I Got a Breast Augmentation for My Drastically Uneven Boobs

My boobs had become a real pain in my… well, boobs. I’ve had slightly uneven breasts since puberty—a totally normal thing—but due to weight fluctuation over the past few years, they gradually developed a whopping two-cup-size difference: My two average Cs became a saggy B and an even saggier D. To say the very least, it was wildly uncomfortable—not to mention inconvenient when it came to getting dressed. For years, I wore sports bras and baggy shirts almost exclusively and slouched 24/7 in the hope that no one would notice. It wasn’t just a physical problem; it was a mental and emotional one, too.

So, in January, I got a breast augmentation to correct the asymmetry, which has changed my body and my life for the better. Here, I take you through the entire process of getting an augmentation for asymmetric breasts, including the options I had, what the surgery and healing process were like, and my results.

In this story:

• The surgeon
• The consultation
• The options
• The procedure
• The cost
• The scheduling and preparation
• The operation day
• The healing and follow-up appointments
• The results

The moment I decided I wanted a breast augmentation, I knew exactly who I wanted to do it: Melissa Doft, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon here in New York City. She checked all the boxes anyone looking into a cosmetic procedure should consider—and a couple of personal boxes, too.

First, she’s certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, which should be a nonnegotiable requirement for anyone seeking a cosmetic operation. As Umbareen Mahmood, MD, another board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City, explains, the certification assures that “the surgeon has undergone rigorous training in the field of plastic surgery.” To confirm if a potential provider is certified (you can’t always take their website at face value), I recommend searching their name via Certification Matters; it’s how we verify the credentials of our sources here at Allure.

When it comes to breast augmentations, the second most important thing is to find a surgeon who performs them frequently and, ideally, has treated a high number of patients with a wide variety of needs and desired outcomes. That’s also pretty easy to suss out: “Before and after photos, online reviews, social media presence, and referrals from your network all help establish that he or she specializes in aesthetic breast surgery and that their approach aligns with your goals,” Dr. Mahmood says.

Speaking of aligning with my goals, that’s the other reason I sought out Dr. Doft specifically. Like the stylist who cuts your hair or the technician who paints your nails, plastic surgeons are artists of sorts who have differing creative vibes. For instance, “Some surgeons prefer fuller breasts, some place more focus on nipple placement, some breasts appear more symmetric,” Dr. Doft says. I knew from our past conversations about facial treatments that her approach is very “less is more,” and I wanted my results to look, for lack of a better word, ”natural.”

Lastly, bedside manner was a top priority for me. Seeing as I was having surgery on such an intimate part of my body, I knew I’d be most comfortable with a doctor who makes a point of being patient and kind. As Dr. Doft says, “We [doctors] are often told that a surgeon does not need to have a great bedside manner, only good hands… but what if you could find someone with both?” Further to that point, Steven Teitelbaum, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Santa Monica, says that finding the right surgeon is a matter of finding a practice “where [the patient is] understood, listened to, and treated like royalty.” That’s where consultations come in.

The first thing I’ll say might seem obvious: You will be expected to get pretty naked during a consultation for a breast augmentation, which can feel nerve-wracking if you’re not used to that—and I sure was not. When I arrived at my consultation, I was escorted to an exam room where I was left alone for a few minutes to take off all my clothes except for my underwear and replace them with a surgical gown that opened in the front. When Dr. Doft came in, I briefly ran her through the issues I’d been having due to my uneven breasts: spilling out of bras on one side, uneven posture, painful sagging, the list goes on.

As she opened my gown to get a good look at what she was working with, she asked about my ideal outcome, which was pretty simple: to bring the larger breast (the left) down to the same size as the smaller one and, ideally, for both breasts to sit as high as they did several years ago.

Dr. Doft took some measurements of my breasts and confirmed that one was roughly two cup sizes bigger than the other. From there, we quickly agreed upon a reduction of the left breast to even out the cup size and a lift on both sides to eliminate the sagging. She explained exactly what the procedure entails (again, more on that later) as I stood in front of a full-length mirror. With my consent, she gripped my nipples with her fingers and lifted them upward to illustrate how high my breasts would sit and where my nipples would face post-op—basically straight forward, as opposed to pointing toward the floor as they did now.

