Wearing the Brava in preparation for my natural breast augmentation is an experience worth documenting. My hope is that as this procedure becomes more and more popular others can refer to this blog and find support in reading the thoughts of somebody who has been in their shoes. To wear the Brava you must be committed to wear it every day for prolonged periods of time. If you’re informed about the best and easiest way to get through this crucial part of your breast augmentation through fat transfer procedure, it will be a lot easier to stay focused and committed. In this post I discuss a couple of things I learned this past week while using the Brava and my light at the end of the tunnel. Week 2 Setbacks When I started Cycling in week 2 I tried to do too much, too quick. Instead of just introducing ONE new thing to my Brava routine, I introduced TWO. That was a mistake. My first night Cycling, instead of going to bed with just sportbox pressure, I pumped the black ball 3-5 times for added pressure. You probably guessed it: I had more tiny blisters in the morning. The Brava coach suggested I lay off the cycling the following night and that I treat my blisters like before. I had been wearing the Brava for 10 hours and she scaled me back to 9 hours for one night. She also suggested a couple more products to help with my sensitive skin. Band-Aid Advanced Healing Blister Cushions– these are multi-day use and you have to wait for them to fall off. It stayed on for 6 days before it started lifting. It did a great job at protecting my skin from further damage. Sesame Seed Oil- the regular one that you cook with. It really helps to keep your skin hydrated during the day. You could add it to the cream or lotion you use. Aloe Life Skin Gel– to replace the No Skin Wipes. The added benefit of the Aloe gel is it’s healing properties. I was so grateful for this gel! It really helped my skin and I have not gotten anymore blisters. The next night I cycled but only kept the Brava on for 9 hours, just to be safe. The night after that I cycled and increased the time to 10 hours. By the end of week 2 I was up to 12 hours, cycling in the evening before bed and in the morning when I woke up. Another Lesson Learned – Week 3 Although the blistering had stopped I still had red marks all around the top outer edge where the domes landed. It would start from the center of my chest, around the top, up to my underarms. When I asked the coach we discovered that I could do a better job of placing the domes to avoid this. If you’re a woman using the Brava or contemplating using the Brava you’ll want to read this: When putting on the domes I always start from the bottom up, flaring out the gel ring before contact. Then I lean my body forward, let my breast fall into the dome, flare the sides, attach the entire dome, and then I stand up straight. The problem was that by attaching the top part of the dome while leaning forward it was grabbing skin from much higher on my chest than it should. So then when I would stand up it was dragging that skin down and pulling it resulting in the irritation I described above. So I made the changes and curled out the top gel ring better and the irritation reduced drastically. Phew! The Light At The End of the Tunnel As I finish up my 3rd week using the Brava I can’t believe the changes I’m starting to notice. My breasts are noticeably larger. They are at their largest in the morning, right after I remove the Brava, almost a C cup. And after a long day of activity, when I get home and settle down, they are at least a B cup, which is still one cup size larger than what I started with a couple of weeks ago. They don’t feel empty nor saggy. They feel full and heavy. I have been using the Brava no more than 12 hours per day. I’m about to increase it to 14 hours. From what I’m told, most people experience a huge swelling of their breasts when wearing the Brava 14+ hours. My surgery is in 11 days so I’m really going to pump up the pressure and time wearing it. How Large Will My Breasts Get? Dr. Khouri tells me that every patient’s body is different. It depends on how much a person’s breasts’ swell or stretch. Your final breast size will be approximately 70-80% of the largest size achieved with Brava. A six year study was just published last month, in the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, confirming the success of this procedure. So I’m estimating that if my breasts stretch to a D cup with Brava, my final size will be a C cup. I’m more than happy with that! I haven’t been wearing a bra as recommended. I normally would look pretty flat-chested without one. But that’s not the case because of the swelling caused by Brava. I can’t wait to go clothes and bra shopping after my breasts are filled with my fat! My fat transfer procedure is just around the corner. I’m staying focused on wearing the Brava as much as possible in order to achieve the best results. I’ll keep you posted with my progress. Getting excited, Jackie
