Breast augmentation, also known as "boob job" or "breast aug" among patients, is a procedure that changes your breast size. It includes methods like fat transfer and breast implants to increase the natural shape of the breast. This breast surgery is also commonly used to restore your breast's size after pregnancy or weight loss, which leads to improvement in the natural breast volume or achieving proper breast shape.
Additionally, experts also refer to breast augmentation as augmentation mammoplasty. If your surgeon needs to take fat from another part of your body to boost your breast's appearance, you would call it breast fat transfer.
The following are some aspects that you can accomplish by undergoing breast surgery.
· Proper balance in your hip and breast contours
· Increase projections and fullness of your breast
· Boost up your self-confidence and self-image
You can also opt for this procedure in terms of breast reconstruction after injury or mastectomy.
Like all the other cosmetic methods, breast surgery also requires several procedures, methods, and equipment. The following is a brief overview of the steps you will undergo during the surgery.
Anesthesia is something you will need to feel comfortable with during the procedure. It will help you feel sleepy and unconscious so that you don't feel pain during the surgery. Typically breast augmentation is performed under general anesthesia.
Your doctor will make incisions in unnoticeable areas. The idea is to make the incisions in an area that you can easily hide underneath your clothes. Generally, plastic surgeons give you options like inflammatory fold (the fold under the breast), per-areola incisions (along the areola edge), and axillary incision (in the armpit).
Apart from them, a belly button incision is also one of the options. The location of the incision depends on the type of breast implant, your body anatomy, level of enlargement needed, and other preferential needs.
After your plastic surgeon makes an incision, they will place a breast implant in that pocket. However, your surgeon has three options for the breast implant pocket. They should discuss this with you ahead of time based on your preferences.
In this step, your plastic surgeon will close the incisions from the layer sutures in your breast tissues. They will also close the openings with suture and surgical or skin adhesive tape.
With time, you will observe incisions marks getting fade. The appearance of a scar depends on several factors, such as exposure of your body to infection and your genetics.
You may notice some swelling on your chest, but it's natural. Don't worry about it. The results are pretty visible soon after the surgery. You can observe the new shape and size of your breast immediately after the procedure.
One thing you need to understand is that breast surgery is a personal procedure, so you need to make sure that you are doing it for yourself. Patient's satisfaction rates are usually high when they undergo the procedure because of their own interest, instead of society’s pressure.
Additionally, you can determine yourself a good candidate if you fall into any of the mentioned categories.
· You are completely healthy.
· You are not breastfeeding or pregnant.
· Your breasts are completely mature.
· You don’t like the feeling of having a small breast.
· Your breast is losing volume and shape after weight loss, pregnancy, or aging.
· You have asymmetrical breasts.
· One or both breast has an elongated shape.
The most important thing is to discuss your desired feel, size, and appearance with your plastic surgeon. Your doctor will pitch some of the basic things to you like some types of implants, the shape you desire, the type of material you want, etc. They will also give you a list of surgical techniques you can choose from.
Before you decide, here are the things you need to understand to prepare yourself for the results.
·Breast implants may not last a lifetime. Your breast will also reshape or resize itself along with the changes because of your weight and age.
· Typically breast implants do not affect breast feeding.
· Insurance does not cover your breast implants except for breast reconstruction
· The FDA recommends scheduled MRI surveillance of silicone implants to help detect these silent ruptures. If your silicone implant ruptures, the FDA recommends having it removed with or without replacement. The recommended MRI’s are not covered by insurance and will have to be paid out of pocket.
· Some patients require a baseline mammogram before the procedure. Your plastics surgeon suggest PCP clearance as well before surgery.
· Although not required most surgeons will recommend stopping smoking four to six weeks before as well as after the surgery.
· After surgery you will need someone to drive you back home and stay with you for a night as you may feel dizzy and nauseous after the anesthesia.
After the surgery, your surgeon will cover your breast with an elastic bandage and gauze dressings or ask you to wear a support bra. This will help you lower the swelling and support the breast until it gets fully healed.
Before you leave, the health provider will tell you to take some precautions for a better and fast recovery. They will also ask you to take the follow-up appointment. Generally, patients also get prescriptions or medications, but most doctors prescribe medication before the surgery. These medications usually include pain-relieving pills.
Throughout the recovery process, you need to wear a support garment like an elastic band or bra, known as a bandeau, as recommended by your doctor. They might also ask you to keep the bandage intact for a certain period.
Although this surgery yields a larger and proper shaped breast immediately after the procedure, the final result will take a few weeks or even a few months. This is because the swelling reduces over time, which gives you a clearer idea of your breast shape. Patients, who have asymmetry or small breast, need to ear the bandeau to develop the appropriate shape. For this reason, it’s hard to predict the results when you are wearing it. Once your doctor removes it, you can see the results.
You also need to understand that it will take several months up to a year for your incision to completely heal.
Sometimes people have false expectations from breast augmentation. If their plastic surgeon does not spend time to answer questions and paint a realistic expectation for the result sometimes people may be disappointed. Breast augmentation alone will not correct sagging or drooping breasts or breast deformities (tubular breasts, large areolas, etc.). In that case, you need to opt for the breast lift along with breast augmentation to make it appear lifted and fuller.
In a nutshell, breast augmentation is a straightforward surgery that requires only a couple hours. However, you need to take several precautions for a couple of months to let your breast get into your preferred shape.