There’d be some long-term and maybe permanent changes to the function of my breasts as a result of this, Dr. Doft warned me. For one, the procedure could potentially render me incapable of breastfeeding (given that I don’t want children, I was almost relieved to hear that), and my areolas would be somewhat smaller than before. My nipples would lose sensation for about a year while the scars healed, and there was a chance that the loss of sensation would be permanent. None of that struck me as a reason not to pursue more comfortably sized boobs.

Then came another part that honestly made me feel a little awkward: taking “before” photos. Still dressed in just the gown and my underwear, I was escorted out of the exam room and into a private hallway where there was a black backdrop dedicated to taking such photos. I was asked to take the gown completely off and stand up straight with my arms behind my back while a nurse took a few pictures of my breasts from various angles.

I was left alone again to change back into my clothes, and that was that. On my way out, the doctor’s assistant gave me a folder of paperwork with a cost estimate of the surgical fee plus the anesthesia fee minus the standard discount Dr. Doft offers to editors. The folder also contained in-depth information about surgery preparation, what to expect on operation day, and aftercare, which was extremely helpful to have on hand during every step of this process. A few weeks later, I booked a date for surgery by emailing the assistant, who provided me with the doctor’s schedule.

If you’re also thinking about plastic surgery to address unevenly sized breasts, you probably have more options than you realize. Before my consultation, I thought all I was looking for was a single-breast reduction. It wasn’t until my doctor brought up the benefits of a lift that I realized it was necessary to achieve the level of symmetry I desired.

And there was a surprising little buffet of sorts when it came to the nitty-gritty aesthetics. For example, Dr. Doft asked during my consultation if I wanted implants, which I turned down because I didn’t want either of my breasts to be bigger or to have something foreign in my body. She also told me she could create more roundness at the top of my breasts by transferring fat from my stomach, which I also turned down for the sake of maintaining my usual breast shape.

Given that my desired outcome was relatively simple, those were the only options we discussed, but as Dr. Teitelbaum explains, augmentations for uneven breasts can be done in a multitude of ways. He estimates that there are more than 120 procedural combinations to address unevenly sized breasts. “The most common [solution] is different-sized implants for uneven and small breasts, different degrees of reduction on uneven large breasts, or different degrees of lifts on droopy patients.” Sometimes, he says, he’ll operate only on one side.

Those are the more straightforward solutions, according to Dr. Teitelbaum, but more extreme asymmetry can require performing completely different procedures on each side, usually a custom combination of augmentation, breast lift, breast lift with fat transfer, and/or reduction.

All said, determining which procedures might be right for you can only be done by discussing those options with your surgeon, who should help you make the decision based not only on what you want but also the preexisting state of your breasts. You might have a specific procedure in mind, like I did, but it’s important to keep an open mind to what your doctor suggests and be brutally honest about what you do and don’t want.

I technically had two procedures done in one sitting—a breast reduction solely for the left breast and a lift on both sides (a bilateral mastopexy). These two procedures work well together because they involve some of the same techniques and processes. “A breast reduction involves reducing the breast in size and reshaping the breast so that the nipple is lifted and centered on the breast,” Dr. Doft explains. A breast lift “involves improving the contour of the breast by removing excess skin and centering the nipple on the breast, but does not involve a significant reduction in the breast size.”

Because my left breast was two cup sizes larger than the other, I had a hefty amount of breast tissue removed from that side. On either side, the doctor made a curved incision just underneath the breast—the one on the left is significantly longer because of the tissue removal—and another running perpendicular from the center of that line up to the nipple, kind of like an inverted T. Since reductions and lifts involve re-placing the nipple in the center of the breast, she also made incisions around the perimeter of each nipple (making my areolas somewhat smaller, which is standard for this kind of procedure).

