A Double Doctors Check-Up: Results of Bunion Surgery and Breast Reconstruction Surgery

The following material contains graphic images of an actual surgery that may be disturbing. Parents are advised that these images may not be suitable for young children.

The Doctors met two women last year who were both experiencing pain and in need of surgery to fix their problems. Alison is a dancer who was suffering from debilitating foot pain due to her bunions. Lauren's 20-year-old breast implants were causing her great discomfort. The Doctors set them both up with board-certified surgeons and were there to watch the procedures take place! 

Podiatrist Dr. Ali Kosroabadi performed his minimally invasion bunion surgery on Alison. He explains that Alison's bunions were in the top 2% of severity. Before and after photos of her feet illustrate this. He says the only thing she needs to work on now is getting back her strength since her tendons had shifted for such a long time so they have to learn how to function in a different way.

Alison joins The Doctors post-operation and is all smiles! Alison says this life-altering surgery got rid of all her pain. She says the recovery was quick and she was back to dancing six weeks after her operation.  "I have new feet!" she exclaims. To show off her moves, Alison pulls ER physician Dr. Travis Stork onto the floor to be her partner.

While bunions do have a genetic component, The Doctors share how choosing the correct, non-restrictive footwear, can help to prevent them.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Leif Rogers performs Lauren's breasts reconstruction surgery. He removes her breast implants and then does fat grafting into her breast instead of putting new implants in. Lauren shares with The Doctors that she is now living without pain and is so happy!

Plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon comments that you could see on a breast implant the effect of capsular contracture (a tightening of scar tissue around a breast implant) which is why women have pain and why they have distortion. Dr. Rogers says Lauren's looked like a kidney shape and her capsules were extreme.

Dr. Travis questions if this fat transfer is a permanent solution and Dr. Rogers says it is. He says you keep about two-thirds of that fat that you graft forever. The fat cells that were put into Lauren's breasts were living cells which can grow and shrink with weight gain and loss.

Dr. Rogers says with women who want to maintain the size of their larger implants, they may need more than one fat grafting session. Or, if a woman wants bigger breasts, this is an option instead of implants. Dr. Ordon comments that this is the most natural way to enhance a woman's breast and it's an exciting advancement in their field.

Since the procedure is still relatively new, Dr. Rogers doesn't think most doctors are offering it, however, more and more are. Fat grafting is now part of plastic surgery training. 

Dr. Rogers says if you have breast implants and aren't having any trouble, leave them as is. However, if you have pain, as Lauren did, then it's time to replace them or take them out entirely. If there is pain, insurance should cover the cost to remove them. 

The Doctors are happy to see both patients are doing well and loving their results!