When I called Brava to place my order it took 5 minutes or less. They personally know Dr. Khouri so it was a smooth transaction. The Brava coach e-mailed me instructions on how to use the Brava and asked me to arrange a phone conversation with her after getting acquainted with the components to discuss the fine tuning of the dome application. I love getting packages delivered! After making sure nothing was missing I watched the 20 minute introduction video. Here’s a picture of what I received. The First Night Using Brava I put on the domes while watching the video to make sure I did it right. I kept pausing and rewinding until I had the domes on with the tubing and sportbox. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss a single step. When I went to bed I felt pretty confident that I had put on everything correctly, by myself. I had not spoken to anyone. In the middle of the night I woke up bothered by the little plastic edge of the domes digging into my skin. Although I tried tugging at it would curl back inward. Since I thought I had done everything right I ignored it and went back to sleep. Mistakes! When I took the Brava off in the morning, after 8 hours, I had red marks around my breasts but nothing alarming. My skin itched a bit so I washed my skin using only the Brava skin cleanser, warm water, and a towel like the video shows you. Since I noticed I still had bits of the gel ring stuck on my skin I washed it again. This time I really rubbed it to get it all off. Then I applied the Brava skin lotion. After an hour or so, when most of the red marks had gone away, I noticed a tiny line of blisters going down the middle of my chest around the top of my right breast, directly where the outer gel ring had landed. Also I noticed a small line, almost a cut, where the plastic edge had been digging into my skin around my left breast. This is what had woke me up in the middle of the night. But it was hardly nothing compared to the tiny blisters on my right breast. Yet I had not felt any discomfort or indication of blisters developing around my right breast during the night. I’m not the type to overreact and I have a pretty high tolerance level so at first I didn’t think much of the tiny line of blisters. They were, after all, TINY. But I thought maybe I should call the Brava coach just to see what she suggested. Here’s the list of what I did wrong: I didn’t meet the two domes in the middle of my chest. I had a gap, about 1/4 of an inch wide, in the middle of my chest between the two domes. They were suppose to touch each other. This is important because the stretching of the skin is most important closer to your cleavage area. This is where most women are missing fullness and therefore, you want to make sure it is properly stretched and prepared for the lipofilling. Also putting them closer together could have prevented some of the irritation in the middle of the chest. And it allows you to achieve better pressure because the outer part of the domes aren’t hanging out so much. I didn’t flare out the gel ring as well as I should have. This is hard the first couple of nights because the domes are new and the new plastic wants to curl in. But the Brava coach suggested using my finger nails to separate the little plastic edge that curls in and attaches itself to the gel. It works. I should only have used the Brava for 6 hours the first night to see how my body and skin reacted. The suggested time on the instructions is between 6-8 hours the first night. Went I put the Brava on, my goal was to keep it the full eight hours. But after the discomfort I had in the middle of the night I should have removed it after just six hours. I rubbed my skin too hard when I re-washed it. The friction could have irritated my skin and caused some of the blisters. Oops. I forgot to dry clean my sportbox. When I got home I immediately went to complete this step but it wouldn’t turn on. I thought I had damaged it but when I called Darlene Haire, the Brava coach, we discovered that… I inserted the batteries into the sportbox incorrectly. Make sure you look at the label on the sportbox! Thank goodness I didn’t damage it. The Learning Curve Although I want the best results it cannot be at the expense of my skin. I have to take it slower and I definitely need more guidance. I’m pretty good at following directions and I like to figure things out on my own. But the application of the Brava involves a lot of small details that I wouldn’t have figured out had I not talked to the Brava coach. That’s what they’re there for. I had to skip the 2nd night and not wear the Brava at all to let my skin heal. Great. That’s what I get for trying to be an over-achiever. The Brava coached suggested that I buy a few items to help my particular skin issues: J&J Baby Shampoo to wash my skin with BEFORE putting on the Brava. No more using the Brava skin cleanser. Aveeno Body Wash for Extremely Dry Skin to wash my skin with AFTER I removed the Brava. It provides more hydration to my skin. Aveeno Body Lotion for Extremely Dry Skin to apply to my skin AFTER removing the Brava. And I should apply it at least twice daily to stay well hydrated. 