I did not pay the full quoted price for my procedure because I would be writing this story you’re reading. Without an editor discount, my operation would have cost $20,000. But even with a price adjustment, it was challenging to budget for; I took out a small personal loan and will be in debt for a bit, but I have no regrets.

Given the plethora of surgical options, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what you might pay for an augmentation for uneven breasts, but here are some numbers to give you an approximate idea: At Dr. Mahmood’s practice, she charges between $15,000 and $25,000 for breast augmentations. “This is inclusive of anesthesia, facility, surgical garments, and post-operative appointments,” she says. Dr. Doft usually charges between $17,000 and $25,000, and Dr. Teitelbaum says, on average, he charges $15,000.

I can tell you, however, what factors play into these numbers. Location’s a big one: “NYC and LA tend to have overall higher prices due to the fact that business costs are higher in these regions,” Dr. Mahmood explains.

All three surgeons I spoke with for this story say that surgeons can also base costs on their level of experience and the demand for their services. “When a surgeon’s schedule is full, he or she raises their fees, like in any other business,” Dr. Teitelbaum explains. But he stresses that lower fees or less experience doesn’t automatically make for an inferior surgeon, nor do high prices guarantee an elite one.

Then, there’s the procedure itself. Drs. Doft and Mahmood point out that the addition of breast implants raises costs depending on the type of implant (saline implants are less expensive than silicone). Longer and more complex operations are also more expensive, of course, because they require more anesthesia and more time in the operating room, Dr. Doft adds.

Something else to consider is the cost you might pay for the consultation and post-operative check-ups. Drs. Doft, Mahmood, and Teitelbaum all charge a fee for consultations, but that cost is applied to the surgical fee should the patient move forward with an operation. None of them charge for follow-up appointments, at least up to a certain point. That said, Dr. Doft says doctors have varying approaches to consultation and follow-up fees, so make sure to ask about those costs when inquiring about a consultation.

I hear you asking, “What about insurance?” That’s a great question with a not-great answer. The harsh truth is that it’s wildly difficult to get any amount of insurance coverage for an elective surgery like the one I had. Dr. Mahmood says that she’s even faced a growing amount of pushback from insurance companies for patients seeking reconstructive surgery following breast cancer treatment (!!!). What’s more, some private plastic surgery practices don’t accept insurance anyway, which is another thing to inquire about before a consultation.

When I asked Dr. Doft if my case of asymmetry would be a qualifier for coverage, she said I’d probably get denied unless I had much bigger breasts (like, size G bigger). Although my breasts were uneven enough to cause me physical discomfort, they wouldn’t have been considered a medical issue by an insurer’s finicky standards, so I didn’t bother pursuing coverage.

Surgeons usually have designated operating days (Dr. Doft does all her operations on Wednesdays) to keep the rest of the week open for in-office appointments. That said, I didn’t just get to pick whatever day I wanted for my breast augmentation. The operation took place on January 29, but I wouldn’t know what time the procedure would take place until the evening before, and that’s pretty standard.

On the evening of the 28th, I received a call from a nurse at the operating facility (Dr. Doft’s office does not have an operating room, so she “borrows” one from another plastic surgeon nearby), who confirmed my arrival time, the estimated length of my surgery, whether I’d arranged an escort home, and other some last-minute warnings and reminders (No food or water after 10 pm! Don’t wear contact lenses to the procedure! Take a shower while you can!). In turn, I asked a few boring but important questions about things like parking and nearby restaurants where my escort (my boyfriend) could eat while I was under.

There was a good deal of preparation that took place before then, of course. About a month out, I requested three days off from work (according to the paperwork I received from Dr. Doft, most people feel comfortable returning to work a few days following their breast augmentation), which seemed like enough given that I work a desk job that I can do remotely from bed. Someone with a more physically demanding job would certainly need an extended timeline, given that patients are not supposed to lift anything heavier than five pounds for the first two weeks of healing and aren’t supposed to do anything strenuous for at least a month.

