Procedure: Breast Augmentation and Enlargement; Mammaplasty

Purpose: To increase the size and shape of the breast using saline breast implants

Surgery Length: 1-2 hours

Anesthesia: General

Where: Outpatient Surgery

Recovery: First 24 hours, out of bed, lift arms, full range of motion

Back to work: One week

Risks: Bleeding, infection, hardening of the implant, rupture, asymmetrical breast and scarring

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Breast implants are a popular way for a woman to enhance her body, and the second most common cosmetic surgery performed on women. Deciding whether or not to have breast surgery is a very personal decision, as breast sizes vary greatly among women. Some of the reasons a woman may decide to have breast augmentation are to increase the size of small or underdeveloped breasts, to reshape and enlarge breasts that have lost their shape and fullness due to pregnancy, nursing, or aging, or to create symmetry between breasts of differing shapes or size. The surgeon accomplishes this with the placement of a breast implant. Dr. Man provides a program of post-operative care called Quick Recovery Breast Augmentation that helps patients experience the best results and care for their new implants.

Types of Implants
Breast implants consist of two types: a silicone pouch with an inner filling of silicone gel; and a silicone pouch filled with a saline solution (salt water). Silicone is a bio-compatible material that has been used in medicine for many years. It is also common in artificial joint replacements, cardiac pacemakers, and syringes, in addition to hundreds of products that we come into contact with every day, including food, plastics, clothing, and even the furniture we sit on.

Saline-filled implants are the most popular implants in use today. Inamed Aesthetics, Mentor, and McGhan are three of the world’s leading manufacturers of saline-filled implants.

Silicone gel-filled breast implants are currently available only to women who are undergoing breast reconstruction after a mastectomy (breast removal) and to patients who are having revisionary surgery to remove implants that have hardened or ruptured.

How do you and the doctor choose the right size and shape that is best for you?
Implants come in many shapes, textures and sizes. Choosing the right implant for you is a decision you and the doctor will make based on your personal desires, weight, and body shape. Whether low profile, medium (moderate) profile, or high profile, the surgeon can customize the implant width and projection to achieve your desired look. The surgeon will not only help you determine the best size for you, but also the best shape.

The Procedure
There are several ways the implant can be inserted. The most popular methods are the following:

• Through an incision just under the breast in the crease where the breast meets the chest wall. This is called an inframammary incision.
• Through the nipple and areola (peri-areolar incision).
• Through an incision in the armpit, referred to as an axillary incision.
• Through the belly button.

In each case, the incision scar is well-hidden in the skin fold or bra line. The implant is surgically placed in a pocket located inside the breast, either behind the breast tissue or behind the breast muscle. The procedure takes approximately one to two hours to complete. The procedure is performed under general anesthesia in an accredited outpatient surgery facility.

Quick Recovery Breast Augmentation
It is also important for the surgeon to have a plan for the patient’s quick recovery post-operatively. Quick recover is accomplished several ways:

• During surgery:
  • The surgeon is very gentle in manipulating the tissues and dissecting the soft tissue, and he or she does not allow any instruments to rest on the ribs. The result is that all bleeding is stopped immediately. These two factors are important in decreasing the trauma to the soft tissue, thereby allowing the patient to heal rapidly.
  • The surgeon uses general anesthesia that is monitored in a specific way, for example through BIS monitoring.
• After surgery:
  • The patient is encouraged to move the upper extremities immediately with no compression dressing. She typically will get out of bed, move around and have a good dinner that night, and require minimal pain medication. The next day she will have a shower and will be encouraged to lay on her abdomen and increase activities each day until they become normal. This technique is new and in contrast to other techniques that were associated with discomfort and longer recovery.

Recovery
After surgery the breast will be tender and feel tight. Nipple sensation is reduced, but should return after a period of several weeks. There will also be some swelling and bruising, which will disappear. Special instructions regarding activity, medication, and exercises for the shower and bedtime help patients adjust to their new implants and reduce the risk of capsular contracture (scar tissue) formation. BIS monitoring during anesthesia and hyperbaric treatments help to provide quicker post-operative recovery.

Dr. Daniel Man and his staff will be happy to discuss Quick Recovery breast augmentation with you. Please call for a private consultation at 1-800-232-5508 or schedule an appointment online.