses off”, but because they are lucky. Muscle definition and lean body comp definitely come partly from hard work, but the role of genetics is undeniable. Bodies are different, and I’m tired of hearing people say “you could look like me if you just commit!” That’s bullshit. Props to you for keeping the fitness community honest.
Thank you for sharing such a personal story. ????
Thank you for sharing your experience! I am considering surgery to fix DR and look forward to reading the future post on your recovery experience. So glad to hear that you are on the mend. Love your honesty and all you share with us.
Thanks for sharing!
What a wonderful post. Love your honesty! I totally loved the nursing boob days when they were a size D, but being a chronic size A is much easier on the body as an athlete 😉 Good for you for doing what you felt was right for your body 🙂
I totally did not know that breast implants need replaced.t I’ve thought about getting them regularly- but now I’m not so sure I’d want to do it, to do it again. I also did not know that they abdominal wall could be repaired. Thank you so much for sharing this post; it’s hard to put yourself out there. As a long time reader and fellow blogger, I appreciate the realness- as you wrote, so much of what we see is fake. Hope you are recovering well!
Good for you! I think it’s wonderful that you did something for you and that you had the courage to post about it. People can be especially cruel to women who want to feel good about themselves after having a baby, like it is our duty to be a martyr, both physically and emotionally, to our children. I had a daughter right around the time you had P and have worked hard both on my own and in physical therapy to heal my DR and still have a large gap. I’m dreaming of the day when I can get surgery to fix it and refuse to feel shame or guilt about the fact that I want to have my body back and to be pain free. I’m looking forward to hearing more updates, hope your recovery continues to go well.
Thank you for sharing with such honesty! I’ve followed your blog since your move to San Diego and thoroughly enjoy it! 🙂
Wishing you a fast recovery!! I love how honest you are here and really appreciate the bravery of posting this deeply personal post. Sending love and good vibes!
You are very brave, and awesome for sharing!! Nothing is more important than our health and feeling good in our body.
Thanks for sharing this! I have a friend who has been toying with getting implants for some time, I will pass this along to her. Being honest and open about your experiences is one of the reasons I can’t stop reading your blog. Glad you have such a wonderful support system, that means the world. Hope you continue to heal well and get back to your badass fitness self soon!
This was a wonderful post. Thank you so much for sharing.
Gina, I love you.
Gina- thank you. Thank you for ALWAYS being so honest, raw and real. This is why I’ve continued to follow you and look up to you as a mentor and idol. You’re such an amazing human, the best wife and the absolute best momma. Never stop sharing, you change lives for all of us. <3
Thanks for sharing Gina. Prayers for continued recovery.
Thanks for being transparent. You seem approachable and relatable in your approach to life and fitness. Thank you!
Gina-once again, thank you for sharing what most people shy away from. Without your transparency and honest posts, I never would have had the courage to push my OB for surgery to repair my own issues after the birth of my second. Now, I realize that there might be light at the tunnel with my DR issues. Despite completing PBB and PBB Advanced, and every Summer and Winter Shape up, I definitely have a ‘pooch’. Cheers to feeling better and stronger and for sharing tips that help readers in ways you don’t even know!!!
Long time reader, never comment. Just wanted to say thanks for keeping it real, you’re the best Gina!
Thank you for your honesty, it feels like a breath of fresh air to have women supporting women.
Xoxo
Hi Gina. Just writing in to show my support. This post comes at the right time when I am also struggling with some health condition where I have yet to find the right diagnosis. Test after test and the wait is killing. Partly wanting to know the answer but am too afraid of the possibilities (being a pessimist). Waking up daily hoping that whatever is happening in my body will go away on its own. The worst part of this whole experience is, it is not something I could openly share with anyone. It’s embarrassing and people may be judgemental and non supportive.
I’m glad that you shared such a personal story. Thanks again Gina. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Gina, you are lovely and brave. I’ve read your blog for a long time, maybe from the beginning, and I’m sure we could be friends. Keep doing your thing and putting truth out into the world. I’m so glad you are recovering well. Bravo! xoxo, Amy
Good for you!
