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Know All About Breast Augmentation

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How Can I Make My Breasts Bigger?

It is common for many women to want to change the shape or size of their breasts. If you have disproportionate or saggy breasts, due to sudden weight loss, or if your breasts have changed unshapely, following pregnancy, then you will want to continue reading. 

Reasons for unshapely breasts can be many. If you have undergone a mastectomy after breast cancer or another similar serious health condition, you may be need to undergo breast reconstruction to regain the full and healthy figure of your breasts.

 

Breast Augmentation can help you get fuller breasts.

What Is Breast Augmentation?

A breast augmentation procedure improves the fullness of breasts and give a more curvier look to them. It enhances the overall look of the body and provides balance to a person’s figure. 

It is an elective surgery and is known to prove congenital defects in the breast shape or size. Furthermore, women who have undergone mastectomy or any serious health conditions that have altered the shape of their breast can use this procedure to reconstruct their breasts. 

There are many ways to perform breast enlargements. The method must be tailored to the individual patient needs. The principal is to create a pocket under the breast tissue and place a breast implant into that pocket. The breast enlargement operation is done under either local or general anesthetic.

Breast Augmentation is commonly known as Breast Impant, Breast Enlargement or Boob Job.

 

Who Are Ideal Candidates For Breast Augmentation?

This procedure is ideal for those who seek the following benefits:

 

A better proportioned or more appealing figure.

If pregnancy, weight loss or aging has affected the size, shape and firmness of your breasts.

To restore symmetry if one of your breasts is smaller than the other.

One of your breasts is noticeably smaller than the other.

If you are in good health, have a positive attitude and realistic expectations, you are most likely a good candidate for this procedure.

What Are The Different Types Of Breast Augmentation?

Implants

An implant is placed in a pocket, either:

  • Underneath the pectoral muscle (located between the breast tissue and chest wall). Placement of the implant underneath the pectoral muscle may interfere less with mammograms and breast-feeding. 

  • Underneath the breast tissue, on top of the pectoral muscle.

Different kinds of implants are available, depending on your medical history, body shape and aesthetic goals -

  1. Saline-filled breast implants are filled with sterile salt water. They may be prefilled at a predetermined size, or filled at the time of surgery, to allow for minor modifications in implant size.

  2. Silicone-filled breast implants are filled with soft, elastic gel, available in a variety of shapes. These are pre-filled and may require a longer incision for implant placement.

  3. Cohesive gel silicone (“gummy bear” or “form stable”) implants are filled with a cohesive gel made of crosslinked molecules of silicone. This makes them slightly thicker and firmer than traditional silicone implants. This enables them to hold their shape better.

Autologous Fat Transfer

Autologous fat transfer removes fat through liposuction from an area of your body in which have abundant fat cells (thighs, abdomen and hips). After processing (preparation and refinement), the fat cells are injected into your breast. This method is less common than breast implant augmentation and not as developed.

Your plastic surgeon might combine any of the above mentioned breast augmentation options with a breast lift, if there is any sagging or drooping of your breasts.Your medical history, goals from the surgery, body mass and size, breast tissue and preferences will determine the optimum method for you.

What To Do Before A Breast Augmentation?

  • Your surgeon would answer any questions you may have, take a detailed medical history and perform a physical exam to determine your fitness for surgery.

  • Mammograms are generally used before as well as after the procedure to detect and track any changes in your breast tissue.

  • You will have to quit smoking at least 6 weeks before surgery to prevent delay in the recovery time after the surgery.

  • As per the directions of the surgeon, you will have to stop taking aspirin and certain anti-inflammatory drugs can increase both internal and external bleeding during the surgery and the recovery.

  • For breast augmentation using autologous fat transfer, you may be instructed to wear a special bra to allow free expansion of the skin and tissue around the breasts to prepare them for fat injection.

  • Breast augmentation is usually performed on an outpatient basis. Be sure to arrange for someone to drive you home after surgery and to stay with you for at least the first night following surgery.

  • On the day of the surgery, patient is administered anesthesia and other medications to ease any discomfort and monitors are used to check heart rate and blood circulation. 

