The morning of the surgery arrived and I had visions of all of the things that could go wrong. The anesthetic was, in the end, a welcome relief from the thoughts that had been chewing at me for days. Post-op, I found that the pain, although quite intense, was not as bad as I had feared it would be. After only one injection of pethedine in the afternoon following the surgery, I found I could cope just with standard pain killers. Three days after the surgery, although still in some pain and finding it somewhat difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position, I am not taking anything at all. It is certainly MUCH better this time than last. I suspect that this is due to the fact that the pockets for the implants are already there but again, I have no confirmation of this.

As for the gel implants, the look is much the same as before but the feel is incredibly different. Although I can't do much experimental squeezing at this stage, they appear to be much softer and more natural feeling than the previous saline ones. There is no visible bruising at all which is a stark contrast to the first time. I have been told that theories about post-op recovery have changed somewhat since my previous ba and that I should wear the un-wired sports bra night and day for 2-3 months and perform no exercise of any magnitude for at least this length of time. From memory, I was told last time to refrain from most activities for about 2 weeks (not that I could have done anything for considerably longer than this) but to tackle activities as I felt up to it after that. According to the ps nurse, the theory is now that there is less chance of problems such as capsulation if there is very little movement between the implant and the muscle. This will mean no golf for me for at least 3 months but if it means that these implants retain their soft, natural feel, I guess that I can accommodate that. I have read that there may be a somewhat higher incident of hardening etc with the under-breast incision so I'm not taking any chances.

Today is day 5 and apart from feeling a little tired (my sleep is still a bit fitful as I find it hard to get comfortable), I feel remarkably good. The tape and stitches will be removed on Friday week (two weeks after surgery) and I'm looking forward to getting back into normal clothes and some attractive looking underwear in the not too distant future. Thanks to all who offered their support and understanding when I posted the rather desperate 'rupture' mail a few weeks ago and please feel free to mail me at zoodlum@one.net.au with any questions/issues in regard to the whole experience. Now that it is all over, I am feeling much less depressed and unhappy but it is not a pleasant experience to go through and my feelings go out to anyone who has had a similar experience.