Thank you for once again being brave and honest, and sharing such a personal story! We all have to do what is best for ourselves and our bodies, and what is best for us can change over time. I have women in my life who have been through similar surgeries, and the more we talk about it, the more we can lessen the stigma around it. I hope people respond with compassion, but if they don’t, to paraphrase T Swift…Haters gonna hate, so shake it off-as soon as you have approval from your doctor to shake it off, that is 😉
Gina, thank you for sharing your story!! You are going to help so many people out – just the information/facts alone are powerful but also your personal experience is priceless and so real. Thanks for being open and honest and feel free to post again on this subject!!! 🙂
Thank you for this open post! I have been contemplating having my implants removed. I’ve had some unexplainable symptoms & shoulder pain that I feel are a result to the implants. I’ve had mine for 5 years.
Did you have any type of reconstruction after the removal?
You rock! I’ve always admired you and you’ve always been my favorite blogger and ifanposts like this that just re-affirm my girl crush Hahaha thanks for being so honest and transparent! I’m all for women doing what makes them feel their best and most confident selves! Your transparency is so refreshing in an industry plagued by a lot of dishonesty and “half truths”. So glad you’re recovering well!
I have always appreciated your honesty on this topic. Thank you for your forthrightness – it makes a difference!
So many people connect with you because of your honesty and rawness. I can honestly say as a food blogger and nutritionist that it bothers me tremendously when I see someone posting a “healthy” dessert recipe that isn’t in the least bit healthy. I always wonder if they really eat it. That’s why I never post foods I never eat myself. Of course, there’s a lot of people who give me slack for not posting more gooey recipes but I told myself when I started blogging I would always be true to myself no matter what the rest of the world said. Thanks for sharing and making me feel like I’m not so alone in that. Hope you have a speedy recovery!
Thank you so much for your honesty and sharing your story. It is so nice/helpful in life to hear other people’s real stories. I am glad you are recovering well. Also, you are just as beautiful as ever right after surgery!
this is why i follow you! i would never get plastic surgery but am fascinated and sobered about the truth and your experience. esp bc its ur heart to help other women. as a fellow pt, u r better equipping me to help my clients! thank you and enjoy your new body and workouts!!!!
Thanks for sharing your experience! I was considering implants in the future post baby, it’s something I will think twice about for sure! I didn’t know that you could have plastic surgery to fix DR so that’s great news for all women!
Glad you’re feeling better and hope that you continue to heal.
xo
You are the real MVP…..what a blessing for a trainer to be so open and honest and to tell the truth about a procedure that so many women undergo. You make me feel that being fit and having a body that I worked hard for is attainable and not just wanting to look a certain way. I pray you heal completely and quickly!!!
I appreciate your honesty and found this post very interesting. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Gina, Thank you so much for writing this post! Like many of your readers I have been following you for at least a decade. I love your blog and your honesty! I also have DR. After having my second son it was bad, after my third son was born it is much worse. I have a herniated bellybutton, loose skin and severe back ache. My youngest is only 18 months so I keep putting it off until he is a bit older, but I need to get booked in for this surgery as a matter of my health and well being. I am also scared and the recovery and scarring scares me to the point of almost not doing it! Your post was a honest and relate-able one and it had me in tears as I could feel your pain. I have even sent some excerpts of your post to my husband to read as I’m not sure he realizes the extent of the surgery. I wish you all the best in your recovery and please please do write more with your tips to recovery! Lots of hugs from a fellow American in the UK! xx
Thank you for sharing! It must be scary making yourself vulnerable to judgement, but I appreciate that you still went on ahead to share your story. your transparency and willingness to share personal experiences that you didn’t have to share, but did to possibly help others and to be authentic is greatly admired!
LOVE your openness and honesty! I love your transparency because our health is so much more than our appearance however, that is often a lost thought in the fitness industry. THANK YOU for being you!
I found this post so interesting!!! I’ve been a blog follower for a while and part of the reason I keep coming back is cause I love the personal posts.
Thank you for sharing Gina! You are a rock star!