  • In a breast implant procedure, following insertion and placement of breast implants, your surgeon will use sutures to close the surgical incisions. Many plastic surgeons will wrap your chest area with a gauze bandage or surgical compression bra to provide support and assist with healing. Occasionally, drainage tubes may be used for a short time following surgery.

  • Breast augmentation with autologous fat transfer requires two procedures: liposuction and fat injection. Your liposuction incisions will be closed with sutures, and you will wear compression garments over the liposuction areas and your breasts.

  • Most likely, you may be permitted to go home after a short observation period.

 What Is The Post-operative Care For A Breast Augmentation?

  • Your surgeon will let you know when you can return to your normal level of activity and work. After surgery, you and your caregiver will receive detailed after care instructions, including information about:

    • Drains, if they have been placed

    • Normal symptoms you will experience

    • Potential signs of complication

  • Immediately after breast augmentation surgery, patient may experience pain due to the anesthetic wearing off and the stretching of breast tissue, especially when implants have been placed under the chest muscle. 

  • Your breasts may feel tight and sensitive to the touch and your skin may feel warm or itchy. 

  • You may experience difficulty raising your arms.

  • Any discoloration and swelling (within a month) will disappear quickly. 

  • Recovery time is normally at least 6 weeks, but this varies greatly among individuals. You should be able to walk without assistance immediately after the surgery. Walk a few minutes every few hours, to reduce the risk of blood clot formation in your legs. The time before you get back to work depends on your profession.

  • For the long term, schedule routine mammograms during the stages of healing after breast augmentation at the frequency recommended for your age group by your doctor. 

  • Continue to perform breast self-examination in the recovery stages. For safety, as well as the best outcome, return to your plastic surgeon's office for follow-up evaluation at scheduled times and whenever you notice any changes in your breasts. Do not hesitate to contact your surgeon when you have any questions or concerns.

  • The results of your breast augmentation surgery will be long-lasting; however, breast implants need to be replaced if they leak. You should have a routine follow-up with your surgeon. Fat transfer surgery has different expectations, including losing some volume over time. Your breasts can change due to:

    • Childbirth

    • Aging

    • Weight gain or loss

    • Hormonal factors

    • Gravity

What Is The Diet For A Breast Augmentation

Avoid alcohol and smoking.

Avoid taking blood thinners (aspirin, ibuprofen, garlic extract, niacin, vitamin E, fish oil, etc) and herbal medications that may cause heart arrhythmias or interfere with anesthesia.

Dietary supplements, herbal preparations, and naturopathic remedies are to be avoided for 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after surgery.

Drink plenty of fluids after surgery, and consider a stool softener while on pain medications, since they typically cause constipation. Consider using a laxative if the stool softener does not working after a few days.

Avoid excess salt because it will make you retain more fluid than necessary.  Be sure to eat lots of fiber to avoid dreaded postoperative constipation.

After surgery, you can shift from a liquid to soft diet to a regular diet, as tolerated. On occasions, patients feel nauseous from the anesthesia or pain medicine and need to settle their stomachs before ingesting fluids or solids.

What Are The Realistic Expectations From A Breast Augmentation?

  • Results of breast augmentation procedures are not permanent with augmentation through a fat transfer lasting longer than implants.

  • The largeness or size of the implants depends on ruptures in case of implants. On an average, after 10 years, there in only a deflation of 10% of the implant. 

  • The left and right breasts may take different times to settle, leading to some initial asymmetry for upto 3 months.

  • Correction surgeries in cases of major asymmetry and for complications may have to be performed.

  • Recovery time may vary from one patient to another and can last from 6 months to a year.

  • Breasts may seem hard and stiff right after the surgery and begin to soften up and obtain a natural appearance only after two months.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Breast Augmentation?

  • Pros

  • Cons

  • Augmentation is a long-term solution for achieving an ideal figure.

  • Breast implants add volume to the breast, that helps fill out clothing better and create more cleavage.

  • Enhancement of your natural curves can create a shape that is flattering and proportionate to the rest of your body, particularly for pear-shaped women if they prefer to become an hourglass shape instead.

  • It helps to boost the patient's self-confidence and benefits him by making him more self-assured both in and out of clothing.

