BREAST AUGMENTATION
(MAMMOPLASTY)

WHO IS A CANDIDATE

• A woman who has small breasts due to lack of development.
• A woman who seeks to restore the size and shape of her breasts which has been lost due to pregnancy, weight loss or aging changes.
• A woman with a congenital abnormality in which one breast is much larger than the other.

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INTENDED RESULT

• More aesthetically pleasing breasts to the individual woman that are larger but still in proportion to her body.

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PROCEDURE DESCRIPTION

• Your breast augmentation will be done in our fully accredited surgery facility under general anesthesia. This procedure is done through a small incision that is placed in either the armpit or around the areola. A saline implant is placed either behind the pectoral muscle and breast tissue or in front of the muscle but behind the breast tissue. Our office uses saline implants. Silicone gel implants are no longer available for elective new breast augmentations because of FDA restrictions.

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RECUPERATION AND HEALING

• Immediately after your procedure, you will have dressings applied to the incision sites and a compression bandage wrapped around your chest. This dressing is to be left undisturbed until your visit with Dr. Hand the following day. At that visit, he will change your dressing and give you a garment that wraps around the top of your breast so as to push the implant downward. You will need to use this wrap for 1 day to 2 weeks depending on the position of your implant. This helps your breast to round out to a natural shape.
• Immediately after surgery, the breasts will appear swollen and firmer. The final size is seen in several weeks. The final shape may take up to 3 months to evolve.
• At your visit on the 4th postoperative day, Dr. Hand will remove sutures and show you special exercises for you to do with your breasts. The purpose of these exercises is to keep the pocket surrounding the implant from scarring down. This allows more natural movement of the implant.
• Initial discomfort is easily controlled by oral medications.
• Activities requiring raising the arm above the level of the upper chest should be avoided for 10 days after surgery. With great care, you can drive 3 days after surgery. Patients can usually return to work in 3 to 4 days unless your occupation requires particularly strenuous movements and/or lifting.

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OTHER OPTIONS

• Breast augmentation is frequently accompanied by mastopexy when the natural breast has experienced a large amount of sag due to pregnancy.

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