Breast Augmentation
Breast augmentation, also known as mammoplasty, is a surgical enhancement procedure to accentuate the size and shape of a woman's breasts. While breast augmentation will make the breasts larger, the surgery may not move the breasts closer together or lift sagging breasts. Breast augmentation is tremendous help to patients who desire a fuller profile, who have lost breast volume due to pregnancy or nursing, or who have undergone breast reconstruction and want to gain a more natural look again.
Reasons for Considering Breast Augmentation:
• Enhance body shape if breasts are too small.
• Increase breast volume after pregnancy and nursing.
• Equalize a difference in breast size (cup size) to gain breast symmetry.
• Reconstruct breasts following a mastectomy or injury.
General Procedure
Breast augmentation involves making a small incision to insert a breast implant under the breast area in order to enlarge the breast. The surgery is commonly performed on an outpatient basis at a hospital or state-of-the-art outpatient surgical unit while the patient is under a general anesthesia and asleep. There are several possible locations for the small incision that will be used for inserting the breast implant. The most frequent technique utilizes an incision made in the lower portion of the breast. A second technique makes an incision around the areola (the darker skin surrounding the nipple). The best technique will be decided together between the patient and the surgeon during the consultation.
During surgery, the breast tissue is raised to create a pocket under the breast tissue or beneath the chest wall muscle. Inserting an implant behind each breast can increase a woman's breast size by one or more bra cup sizes. Implants typically contain a silicone gel which is cohesive or viscous. Being very viscous prevents the silicone gel from spreading so much in case of a rupture in the tissue like older style silicone implants did.
Recovery Process
Generally, post-operative instructions call for plenty of rest and limited movement in order to speed up the healing process and recovery time. A bra is applied right after surgery to aid the healing process and to minimize movement of the breasts. This specialized surgical bra will need to be worn for 2-3 weeks. Patients sometimes report moderate pain associated with the surgery. This pain can be treated effectively with oral medication. While complications are rare, patients can minimize potential problems by carefully following the directions given by the physician after surgery.
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