My boyfriend also requested several days off from work so he could take me to and from the surgery and look after me for a few days afterward. I can’t stress how important it is to have someone you trust escort and supervise you during this whole shebang, and you’ll see why when I lay out exactly how the immediate post-op process went.

Two weeks before the operation, I had to visit a general practitioner to clear me for the surgery. It was more or less like getting a physical with some additional bloodwork. Around the same time, Dr. Doft’s assistant mailed me a stash of arnica supplements, which I started taking as instructed one week before the operation and through the first week of recovery. As my paperwork explained, these would prevent and treat bruises, inflammation, and swelling. That same paperwork also provided a list of medications to avoid in the weeks leading up to the surgery; the big ones to note are multivitamins and ibuprofen.

A couple of days before surgery, the doctor wrote prescriptions for hydrocodone, anti-nausea tablets, an antibiotic to ward off potential infections, and an anti-inflammatory so I would have them on hand. I was also advised to snag Tylenol for pain relief between hydrocodone doses and milk of magnesia in case the anesthesia caused constipation. (Spoiler alert: It did.) I also received Dr. Doft’s surgical bill via email a couple of days before the operation and paid it in full with a credit card.

The night before the operation, I took the longest “everything shower” possible per the nurse's suggestion. It was the last time I’d be able to shower without caution for a couple of weeks and the last time I’d be able to shower at all for a few days. I’m also glad I got a lot of exercise leading up to that night. After the operation, I wouldn’t be allowed to lift anything remotely heavy or do any strenuous activity for four to six weeks.

Just as instructed, I arrived at the operating facility at 7:30 the morning wearing the baggiest clothing possible, glasses instead of contact lenses, and no body jewelry. I was quickly escorted by a nurse to a regular patient room (pictured below), where I was asked to remove all my clothes and put on another gown, plus a hair net and a pair of hospital socks with the grippy stuff all over them. The nurse came back in to check my vital signs and had me provide a urine sample for a pregnancy test. I signed a few consent forms, too.

Then, Dr. Doft came into the room to have one more touch base and make some final preparations; with a marker, she drew some lines across my chest where she would be making incisions. At this point, she also told me she wanted to do some subtle liposuction on my outer chest (near my armpits, essentially), which would give my breasts the visual illusion of more curve. I fully trusted her opinion of what would look best, so although I was a little taken aback by the idea of getting liposuction, I agreed she should do it (once again, no regrets).

Lastly, it was time to consult with the anesthesiologist, which didn’t take long considering I’d had a major surgery before and was already familiar with the process and side effects of general anesthesia (which include but are not limited to nausea, muscle aches, chills, constipation, dry mouth, and, of course, fatigue). I paid her fee directly via Zelle because she was an independent, third-party provider. This isn’t always the case for anesthesiologists, but it isn’t unusual when you’re having surgery through a private practice.

Dr. Doft and her team escorted me down the hall to the operating room, where I simply had to lie down and let them get to work. Once the anesthesiologist put the IV in my arm, it took maybe a minute for me to fully pass out—an oddly peaceful experience with the doctor holding my hand and a Backstreet Boys song playing softly over the beeping of all the medical devices.

Following surgery, while I was still conked out, I was placed in a surgical bra that I would have to wear nearly 24/7 for the first six weeks of recovery. It’s kind of like a sports bra with Velcro up the front, on the sides, and on the straps, making it super adjustable and easy to get in and out of (underneath the bra, my incisions were covered in surgical tape, and gauze pads were placed on top to prevent potential oozing). I was taken to a dark, quiet recovery room and placed on a slightly laid-back chair similar to the one shown above, with a blanket to keep me warm. That’s where I started waking up roughly 30 minutes after the operation.

You know when you rise from an unplanned nap and it feels like you traveled to another dimension? That’s what this felt like but a thousand times worse. I stirred and fell back asleep at least four times before I could keep my eyes open and form full sentences. (Apparently, I asked the nurse to bring me applesauce, then told her I didn’t want it when she brought it to me seconds later. I was fully unconscious. I have no recollection of this.) When I finally came all the way to, the room spun so aggressively that I nearly vomited. Thank God the nursing staff came ready with some juice and anti-nausea medication, which took mere seconds to kick in.

