If you wish to enhance your breasts' size and improve the shape, breast enlargement may help you. This surgery is used for multiple reasons - enlarging a woman's bust line, restoring the appearance of breasts after multiple pregnancies, and providing balance to uneven breasts. However, be aware that breast implants may interfere with mammography screening tests. Also, if you are planning to breastfeed, you should make your plastic surgeon aware of this.
The Procedure:
There are several types of breast enlargement surgery - either via the crease under your breast, the nipple, or the armpit. There is also a newer, lesser-used method that involves the belly button. Your surgeon will discuss all the possible methods with you so you can determine which best suits your needs.
There are different types of implants as well, including saline or silicone gel. Silicone gel-filled implants are available only as part of a clinical study. However, the saline-filled implant is available and continues to have USA - FDA approval for breast enlargement. Your plastic surgeon will discuss these options with you.
Breast implants are typically done as an outpatient procedure. (DAY Surgery)
Common Side Effects:
Side effects can include soreness and increased or decreased sensitivity in the nipple region, bruising or swelling. The swelling may last for several weeks.
Complications: In rare instances, you may have:
•Scar tissue
•Sagging of implants
•Implants settling toward the middle of the chest, giving the appearance of one continuous breast
•Rupture or deflation of implants
•Blood or fluid collecting around the implant
•Infection
Recovery:
You may have drainage tubes and gauze bandages. You will have stitches that will be removed in about one or two weeks. If you are physically active in sports, it may take up to six weeks before you can return to those. You should be able to return to work within a few days after surgery.
Breast Implant Q & A
Are breast implants safe?
The question of breast implant safety has been extensively investigated over the past several years, following the controversy over the possibility of various diseases attributed to silicone. At this point in time, however, there is probably no product which has undergone more thorough scrutiny than breast implants. The safety question has been reviewed in detail by the Institute of Medicine, which considered all available scientific data in addition to testimony from breast implant patients; the full text of their report can be found at www.nap.edu. It is interesting to note that silicone has been approved for injection directly into the eye for treatment of retinal detachment. Doesn't it seem reasonable to infer that it would be appropriate for use in breast implants also?
What types of implants are used now in USA?
Although silicone gel-filled implants have been shown to be generally safe, their use is currently limited in the United States. The most common type now used is the saline implant. The saline solution used to fill the implants is sterile salt water (the same as is given intravenously), so there is no harm if the implant should ever leak. Saline implants are very unlikely to be associated with capsular contracture (hardening of the scar around the implant).
Herbal supplements for breast enlargement found ineffective, possibly dangerous
Several products have appeared in recent years claiming to enlarge breasts using "safe, all natural" herbal supplements yet despite the marketing claims; no clinical studies have ever been published to verify either the safety or effectiveness of these supplements. An article published in the June 2003 edition of the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology raised serious questions about both aspects. Of primary importance is the question of safety. Since these products act by stimulation of the breast tissue in a manner similar to estrogen, there is a real possibility that the risk of breast cancer could be increased. Only large scale, long-term studies could answer this question.
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