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When Karen, 57, had her 30-year-old silicone breast implants removed, she expected a lift to her decollete - not her health.

"For the last decade of my life, I had been blaming my extreme fatigue, itching, mood swings, hot flashes, nausea and so many other things to menopause. I tried every natural remedy, everything for stress relief, everything doctors suggested - nothing made it better," says Karen.

The one thing she didn't try - and what worked: Her auto-augmentation surgery with Dr. Justin Heller of Heller Plastic Surgery.

"I've had my implants since I was in my 20s. After nursing two babies, I had nothing left. I knew I should replace them every decade, but life happens," says Karen. "I wanted them out because they had adhered to my chest. The implants stayed high while my breast tissue had loosened and dropped with gravity. I was embarrassed by the look."

Concerned that a less-experienced doctor could rupture three-decade-old implants - or not appropriately detach them from her chest wall - she turned to her most trusted source. "Dr. Heller did a facelift for me before and I fell in love with his office, staff and him, too - he has an incredible bedside manner and my results were amazing," she says.

"I asked Dr. Heller, 'What are we going to put in there after these are gone?' I wasn't thrilled by the thought of new implants, but I was unaware of any other options," says the SCV resident.
"Karen was a perfect candidate for auto-augmentation - a procedure I created that utilizes excess tissue from under the armpit to naturally add shape and projection to the breast," says the board-certified plastic surgeon. "It allows for a gorgeous, natural look that is youthful and flattering. The bonus is that 'bra bulge' is addressed at the same time, so the resulting silhouette is slimming, too."

"My new breasts are all mine - and they're gorgeous. I couldn't be happier," says Karen, who discovered that her old implants were ruptured and leaking. "I feel so much more confident, but even more than that - I feel so much better. The moment those implants were out of me, every single symptom I had suffered from went away entirely. It was never menopause - my old implants were making me very ill. It's unfortunate that no doctor ever hinted that could be an issue, but I am thrilled to be feeling this way now, thanks to Dr. Heller."
Justin B. Heller, MD is a board-certified, Yale-educated plastic surgeon. He has been named Santa Clarita's Best Plastic Surgeon four years in a row. Heller Plastic Surgery is located at 23838 Valencia Boulevard, Suite 260 in Valencia. 661-233-4949