After the birth of my second (and last) child in 1999, I was anxious to get my body back into its pre-baby state. It took me about a year to lose the baby weight, but after breastfeeding two children and weighing more than 200 pounds with each pregnancy, my breasts just weren’t what they used to be. As my grandmother used to say, they were “nothing but the skin they came in.” This is why I chose to have plastic surgery.

The most important element that I based my final decision on was the competency and reputation of the surgeon I selected. I was very thorough, and during my interview of him, I asked to see pictures of some of his work on other patients. He was very helpful, and the pictures gave me some idea of what to expect. The first thing that surprised me was how different each patient’s outcomes were. Not everyone has the same body type or shape, so naturally something like a breast augmentation isn’t going to look the same on everybody. I was surprised, because when you look at celebrities who have obviously had breast augmentation, they all look the same. I was relieved but a little worried at the same time, as I would have no idea what my body would look like until after it was done.

During my consultation with the surgeon, he asked me if I had questions or concerns. Since I was undergoing a reduction and lift, with implants, I was worried about how many scars I would have and if they would be visible or not. The procedure I was going to have — a breast reduction and lift, called a mastopexy — involved removing a lot of skin, and I was concerned that the resulting scars and postoperative shape wouldn’t be attractive. My doctor showed me two videos explaining the procedure and also showed me photos of women who had the mastopexy with and also without implants. These photos really helped me make the decision to go through with the procedure and have the implants put in at the same time. The scarring was minimal, and none of the scars were at all visible when I wore a swimsuit or a bra. Without clothes, I could see a very fine line scar around each areola and a scar that ran from the bottom of the areola down the length of each breast. Now, 14 years later, the scars aren’t visible at all.

Another thing that surprised me was that three weeks prior to the procedure, my surgeon told me to lose five pounds. I had just lost 75 pounds after having my daughter, so my weight at the time was about 125 pounds. He said losing a quick five pounds would give him more room to work because the skin would be looser. So I ran every night for three weeks and lost another seven pounds. Then, I started to worry about the cup size I had chosen. My surgeon and I had decided that a full C cup would fit my frame nicely. At 5’4" and now kind of skinny, I was afraid my breasts were going to be too big for my body, and I would end up looking like Pamela Anderson. My doctor laughed, but assured me that Pamela Anderson had much bigger implants than I was getting and that I had nothing to worry about.

If I could go back in time and do things differently, I wouldn’t change a thing. My doctor was one of the best in the city I lived in at the time and provided me not only with excellent care at the time of the surgery but plenty of attention in the aftercare process, as well. Once I got home, I was in a lot of pain. The pain was from the enormous amount of swelling, and I was afraid the stitches weren’t going to hold. I must have called him three times the first night out of the hospital. He was patient, and he prescribed me a stronger pain medication. He also said that cold compresses would help with the swelling and advised me to stay in bed for the next few days. My daughter had just turned 1, so my husband had to take over as mommy and daddy for about a week, and even after that, I couldn’t lift her by myself for another six weeks, per the doctor’s orders. That was hard, but we got through it.

My advice for others considering plastic surgery of any kind is to interview more than one surgeon, and if you have any doubts in your mind at all, don’t go through with it until you are 100 percent sure you’re making the right decision. Also, research the procedure that you’re considering before your consultation. This will help you come up with a list of questions to ask the surgeon during your initial appointment. You want to be as informed as possible so that you will make the right decision for yourself. I did, and I couldn’t be happier with my results!