Key takeaways
Impleo breast augmentation case: after breastfeeding she shrank from a C to a B cup and her upper chest became hollow. After an assessment with Dr. Kuo-Chun Liao, an E cup was planned to suit her 172 cm height, using Impleo implants through an armpit incision. Swelling and soreness were most noticeable for the first three days, with daily follow-ups for dressing changes and IV drips, and she was back to normal activities from day three.
Contents
- A hollow upper chest after childbirth, and no cleavage
- What my friends said about restoring breasts after childbirth...
- Friendly consultants with no pushy sales
- Why I chose Impleo: the feel and the warranty
- Back to daily life in 3 days, though I briefly thought it had failed
- Full support from friends and family, and a realistic feel I highly recommend
- A whole new style: bikinis are now my first choice on trips!
"I'm Qian-Qian, I'm 27, and I'm a nail artist. After having my baby, I noticed my bras felt a bit loose. I thought maybe they'd just stretched out from wear, but when I went bra shopping, the fitter measured me as only a B cup, when I used to be a C. I'd never imagined I'd get breast augmentation, haha. It was really what happened at the lingerie store that first made me think about surgery..."
A hollow upper chest after childbirth, and no cleavage
After having my baby, because I breastfed, I went from a C to a B cup. That might not sound like a big difference, but my upper chest lost all its fullness. As a C cup my upper chest looked full in a bra, but now it's hollow, so no matter how I push them together, my upper chest isn't full like before. There was also a bit of sagging, so nothing looked good and I felt less confident in clothes. Once I did a maternity photo shoot with my best friends and something really embarrassing happened: my NuBra snapped during the shoot. I was wearing a strapless gown, so the makeup artist had to wrap me in bandages. I thought, wow, my breasts are so small, because she had to wrap so many layers to create any cleavage.
What my friends said about restoring breasts after childbirth...
A friend had told me about breast massage, but said they'd push lots of products on you, the cost is high, and if you don't keep going, it might not give the results you expect. Another friend had fat grafting, but whenever she lost weight her breasts shrank too, so I figured I'd go straight for a permanent fix with Impleo. I'd actually thought about breast augmentation for a long time, because I saw friends who'd had it done, and they looked and felt exactly like the real thing and were beautiful. I quickly did some homework, and when I happened to see an ad I thought I'd come in for a consultation. I'd never imagined I'd get breast augmentation, haha. It was really what happened at the lingerie store that first made me think about surgery. I've always had a slender, flat figure, and I'm 172 cm tall, so I felt this size was just right.
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Friendly consultants with no pushy sales
I consulted at two clinics in total, but one was online only. Online you can't feel the implants, and their social media admin was very slow to reply, so my enthusiasm slowly faded. NAISS suggested coming in to the clinic for a consultation, and the consultant was very friendly and let me feel every single implant. At first she didn't tell me the implant names; she had me feel them blind, then asked which feel I liked. I'd been afraid the consultant would be condescending, but everyone was very friendly and didn't pressure me to decide that day; they said I could go home and think about it.
I felt Dr. Liao was like a father figure. Since the doctor is a man, I thought I'd feel awkward having him examine my breasts, but as soon as Dr. Liao came in he told me not to be nervous and that he'd look at what size would suit me. I told him from the start that I wanted something that fit my height and weight: not too big, but not so small that you couldn't tell I'd had it done. Dr. Liao recommended an E cup, which doesn't look too huge in everyday clothes, but makes cleavage easy whenever I want to show it. Now my upper chest looks full even without a push-up bra.
Why I chose Impleo: the feel and the warranty
Before the consultation I actually preferred Mentor Xtra (Queen Wave), since more people seemed to get it back then. But when I actually felt them at the clinic, I personally found Impleo a little softer than Mentor Xtra. At the time Impleo was a fairly new implant in Taiwan. I looked up reviews online and saw that some people had chosen Perle and Impleo, with good, natural results.
The three things I cared about most were massage, warranty and feel. First, whether massage was needed; I'd heard some people have to go out for professional massages after surgery. The consultant said with Impleo you just push them around a bit whenever you have time, with no need for dedicated massage, and to this day I just do it one-handed while watching TV or scrolling my phone. Second, the lifetime warranty, because I was worried about capsular contracture, so having a lifetime warranty is great. Finally, the feel: I prefer soft with a little bounce, because if it's too soft I worry the breasts will sag and look bad, and Impleo feels soft with a springy bounce.
For the incision, I was torn between the armpit and the areola. After reading online, many people said an areolar incision might damage nerves and cause loss of sensation, so I chose the armpit. Also, nobody holds their arms up all the time, so the scar is less noticeable. A few months after surgery, once the incision had healed better, I showed my friends, and they said it just looks like a natural crease in the armpit; you can't tell it's a scar
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Back to daily life in 3 days, though I briefly thought it had failed
I wasn't very nervous on the day of surgery, because to me it was just sleeping and waking up prettier. After surgery I had to wear something like a bandage wrap, and I couldn't wait to see what they'd look like once it came off. As for recovery, the most uncomfortable part was the first three days, when my breasts felt swollen and sore, so for the first week I stayed home to rest, took my medicine on time and rested a lot. I went back to the clinic every day for dressing changes and IV drips, so the pain steadily decreased. Basically by day three I could do things normally; I just couldn't lift my arms too high, because my incisions were in the armpits
As for how soft they got after surgery, at first I really wondered if it had failed, haha. At first my breasts were very tight; while the skin stretches they feel rock-hard. I kept reading online to see how many days it took for others to soften. Later the doctor told me I could start massaging and showed me how. At first I massaged diligently, but now I just push them around casually. They're soft when pressed, but still have some bounce.
Full support from friends and family, and a realistic feel I highly recommend
When my family found out I was having surgery, they didn't really react; they felt that as long as I liked it, that was fine. My friends were more surprised; they thought I was brave and admired me for having surgery to look beautiful. They'd ask if they could poke them, and I'd tell them to go ahead and squeeze. Every one of them said they feel real! What surprised me was how supportive my boyfriend was, haha. He felt that if breast augmentation made me happy and confident, he was all for it, and even offered to help pay. He was worried at first about whether it might go wrong, so he read all the post-op instructions very carefully for me. He also thinks the shape has become more natural over time. And people look at you more on the street. When my boyfriend and I go out we usually don't hold hands, and he'll tell me someone kept turning around to look at me. What I remember most is one day I wore a lower-cut top, and a group of guys nearby were loudly saying something about big breasts, and my boyfriend almost got into an argument with them.
A whole new style: bikinis are now my first choice on trips!
It's now been six months since surgery, and I'm 100% satisfied on every count. I really want to tell anyone thinking about breast augmentation: do it sooner. I feel I waited a bit too long; I should have gone right after I finished breastfeeding. The biggest change is my clothes; whatever I wear looks good, and I'm more confident. I went to the S2O water festival both before and after surgery. Before, I wore a strapless tank top and you couldn't see any bust at all. This year, after surgery, three different photographers carrying professional cameras asked if I was a JKF model or a celebrity and whether they could take my photo, because they thought my face and figure were beautiful. The two visits were worlds apart, haha. Since the surgery I'm much more open to EDM parties, yachts, beaches and the like. I used to wear a tank top, but now whenever I can wear a bikini, I definitely will
This story reflects one patient's experience. Results and recovery vary from person to person; please consult a doctor in person about your own treatment plan.