2nd Skin Gel Pads to help soothe the blisters. I used these during the day and over night (since I was not using the Brava the 2nd night). Tegaderm Film/Tape, which is a type of multi-day surgical tape. This I had to put on the 3rd night, right before putting on the Brava, and it stayed on […]
The drive to Dr. Khouri’s office is gorgeous. The island of Key Biscayne is so clean and his office building is very modern. It really stands out from the other buildings. It gives a state-of-the-art feel. The Miami Breast Center located in Key Biscayne After reviewing my medical history Dr. Khouri examined my breasts and we discussed the best areas to liposuction fat from for the augmentation. While he examined my breasts he made an observation that surprised me. He discovered I have no fold under my right breast! All my life I just assumed that I had one breast higher than the other or that one breast was slightly larger than the other. That’s what you hear people say, right? It seemed so common I never questioned it. It’s funny that it never even crossed my mind but it was the first thing Dr. Khouri noticed. The good news is: it can be corrected during the natural breast augmentation procedure. Yay! After taking some ‘before’ pictures he had me try on the Brava device. His assistant, Cindy, helped me put on the Brava domes for the first time and was very thorough in explaining how to properly place them. She showed me how to flare out the outer gel ring in order to achieve proper pressure and avoid unnecessary pain. It can be a little tricky and she was very sweet and patient when teaching me. Dr. Khouri came in and showed me how to do the cycling with the hand pump. The objective is to achieve maximum tissue expansion, which ultimately will result in better fat retention for lasting results. The pressure you get from the hand pump feels intense but it was not painful. I left there with instructions on where and how to purchase my very own Brava and with a list of medical tests that I needed to have done to get medical clearance for the surgery. I was very excited and got started immediately. Make sure you subscribe to my blog. I’d love to hear from you! Jackie
Ever since I was a teen I wanted bigger breasts but I never developed past an A cup. Being tall and very slender I always felt un-proportioned. At times I was jealous of the girls who looked sexier but I learned to be content with my body. Those who know me would say I’ve always portrayed self-confidence. Yet deep inside I’ve always had insecurities about my breasts. At 30, I gave birth to my daughter and when my breasts filled with mother’s milk I quite enjoyed it. But after 12 months of breastfeeding I went back to an A cup. But I also noticed my breasts felt less full and deflated. My girlfriends, who also are mothers, all have similar complaints, if not worse. The childbearing process really takes a toll on your body that’s hard to imagine unless you’ve gone through it. And we always dream out loud about how wonderful it would be to repair our damaged bodies through cosmetic surgery. So I’ve decided to do something about it. My Reasons Why Here’s why Dr. Roger Khouri’s breast augmentation procedure using my own fat appealed to me: Safety. There are no incisions, no cuts. The procedure is minimally invasive and the recovery time is only a few days. I’ve never been comfortable with having a foreign object in my body unnecessarily so implants were out of the question. He uses my own fat, through liposuction, giving me the added benefit of body sculpting. I decided to go for it. Follow My Journey I know there are many of you who feels this way. Through my journey I hope to uncover and answer all the questions and doubts that any woman would ask herself about Dr. Khouri’s breast augmentation procedure through fat transfer using Brava. I’ll be blogging about my journey weekly. I will share about my appointments with Dr. Khouri, wearing the Brava device, and everything in between leading up to the surgery, which is scheduled for early February. Although I’m super excited I’m also a little nervous. So if you feel inspired or hopeful please share your comments or questions and root me on. Because life is about creating yourself. Jackie
