Finding a Doctor
During my search for doctors to explant, I met with Dr. Catherine Stiles and Dr. Paul Pin. I set up consultations with Dr. Rai and a couple of others, but they were booked so far out just for the consultation, let alone the surgery, that I ended up canceling those.
**Before I go into the appointments, I want to say that I didn’t want to talk about breast implant illness with the doctors. This may sound weird, but I have been through so much grief with doctors over the past few years. I honestly no longer care what their opinions are. I only care if they can do the job and comply with my requests. Most plastic surgeons do not believe in BII and believe that our possible healing is in our heads. I keep good medical records, and I cannot tell you how many times I have read doctors note in my files stating that the patient is making symptoms up or it is all in her head. I didn’t want it written down again. BII ended up coming up in each consultation because neither doctor could understand why I would choose to not put an implant back in.**
I met with Dr. Stiles first. Her office is in Frisco, so close to me and I liked the idea of a woman doctor. The consultation did come with a $50 fee because of the technical equipment used during the visit. They took some very cool (Weird Science like) 3D pictures of my breast and then asked me what I wanted most in my outcome. They were able to adjust the breast right on screen so that you could see your results. It was cute, until I explained that, as mentioned when I set the appointment, I want my implants out…no implants going back in. It was if I broke the machine. She does not believe in BII and still performs implantations. Her first response to me saying that I didn’t want implants to be put back in was, “You need to stop reading those boards.” Insulting, but not surprising. I let her go on about how I would not be happy with the results, but she changed her tune when I could no long keep from getting upset at her insistence. She wrapped the appointment with an encouraging, “I think you have more breast tissue than you think and you’ll probably like your results.”
I, next, met with Dr. Pin. He is the Chief of Surgery at Baylor Scott & White in Dallas. He came with glowing recommendations of his surgical precision and minimal scarring. Given that I wanted a lift with the explant, I really wanted to pick him. I really wanted to like him. I’m not going to lie—we bumped heads. A lot. He told me BII was “baloney” and he was afraid I would look sunken in without a small implant. Then, we disagreed on the role that heat can play in the growth of bacteria or mold that even came with a very demeaning chemistry lesson, even though he would have been better off using microbiology to help explain heat as it pertains to life. Let’s just say that condescending tone did not go over well at all. He had to excuse himself a couple of times to return a phone call, and each time he came back in with a better attitude. He really wants me to drain my implants so that I can get a better idea of what I will look like. I just can’t do it. I want these toxic bags out of me in one piece, so that I never have to wonder if I should have insisted on en bloc. He wrapped the appointment up with the same line Dr. Stiles gave me and added an extra we can always drain your implants the day of surgery in case you change your mind on getting implants put back in.
Not the consultations that I was hoping for, but certainly what I expected. I still sort of wish I could have at least help out for Dr. Rai since he only explants now and is firmly on board with BII. In the end, I scheduled with Dr. Pin.
I know you must be shaking your head. How could I possibly choose that man after his mansplaining episode??
He is a very talented micro-surgeon and is more than capable of doing exactly what I want. As he said himself, “It doesn’t cost me anything; you’re paying for it, so I will do whatever you want.” Because of a risk of nipple death, I won’t be able to get a lift for at least 6 months. When (or if) I get the lift, I still really want Dr. Pin to do the lift because of his reputation of minimal scaring. If he does the explant, he will be in the best position to know when I am ready to do the lift.