Not long after, I was left to change back into my clothes. I was grateful to have brought things like a zip-up hoodie I could slip into without bending over or lifting my arms over my head. Before I could be discharged, I had to prove that I could stand up and walk without issue, which I did just fine with a little help from the nurse for balance. In total, I spent about an hour in recovery between the end of the operation and discharge.

As my boyfriend drove us home from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn, I felt like I was fighting for my life. Keeping my eyes closed to avoid getting more nauseated, I had to hold onto my boobs for dear life so they would remain undisturbed while we drove over New York’s unevenly paved streets. I only vomited once the entire day, which I consider a victory. It happened immediately after arriving home and sitting on my bed.

I slept for the remainder of that day, waking up occasionally to take my pain medication as directed and drink plenty of fluids. Given that my digestive system wasn’t fully operating yet, I only ate soup and saltine crackers and soft foods. I got up a few times to take tiny walks around my apartment (walking is advised to prevent blood clots in the legs). I had to take very light steps to avoid disturbing the incisions and causing more pain—moving at all was pretty difficult because they were so fresh and sensitive.

I was in a great deal of pain. My boobs felt like they were on fire and might fall apart at any moment, and the pain levels waxed and waned throughout the day as the anesthesia wore off and the pain meds took over (and then wore off). Generally, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck, the type of whole-body drowsiness and soreness that comes with just about any major surgery. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case for too long.

My surgery took place on a Wednesday morning, and it took until Saturday night to feel somewhat alive again. It became evident very quickly that the soreness would linger for quite some time, though. By day two, dark purple and greenish-yellow bruises had developed all over my breasts and chest, the natural result of being cut open and sewn back up (hence, the arnica and anti-inflammatory meds). My general pain level did go down pretty quickly. After the first two days, I found that consistent Tylenol was enough during the day, and a single hydrocodone at night helped me sleep through the discomfort. I stopped taking the hydrocodone entirely by Sunday.

My first of several follow-up appointments was that Friday. My boyfriend drove me because walking long distances and taking public transit would have been pretty painful at that point (I still had to hold my boobs in place on the ride over). Dr. Doft removed my surgical bra—which I hadn’t yet done myself out of sheer fear my boobs would fall off—and I saw my results for the first time. Despite the blooming bruises, surgical tape, and visible swelling, it was a big moment. My breasts hadn’t yet reached their final form, but I could tell they were evenly sized for the first time since I’d hit puberty. The best part, though, was being told I could start taking showers again, even though I couldn’t put my chest directly under the stream until the two-week mark.

I went back to work (remotely) the following Monday, but maintaining focus was tough. The prep paperwork said I might feel a “tugging” sensation in my nipples, but I severely underestimated how intense and constant that sensation would be. It was similar to that tingly feeling you get when your nipples are hardening from cold temperatures or arousal but cranked up to the max. It wasn't so much painful as it was annoying, and I would feel it for hours on end for the first three or four weeks of recovery. Then, there was the problem of sleep. I’m a stomach and side sleeper, so sleeping on my back with two pillows propping me up for the first few weeks had me feeling sleep-deprived more than the pain.

A week after the first appointment, I’d have my second, by which point I was comfortable taking the subway as long as I tread carefully, especially down stairs. The bruises had lightened to a subtle yellow, the swelling had dissipated, and the surgical tape had fallen away (you have to wait for it to come off on its own instead of pulling it off) to reveal slightly jagged-looking, lumpy scars that were extremely sensitive to the touch and sometimes delivered sharp, quick pangs of pain, all of which is normal for fresh incisions closed with dissolvable sutures.

Thankfully, recovery was going according to plan, but some parts of my left breast were rock-solid. Nothing to fret about, the doctor said, just what she described as “old blood” that had pooled and hardened within the breast. It would eventually go away on its own, however, she extracted most of it with a syringe for the sake of speeding up the healing process (and it immediately eased some of my soreness, too). On my way out, I purchased a couple of Sliagen products from the front desk that would help diminish the appearance of the scars: a 100% silicone gel I could start applying twice daily the following week, and silicone strips I was advised to wear all day, every day, for a couple of months starting the week after that.

