Danni shares why she chose Preservé breast augmentation, what she hoped for on the morning of her surgery with Mr Andrej Salibi, and how it felt afterwards.
Where did you hear about us, and what made you book in with Mr Andrej Salibi?
"I found out about you on Instagram, and on the off chance I made a booking for a consultation, but I really wasn't sure if I was going to go through with it or not. After meeting Mr Salibi, he was just so wonderful. He made me feel so at ease, he was so helpful... I put all my trust in him, and I am so excited to see what he does."
Why have you decided to go with Preservé specifically, under local anaesthetic?
"I've decided to go with Preservé because... I like the idea that the recovery time is a lot quicker, and that I'm not fully under, and it's under local anaesthetic as opposed to general... That's probably the main reason I'm having it, for the natural look that I want afterwards. I don't want anything obvious that I've had done... This is just going to be a very natural, subtle change to myself that I'll know, but not necessarily everyone else needs to know about."
What made you have the procedure today?
"The main thing that's made me have the procedure today is for my teenage self. This is for me as a young girl thinking, will I ever hit puberty, and looking around at other girls who look different to me... I know there's nothing wrong with my body at all. My body is perfect, everyone's body is perfect, but this is just something that's really bothered me for many, many years. I think at the ripe old age of 36 it's finally time to go, you know what, you only live once, and I would like to feel finally 100% confident in my body. That is why I want to do it."
With your procedure today, you'll be awake. How do you feel about that?
"I was talking about this with my friend in the car on the way here, and I think I'm just going to try and zone out, switch my mind off, maybe even have a little nap. I just want to clear my mind of everything. It doesn't really bother me that I'm awake for it. I'm just going to have a chat with whoever's there, and by the time it's over, I won't even know. I feel fine about it."
Are you excited for the reaction of your followers? What do you think they'll think?
"I am really excited for the reaction of my followers. Most of my followers are women of a similar age, and I think they will be excited for me. I think they will be nothing but happy for me making this decision for myself. And anyone who's not, I just think, why wouldn't you be? Women supporting women. We've got to all be there for each other, and this isn't hurting anyone. This is just purely for myself. We have to be happy for our friends' decisions, and perfect strangers', and just empower each other. So I'm really hoping they're all really supportive."
Have you told anyone about your procedure today?
"I have told all my closest girlfriends and they are all so excited for me, like unreal excited for me. They've all said the same: you don't need to change anything about yourself, but if you want to do it for you, then why not? What an amazing opportunity to have. They've all been so supportive and I can't wait to show them."
Preservé can be done under local anaesthetic with the patient awake, or under twilight anaesthetic for patients who prefer to be asleep. The main benefit is that it preserves the breast tissue, with minimal disruption.
Mr Salibi, on what Preservé is
"Today we are doing a breast augmentation using the Preservé technique. Preservé is a new method of introducing the implants into the breast... The incisions are usually smaller, about 3 cm, which allows us to insert the implant through that."
Mr Salibi, on the day
"This patient is having it done under local anaesthetic with some sedation... so she's fully awake, she's got her headphones on, and we'll be talking to her throughout the procedure."
The team, during the local anaesthetic injections
"Sharp scratch coming... You're doing so well, Danni. That's honestly the worst bit, I think."
Danni rated the pain 5 out of 10 at this point.
Can you feel anything?
"You can feel it, but... nothing hurts. It's just like someone doing the washing up on top of your body, does that make sense? It doesn't feel like it's my body parts being touched, if that makes sense. So you can feel movement, but it doesn't hurt, it's just like weird."
Do you feel comfortable?
"Oh yeah, I've got my tunes on. I'm having a nice little rest, no kids shouting at me. It's quite nice really, a nice little sit down."
Mr Salibi, on choosing the implant size
"The size is dictated by what the patient wants, but also a lot of it is dictated by the measurements of the breast."
How was getting the implants in?
"It felt fine, it wasn't uncomfortable... just a little bit like ooh, but nothing."
How are you feeling?
"I feel amazing. I feel a bit emotional as well, actually. When we came back in the room I felt a little bit emotional... I feel brilliant, I feel great. I nodded off a few times as well, it was that relaxing. It was amazing."
How did it feel having it all done awake?
"It felt absolutely fine, honestly. At first I was nervous and I thought, oh my goodness, I wish they'd just knocked me out. And then after like 10 minutes I just relaxed completely and... I might as well just listen to my music and chill out, have a nice chill time to myself. It was amazing."
What would you say to anyone considering this under local anaesthetic?
"I think for me personally, listening to music really, really helps. I asked the surgeon not to tell me what he was doing. At times I was trying to guess what he was doing, that was quite fun, and actually it turned out every time I was completely wrong... You can feel that movement, but nothing explicit at all. So just put your music on, be with your own thoughts, and have a nice chill out for an hour. That's what I would say."
Everyone's experience is different. This is Danni's, on the day of her surgery.
Preservé is designed to avoid muscle disruption, which means the body experiences far less trauma. As a result, recovery is generally smoother, faster, and more comfortable than traditional breast augmentation, where implants are often placed under the muscle.
30-45 minutes
Within 3 days
Around a week after your surgery, to check your wound is healing well.
You will see your final result around 12 weeks after surgery, but your scars will continue to improve over 18 months.
Minimal downtime
2 year aftercare
