Breast augmentationUnited Kingdom5 min read
Did Abbie Holborn have a breast augmentation? Yes — her second, in Turkey
Abbie Holborn, the Geordie Shore star, documented her second breast augmentation in real time in February 2023 — including the unglamorous part: a wheelchair at a shopping mall in Turkey, five days after surgery. Here is what she shared, and what a breast augmentation involves.
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Key facts about the procedure
- Back to work7–14 days
- Stay in clinic1 day
- AnaesthesiaGeneral
- Fixed price$4,700
Profile
Abbie Holborn
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Who
- Reality TV star, Geordie Shore
- Year of operation
- 2023
- Quote source
- The Sun, 21 February 2023
What did Abbie Holborn share about her boob job?
Abbie Holborn flew to Turkey for a secret breast enlargement — her second — and documented the whole thing for her followers. As The Sun reported on 21 February 2023, days after the operation she posted herself being pushed in a wheelchair at a shopping mall, with the caption: “Living the absolute dream hun x.” A day later the reality was improving: “I can walk a lot better today but just rinsing it for as long as I can tbh x.”
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WhatsAppThe wheelchair was not a crisis — it was the honest middle of a normal recovery, and she was clearly enjoying the ride. The Sun noted she had flown to Turkey to alter the size of her chest, and the Mail's report on the same operation placed it as her second boob job, in a career of procedures she has described herself as addicted to. Either way, the sequence she showed — surgery, wheelchair, walking better, showing the bruising and swelling — is the real anatomy of the first weeks after a breast augmentation.
That is what this article relies on: her posts as reported by the newspaper. Everything below describes breast augmentation in general, not her treatment.
Why documenting recovery is useful
Celebrity surgery posts usually skip from the operating table to the final reveal. Abbie Holborn did the opposite: the wheelchair, the jokes, the slow return to walking.
More on this topic: Breast augmentation and mammoplasty with a natural result, Breast Augmentation with Implants, Breast Lift (Mastopexy), Breast Implants in Calgary, Breast Augmentation in Accra.
That middle week is exactly what patients ask about most — when can I walk, when can I lift, when does it stop feeling tight — and seeing it documented in real time prepares a patient better than any leaflet.
Her case also raises the medical reality of surgery abroad: the operation itself is only half the story, and aftercare happens far from the surgeon. Follow-up appointments, and a clinic that stays reachable across borders for the full year of healing, are worth checking before booking — wherever the operation happens.
How a breast augmentation is done today
A breast augmentation restores or adds volume with implants and can correct shape and asymmetry. Implant size, profile and shape are chosen with the surgeon based on anatomy and the result the patient wants. Implants differ in material (silicone looks most natural), shape (round or anatomical), surface and profile; incisions are placed in hidden areas and scars fade over 6 to 12 months.
A second augmentation — an implant exchange, as in Abbie Holborn's case — replaces or updates existing implants and is planned around the tissue's condition.
Breast augmentation with implants
- Main goal
- More volume, shape correction
- When it is considered
- Low volume, volume lost after pregnancy or weight loss, asymmetry
Implant exchange
- Main goal
- New size, profile or technology
- When it is considered
- Ageing implants, a change of preference
Breast lift with implants
- Main goal
- Volume plus lifted position
- When it is considered
- Volume loss together with marked skin laxity
The right combination is chosen at the consultation, not from a celebrity story.
Who is a candidate and how to prepare
A candidate is an adult in stable health whose weight has settled. Contraindications include active infection, pregnancy and breastfeeding, severe heart or lung disease, blood clotting disorders and anything that rules out safe general anaesthesia.
- Prepare for the first week honestly: help with daily tasks, loose clothing, and no lifting — the wheelchair-and-walking stage Abbie Holborn showed is normal.
- Bring your medical history, including previous operations and medicines; the surgeon decides which tests are needed.
- Check the aftercare plan before booking: who monitors your healing, and for how long.
What recovery looks like
The patient spends a day in the clinic after surgery. Moderate discomfort in the first one to three days is normal and eases clearly by day 5–7 — the point at which most people, like Holborn, are up and walking better each day. Most people go back to work without physical strain after 7–14 days. For three weeks there is no lifting over 3 kg and no raising the arms above shoulder level.
Compression garments are worn for 4–6 weeks; swimming and fitness usually return then, strength training after about three months. Swelling settles in about a month, and full recovery takes 3–6 months. The timeline below shows the usual stages.
How recovery after breast augmentation usually goes
- Day of surgeryGeneral anaesthesia; one day in the inpatient ward under round-the-clock care.
- Days 1–7Moderate discomfort, relieved with painkillers; walking improves day by day.
- Days 7–14Return to work without physical exertion.
- 3 weeksSwelling goes down; no lifting over 3 kg, arms below shoulder level.
- 4–6 weeksCompression garments are no longer needed; swimming and fitness.
- 3 monthsDiscomfort is gone and the tissue has settled; strength training is possible.
Breast augmentation at City Medical Centre
City Medical Centre performs breast augmentation for international patients under general anaesthesia, including patients from London. The first consultation with the plastic surgeon is free and can begin online with photos: the surgeon discusses size, shape, previous operations and whether a lift is needed, and the price is fixed in the contract before a date is booked.
The price is $4,700 and covers result modelling, anaesthesia, the inpatient stay with meals, dressings and check-ups for a full year. More details are on the breast augmentation page and the page for patients from London.
To be clear: City Medical Centre has no connection with Abbie Holborn or her treatment. Her story is quoted here only because she chose to document her operation openly.
Frequently asked questions
Did Abbie Holborn have a breast augmentation?
Yes — her second. In February 2023 she flew to Turkey for a secret breast enlargement and documented the recovery for her followers, as The Sun reported on 21 February 2023.
What did Abbie Holborn say after the operation?
From the wheelchair she wrote "Living the absolute dream hun x", and a day later: "I can walk a lot better today but just rinsing it for as long as I can tbh x."
Is a wheelchair normal after a breast augmentation?
Using a wheelchair for convenience in the first days after surgery is a practical choice some patients make while sore and swollen; walking usually improves quickly within the first week.
Can implants be exchanged for a different size later?
Yes. A second augmentation — an implant exchange — is a standard operation for changing size or updating implants, planned around the condition of the tissue.
How much does a breast augmentation cost at City Medical Centre?
The price is $4,700, including anaesthesia, the inpatient stay with meals, dressings and a year of check-ups. It is confirmed in the contract after a free consultation.
Sources
What the article says about the celebrity is based only on these public statements.
- The Sun, 21 February 2023
Medical background and further reading
General information about the procedure from health authorities and medical societies. It is not advice for any individual patient.
- PubMed / NCBI — Recognizing and Managing Breast Implant Complications: A Review (Int J Womens Health, 2025)
- PubMed / NCBI — Outcomes in primary breast augmentation: 1539 consecutive cases (Plast Reconstr Surg, 2015)
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons — Breast Augmentation
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Breast Implants
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