I’d see Dr. Doft another time, a month later, about six weeks post-op, where there was nothing major to report: The bruises had finally peaced out, and the sutures had dissolved, so the incisions looked smoother and felt far less sensitive. The shape of my breasts were coming close to achieving their final form—just the tiniest bit lumpy-looking along the bottom because the incisions hadn’t fully matured yet (that takes roughly a year).

At last, I was showering and sleeping on my stomach without caution or discomfort and feeling tantalizingly close to normal. Dr. Doft cleared me to do any type of exercise and to stop wearing the surgical bra—a giant relief. I had been going stir-crazy from all the bed rest, and I low-key despised the surgical bra. Its Velcro was itchy and barely stuck to itself by the end, despite my barely having washed it (by hand, no less). I swapped to a supportive sports bra during the day and returned to going blissfully braless at night. All that was left was to keep up with that scar care and wait for my final follow-up appointment at the six-month mark, which hasn’t happened yet.

As I write this, it’s been eight weeks since my surgery, and I love the outcome more and more every day. They’re not completely healed just yet—the slight lumpiness from the tight (and rather visible) incisions is still there, but they’re rounding out gradually day by day.

My nipples have yet to return to normal, that’s for sure. As my boyfriend jokes, he’s “waiting for life to return” to them, an accurate description of their current state. They went from feeling hypersensitive all the time to being mostly numb to the touch, and I shouldn’t expect that to change for a while. As I said, full maturation takes a year. They are starting to become reactive again, subtly hardening or softening based on the temperature and whatnot. And they look kind of puffy because they have yet to settle in their new place. Going into this process, I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of my areolas becoming smaller and potentially having a different shape, but Dr. Doft managed to give them a lovely round shape that I’m confident will look incredibly natural once time does its thing. And it’s a relief to see my nipples facing relatively forward for once.

In all, what I wanted was two smaller, evenly sized breasts that sat as high as they did several years ago, and that’s exactly what I got. They’re not identical twins—my right breast is still a little bit firmer and perkier than the left, and the nipples, though very symmetrical, don’t face in the exact same direction—because a surgeon can only do so much with what they’re given. But the very mild, remaining asymmetries are a wonderful thing in my book. If my breasts were perfect copies of one another, they would look manufactured, which is exactly what I wanted to avoid going into this surgery.

Even though I’ll be healing for a good while longer, my breasts are no longer a wardrobe issue: I can wear bras (smaller ones!) without spilling over on one side, and I don’t feel nearly as insecure when I’m not wearing one. Now, I feel compelled to experiment with my wardrobe beyond baggy T-shirts. My posture is different, too. I no longer feel the need to slouch out of self-consciousness, and my upper body feels lighter, making it easier to stand or sit upright.

The even greater payoff, though, is how much more confident I’ve become in my body because of this breast augmentation. For one, it’s validating to know you can endure something so physically tough. But more to the point, it’s helped me let go of so much shame I carried about my breasts. Where I felt the need to hide at my first consultation and the morning of the surgery, I’m now quick to strip down at my follow-up appointments to talk about my now-beloved breasts. I’ve been asking rather impatiently when we can take the final “after” photos (at my six-month check-in) because I’m so excited to see the side-by-side comparison of my old breasts—and life—versus the new.

Having unevenly sized breasts may be a common experience, but it can also be a really hard one to live with, depending on the severity. Though having surgery to solve my asymmetry problem felt like an overly drastic and expensive measure at several points throughout my journey, I can’t put a price on the ease I’ve gained from having done so.

More on plastic surgery and cosmetic treatments:

• 12 Things You Should Know If You’re Considering a Facelift
• The Complete Guide to Facial Fillers
• 13 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Got My Mommy Makeover

Now, watch a surgeon's daily routine:

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