KEYSTONE PLASTIC AND RECONTRUCTIVE SURGERY

Breast Augmentation Techniques

About Breast Augmentation Breast augmentation is technically known as "augmentation mammaplasty" and it allows a woman to enhance the size and shape of her breasts. Common reasons women choose to undergo breast augmentation are:

To improve her body profile and proportion, especially in certain clothes.
To improve her body contour if she feels her breasts are too small.
To improve the volume and appearance often lost, due to pregnancy and breastfeeding.
To improve symmetry in two breasts which have a moderate or significant size difference.
To improve the appearance and feel with an otherwise sagging or aging breast. This may be done with a mastopexy, or breast lift.
To repair a congenital or traumatic defect or a defect due to a breast lost to cancer or other reasons.

Breast augmentation is for women who are seeking to improve their appearance and self- confidence and contour and shape of their body. The best candidates for breast augmentation are women who are seeking improvement but not necessarily perfection in their appearance. Advantages of breast enlargements are:

A woman is able to wear the clothing she desires
A breast that has lost volume with pregnancy can be made larger again
A breast that is small or never developed sufficiently can be made larger and more full
A breast may be moderately lifted
Improvement in appearance and self-confidence

Placement of implants

Implants may be placed behind the pectoralis, or chest wall muscle. The muscle implants placed partially or mostly behind the muscle allow the muscle to provide a better shape and contour in the "cleavage" portion of the breasts. This is especially important with women who are thinner or women who are requesting larger implants. Implants placed behind the muscle allow for easier breast cancer detection and mammograms after their placement. Your incisions will be made around the areola to keep the scars as inconspicuous as possible.

Your consultation During your consultation, Dr. Shannon will specifically go over the details of your surgery with you. He will go over what may or may not be reasonably expected from your surgery and he will answer your questions in detail. Feel free to ask whatever questions you desire and bring a list of written questions so no questions are forgotten. Also, be sure to let him know about any medications, vitamins or drugs that you are taking.

After your surgery, most patients will be up and about the night of or the day after their surgery. Many patients have little discomfort following their surgery, although some patients may be sore for 2-3 days after the procedure. Dr. Shannon and his office staff will go over detailed instructions about what to do before and after your surgery and about your follow-up visits. There will be some swelling after surgery. The sutures will be removed in a week to 10 days. Most women will be able to return to work a few days after the implant surgery, although this depends significantly upon a woman's occupation and fitness level. Dr. Shannon's procedure generally requires no limitation on the movement of the arms, although heavy lifting, sports such as golf or tennis, or workout activities such as yoga will need to be postponed for several weeks after a breast augmentation.

The initial healing of the incisions tends to occur quickly and most incisions and scars lose their coloration and become relatively unnoticeable within the first year.

Questions?

Dr. Shannon and his office staff are happy to answer any questions which you may have regarding breast augmentation or any other procedure. Please feel free to call our office at any time.

From our offices in The Woodlands, Tomball and Conroe areas. We look forward to answering any questions you may have.