Why would I even consider having a BA?

I have never been opposed to my breasts. I’ve always liked them and have never had any complaints. But I have always wished that I were more full up top and have desired cleavage. I never seriously told anyone about my wishes. I figured no one would ever take me seriously. I don’t even think I took my self seriously. I would joke around with my friends about having my boobs done, but always thought that having a breast augmentation would mean waiting until after I had children someday and that was a long way off into the future. Brendan (my boyfriend) and I had so-so seriously discussed me having a breast augmentation but we both felt that it was something way out of our reach. I thought I should wait until after I had kids (way, way in the future) and we both agreed the surgery would be financially unattainable to our budget.

How did I decide to have a BA?

The Saturday night after Thanksgiving (11/27/99), Brendan and I were at a nude strip club in Los Angeles with a couple of his friends. I have always openly admired the female body. In fact, I think going to the club might have been my idea. Anyway, we all sat there sipping our Cokes (no alcohol allowed if the dancers are nude) and watched all the girls. None of the girls had struck our fancies enough to ask for a lap dance so we all just sat, chilling out in the plush seats and looking at the girls who were on stage.

Towards the middle of the evening, Brendan changed his mind, which ended up changing the both of our lives forever. Over the blaring music, Brendan told me that if I were really serious about having a boob job, then we should have the surgery now, while we are both young instead of waiting until we are older and have children. The way he saw it was if we were really serious about this, then we should get them now. That way we’d both get more “playing” mileage out of them instead of waiting until later and wishing we had had done it sooner. I thought about his idea and quickly agreed. He quickly ran some numbers through his head and figured that if I saved my money and lived frugal for a few months, then there should be no reason why I couldn’t have enough money for the surgery. So why wait? Life’s too short. I told him that I wanted to go through with the surgery, seriously. He then told me to find the dancer whose boobs I liked the best and then he would buy me a lap dance from her so I could get the name of her plastic surgeon. A few minutes after he said, a dancer named Vivian came out. She had the prettiest boobs of all the girls. Brendan was true to his word and bought me a lap dance from Vivian.

During my lap dance from Vivian, I told her about the decision Brendan and I had just made. I told her that her boobs were very pretty and asked her if she had had them done. She had had them done and was more than happy to tell me all about her surgery and experience. At the end of her dance/conversation, she gave me the name and city of her surgeon (Dr. Stuart Linder). She told me good luck and winked at me! This is when I "officially" decided to have a BA.

Consultations

As soon as I got home from our Thanksgiving break in Redondo Beach, Brendan and I started researching breast augmentations like crazy. Brendan found Nicole’s website (http://www.implantinfo.com). We both read every page and looked at all the before and after pictures. It was there that I was able to research the doctor whom Vivian had referred me too. I also found a few more names and checked them out as well. After narrowing the list down, I had the names of two doctors: Dr. Stuart Linder and Dr. Chris Creasman. I called their offices and scheduled a consultation with both doctors.

Consultation #1:

On Monday, December 27, I had my first consultation with Dr. Stuart Linder in Beverly Hills, CA. I was scared out of my mind. I met Julie face-to-face for the first time. When I first called to schedule the consultation, she had been very helpful and answered many of the questions I had. Brendan and I briefly sat in the waiting room before the doctor had called us into his office. After introducing ourselves, I opened up my BA research folder and just started firing questions at Dr. Linder. He answered all of my questions honestly. One major concern of mine was my mother’s breast cancer history. My mother had breast cancer at 29. She survived. I wanted to be sure that my implants would not block the breast tissue from having a clear mammogram reading. Dr. Linder told me that he would demand that I have a mammogram prior to surgery and then another mammogram three months after. These two mammograms would make up my “baseline”. Since I was having my saline implants under the muscle, he said that my implants should not impose a dangerous risk or interfere with early detection. Dr. Linder said that he was very impressed with all the homework I had done. I was very impressed with his work. Brendan and I sifted through 8 volumes of pictures (before and afters). Each set of breasts were works of art: no double bubble and a barely there scar. We spent a couple of hours in his office discussing the whole surgery procedure, the risks, costs and his preferred methods (incision/placement, etc.) I left the doctor’s office very satisfied and eager to continue my research. I had a good feeling about Dr. Linder, but I wanted to have another consultation. I wanted to make sure that he was the doctor I wanted to go with.

Consultation #2:

On Thursday, December 30, I went in for a second consultation. This time the consultation was with Dr. Craig Creasman in San Jose. I wasn’t as scared this time. I knew the drill. Brendan and I arrived at the office a little early so we waited briefly in the lobby. We both began looking through the book of before/after pictures. Neither one of us were very impressed with what we saw. A lot of the breasts didn’t have the straight line that Dr. Linder had told us to look for. Instead, a majority of these breasts had a double bubble. Some breasts were nice, but the work wasn’t consistent. The receptionist called us back into a room. We waited in that room for a half-hour after our scheduled appointment with the doctor. I was so bored that I started playing around with the implants that were displayed on the counter. The room reminded me of a medical room in Kaiser. I wasn’t getting for good feelings from this place and the long wait didn’t help either. Finally when the doctor did show up, he weakly shook my hand while he smacked his gum. I went through and told him what I had decided to have. I told him about my mother’s breast cancer history. Dr. Creasman flat out refused. He said that with my mother having breast cancer, he would not operate on me. He also refused to discuss me having implants any further. I was shocked. After such a long wait and having done my research, this doctor flat out refused to speak to me. I felt upset for wasting my time. As Brendan and I walked out of the room, Dr. Creasman shouted to a lobby full of patients, “And don’t take her to another plastic surgeon!”. This doctor implied that it was Brendan’s idea for me having a BA. We were both pissed. After I cooled off later in the afternoon, I realized that Dr. Creasman was probably a conservative doctor and didn’t want to take a chance on me. After more research on my part and a deep, heart searching thought process later, I decided to call Dr. Linder and schedule my BA surgery.

**Side Note**
I was really concerned about my mother’s breast cancer history so I went and spoke with the doctor who performed my mammogram. I told her that I was considering implants, told her about my mother’s history and asked for her opinion. She said that since I was having a mammogram before the surgery and having the implants placed under the muscle and then having another mammogram three months after the surgery to establish a baseline, then I should be okay. She reminded me that I must perform my monthly self-exams (like every woman should). She said that there shouldn’t be any reason why I couldn’t have implants. I felt more comfortable taking the risk. Now I knew it wasn’t as big of risk as I had previously thought.