  • Improperly sized implants or poorly performed breast augmentation can give your breasts a “fake” appearance. It is important for you to get a thorough and proper consultation before your procedure that will help you to make an informed choice and choose the right fit for you. Ensure that you are meeting with a licensed, skilled professional.

  • The texture and feeling of your breasts may change, especially if using saline implants. You have to check whether you are a good candidate for the procedure. For e.g. the same implant may look stiff under stretched skin in case of an individual too skinny.

  • As with any cosmetic surgery, there’s a risk that you may not feel as happy with the outcome as you’d hoped.

  • Breast implants require monitoring to promptly identify and treat any signs of rupture.

  • Implants will eventually need to be replaced - while still under study, there are prolonged long term effects of implants one should be aware about.

  • Normal surgical risks are involved.

  • Breast augmentation, like any surgery, will leave some scars behind.

Who Should Avoid Undergoing Breast Augmentation?

  • Pregnant women are not advised to undergo the procedure as this could affect lactation at a later stage. However, several women get implants after pregnancy as they feel that their breasts become too loose and saggy and they want to make the breasts look ‘perky’ in appearance. 

  • Heart patients are not advised to undergo breast augmentation procedures. The complications and risks of the surgery are increased in their cases. These people can only opt for the surgery if their cardiologists approve and clear them for it. 

What Are The Alternatives To Breast Augmentation?

Fat Injection

Fat injections can be used to bring about breast augmentation in patients with breast defects. There can be multiple rounds of fat injections depending upon the patient’s wishes of the desired size. This technique is more natural because it uses a person’s own body-fat. 

Brava

It is a natural breast enhancement process which makes use of enlargement pumps which generate suction in the breast tissue to increase blood flow and tissue growth. This stretches the tissues and consequently, the breast size increases. However, the effect is slow to show and can take many months. Also, it is not long lasting as a breast implant. 

Does Breast Augmentation Lead To Scarring?

An incision can be made in one of four places:

  • Inframammary: Underneath the breast, just above the crease
  • Transaxillary: Near the armpit, where the arm meets the chest area
  • Periareolar: Around the lower edge of the areola (the dark area surrounding the nipple)
  • Transumbilical: in the navel

Your incision scar will be permanent, but most are light to nearly invisible. At first it may be thick & red, but should become thin and light. Due to the placement of incisions along the curvatures of the body, or in places that are not normally exposed, they are quite indiscernible after complete healing, even when the site is exposed. Scars may become reddened before they fade. This is normal. Everyone heals differently, so be patient. 

Do not tan your scars for the first 9 months following surgery, because they are more sensitive to the sun during this period and may tan darker than the surrounding skin. This darkness, if allowed to occur, may be permanent. In general, it is safe to begin using sunscreen on your incisions three weeks after surgery. Even if you are wearing a bathing suit, you should still cover your incisions with sunscreen during this early period of 9-12 months. Tanning beds can be particularly injurious to your incisions, and this activity should be avoided completely during the first 3 months after surgery.

What Are The Temporary Side-effects Of A Breast Augmentation?

  • In the couple of days that follow the surgery, the patient may experience pain as the tissues in the area are stretched. Pain medication can help alleviate the pain.

  • Swelling, soreness, and stiffness can be observed in the treated areas. This can be helped by wearing compression bandages or garments to support the breasts.

  • Theres is a risk of fluid accumulation which is generally treated by attaching drainage tubes and pipes in the hospital. 

  • Immediately after the surgery, as the skin adjusts to the new breasts’ size, it feels stiff and tight. This feeling subsides in a week. 

  • Incision scars also fade in a few months’ time. 

 How To Choose A Surgeon For A Breast Augmentation?

Although some people consider breast augmentation to be a simple procedure, one must choose a surgeon who has had a lot of experience with the procedure to obtain a ‘natural looking’ result.

You can do this by asking for pictures of results of the previous procedures done by the surgeon and examining his success rate. It is easy to fall prey to quacks. Therefore, the patient should ensure that the doctor is board certified and that his credentials are not fake. It is important to also inspect the operating facility and hospital that the surgery is going to be performed in, before the procedure.

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