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Breast augmentation, which is technically referred to as augmentation mammoplasty, is a surgical procedure to enhance the size and shape of a woman’s breast. The reason women choose this procedure varies, but usually falls into one of these categories:
BEFORE YOUR SURGERY
- To enhance the body shape of a women who feels her breasts are too small;
- To restore breast size and volume following a weight loss or pregnancy;
- To achieve improved symmetry when breasts are disproportionate in size and shape;
- To improve the shape of breasts that have lost firmness or are sagging;
- When a breast has been removed or altered by surgery to treat breast cancer, breast augmentation can provide the foundation of a breast shape
- To enhance the appearance or create the appearance of a breast that is missing or altered due to trauma, heredity, or congenital abnormalities.
Some patients need their breast implants removed or replaced, for medical reasons or personal choice. Often a cosmetic procedure is performed during or after the surgery, either replacement with another implant or a breast lift (mastopexy) procedure.
What To Expect After Surgery
Breast augmentation is usually done on an outpatient basis and the patient is discharged home the same day as the surgery, once she has recovered from the anesthesia. The surgeon will sometimes place a wrap around the breasts or place a special brazier to keep the implants in the desired position. Usually, there is significant soreness for the first two to three days which can be controlled with pain medication. The surgeon might ask you to take off the wrap around the chest in about 48 hours or you might be asked to leave it until you come to the office for a follow-up visit. Depending on which sutures are used, these might have to be taken out at the post-op visit or they might dissolve on their own.
OutPatient Care
Breast augmentation is usually done on an outpatient basis and the patient is discharged home the same day as the surgery, once she has recovered from the anesthesia. The surgeon will sometimes place a wrap around the breasts or place a special brazier to keep the implants in the desired position. Usually, there is significant soreness for the first two to three days which can be controlled with pain medication. The surgeon might ask you to take off the wrap around the chest in about 48 hours or you might be asked to leave it until you come to the office for a follow-up visit. Depending on which sutures are used, these might have to be taken out at the post-op visit or they might dissolve on their own. Two weeks after your surgery you may begin breast massages, three to four times a week.
Dr. Fichadia is a double board-certified, comprehensively trained plastic and reconstructive surgeon. She completed general surgical training at St Elizabeth’s Medical Center, an affiliate of Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA, and subsequently completed a highly competitive plastic surgery program at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR. She has presented research from her time in Boston and Portland at national and international surgical meetings such as Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons and annual meeting of American Society of Plastic Surgery.
