After Breast Augmentation

After Breast Augmentation - Implant Placement

Complications commonly arise from any surgical procedure. The possibility and severity of these complications vary depending on all the circumstances of each individual surgery. The same is true for breast augmentation. One factor in determining any potential complications you may encounter is how and where the breast implants are placed. The placement can also affect the final appearance..

There are four commonly used methods of placing breast implants. The placements vary from being underneath, below or against the pectoralis muscle. These methods achieve different results as well as encountering different complications.

The subpectoral technique is the most common method used in North America. It has the lowest rate of capsular contracture. The subglandular method has a higher capsular contracture rate, but is thought to produce results that are more natural in appearance. This method also might show ripples or wrinkles in the implant in women with thin tissue in the placement area.

The benefits of a third method, subfascial, are still being debated. Supporters claim the method helps in sustaining the implant position. The fourth technique is called the submuscular implant. This method is commonly chosen when doing full breast reconstruction.

Your surgeon may have a preferred method, or choose it based on each individual case. He should discuss the method choices available to you before surgery is scheduled. No particular method rules out the chance of complications just as no method assures them either. And the appearance achieved by one technique may differ from person to person. Read more...

Breast Augmentation Surgery

Breast Augmentation Surgery - Incisions and Scaring

Surgery leaves scars. While most breast augmentation incisions do heal well, a rate of 6-7% of unfavorable scaring has been reported for primary augmentation patients in FDA clinical trials.

The extent of the scaring can be determined by many factors. These include the patient's ethnicity, smoking, tissue quality, suture material, wound tension, tissue trauma from surgery and the individual's tendency toward favorable wound healing.

The type of incision also affects the amount and visibility of scaring. The type of planned incision should be discussed with your surgeon prior to the procedure.

The most common incision for silicone gel implants is the inframammary incision. This affords maximum access for precise dissection and placement of an implant. The incision is placed below the breast in the infra-mammary fold. This incision can leave slightly more visible scars in smaller breasts which don't drape over the IMF.

Transaxillary incisions are placed in the armpit. This allows the implants to be placed without visible scars on the breasts. It's also more likely to consistently achieve symmetry of the inferior implant position.

Periareolar incisions are placed along the areolar border. The incision is usually placed around the inferior half of the areola's circumference. Because of the incision length required, silicone gel implants can be hard to place using this method. These scars are often less visible in women with lighter areolar pigment since they occur on the edge of the areola. There is a higher chance of capsular contracture with this incision. Read more...

Before After Breast Augmentation

Before After Breast Augmentation - Capsular Contracture

When a foreign object inters our body, our immune system tries to either destroy it or contain it. Some immune systems interpret a breast implant as a foreign object. Since the immune system can't destroy an implant, it tries to contain it. It attempts to build a 'wall' around the intruder to keep it from spreading to the rest of the body. The wall around the implant is called a capsule.

When the capsule tightens around the implant it's called capsular contracture. The squeezing can be painful and can change the shape of the breast. The changed shape can affect the appearance of the breast as well.

The severity of the capsular contracture varies between cases. With the mildest case, the breast looks normal and still feels soft. This is classified as grade 1. Grade 2 still looks normal, but the breast is a little firm. At grade 3, the breast is firm and the appearance is considered abnormal. Grade 4 is the most severe and the most painful. The breast looks abnormal and is hard.

You may have to have another operation to fix capsular contracture. The capsule has to be removed, and sometimes the implant has to be replaced. But there are cases where successful treatments have been achieved without any additional surgery.

It's not known exactly what causes the body's immune system to behave abnormally towards an implant, but capsular contracture can happen after any implant or implant repair surgery. Not just breast implants. Read more...