One week after explant surgery and healing is going well! Explanting is having your breast implants removed, which I chose to do after discovering possible ruptures and honestly just not feeling like I needed them anymore.

I got breast implants in my 20s, when I was a swimwear model, and they certainly came in handy! We spent many happy years together, but I’m almost 50 now and I was spending more time covering them up than putting them on display. If you want to read the story from the beginning, start here: HerScan Detected My Implants Ruptured – Geek Mamas

One Week Update After Explant

It’s actually been just over a week, and I’ve gone for my one-week check-up after explant surgery. I actually felt better than I thought I would afterwards. They did a nerve block which must have helped a lot, because I remember a lot more pain with my implants. There have been some improvements since 20 years ago!

I did not have drains, and actually chose my surgeon specifically because he is known for not using them. The idea of caring for drains and having to “milk” them completely freaked me out. But if I had them, they would have been removed at the one-week checkup.

The checkup was pretty fast. The worst part was when they peeled the surgical tape off and it tugged at the stitches! At least, that’s what it felt like was happening. It was uncomfortable and hurt a bit in some very tender places.

But after that, it was quick look over from the doctor and he said everything looks like it’s healing as it should be. So I was cleared to just wear a sports bra, start using the scar gel and come back for a 3-week and 12-week check-up.

A Few Tips for Before and After Surgery

If you are preparing for your own explant surgery, here’s a few tips that will help. I know I Googled a ton before and after the surgery!

Before Surgery

I made a Shopping List to Prepare for Explant Surgery and went back and updated it this week with whether the item was useful or not. (click the bold text to see the list)

A lot of people ask how I found my surgeon, and that was by visiting explant and breast implant illness Facebook groups and reading through the posts. I’d find a surgeon I was interested in, put their name in the search for the group, and then be able to read everything people said about them.

I feel those reviews are more trustworthy than anything you’ll find on a surgeon’s website.

I went with Dr. Desai from the Florida Plastic Surgery Group. He is the only doctor I found where everyone has great things to say about their experience. And, as a patient now myself, I can vouch that it is all true. He is very good at his job! It was worth the extra wait time and extra $$. This is not an operation you want to go bargain hunting for.

After Surgery

I was very afraid to look at my chest for several days after the explant, and when I finally did, I felt nauseous. I wasn’t ready to see my body like that, I guess. All bruised, swollen and stitched up. I couldn’t even get in the shower after that and just had to lie down. So be prepared to not like what you see!

The next day, I was a bit more prepared and turned the lights down low and didn’t really look in the mirror. I was able to shower and felt better after that.

The explant unveiling is a lot less exciting and more traumatic than the implant unveiling. I have a lot of healing to do, but it gets a little better every day.

I have been able to sit and work at the computer since day one after surgery. My arms have more a range of motion than I expected, and that gets better every day.

I’m still a bit squeamish about putting ointment on my incisions because I can feel the cuts, so I’m probably using more than needed and gooping it on there.

Now that I’m up and mobile, I’ve started to notice little things. I guess you don’t realize how big your boobs were until they’re gone! I went to wipe my phone screen on my side-boob, which is an automatic habit, and the side-boob wasn’t there! And then I went to squeeze through the sliding glass door and realized I didn’t have to accommodate the front of me and easily went through.

I’m sure there will be plenty more of these little things as I get used to my new chest size.

Explant Questions Are Welcome

If you are considering an explant yourself and have questions, feel free to comment. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have. I know I had a ton before doing this!

Click here to read the next post after my One Month After Explant Update.

About the Author

Candy Keane is a digital content creator and long-time cosplayer, most well-known for being on the cover of the Star Wars documentary Jedi Junkies. After making costumes professionally for over a decade, she now writes about about geek culture and mom life, and continues to cosplay for fun, while sharing her love of costumes on Instagram @SewGeekMama. Her first children’s book, I’m Going to My First Comic Convention, was published in 2020 and won a Story Monsters Approved award for Excellence in Literature.

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