Breast procedures articles

Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez discusses plastic surgery for breast and related topics.

  • Types of anesthesia used in Cosmetic surgery

    Monitor used to track vitals during anesthesia .

    Some of you may have read my posts on why I like to do Breast augmentation under IV sedation. I also do IV sedation for all major and combined procedures. Naturally, some patients are anxious because they don’t want to feel anything, but they are attracted to the idea of not undergoing general anesthesia. There is also some confusion as to what exactly is IV sedation. This is understandable because there are many levels of sedation. I will explain the different levels so you can make a more informed decision when discussing this with your surgeon or anesthesiologist. In cosmetic surgery, we often refer to the three distinct choices: local,  IV or General anesthesia.

  • How do I get more cleavage with my breast implants?

    Types of cleavage with breast implants.

    A lot of patients who come in for a Breast augmentation or a Breast lift with implants consult will usually make a comment about cleavage. Some patients don’t want “that fake look,” yet others specifically ask for “a lot of cleavage.” It helps when patients bring in pictures, because cleavage is one of those words that, like “natural look,” can have different meanings to different people. In this post I will talk about cleavage, and how it is related to surgical technique and patient anatomy.The word cleavage is derived from the word cleft. According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary… cleft : usually V-shaped indented formation : a hollow between ridges or protuberances The misunderstanding between plastic surgeon and patient comes from knowing which end of the “V” we are talking about. Does the patient want upper pole fullness, which is prominent at the upper part of the breasts? Does the patient want medial cleavage, which is breasts that are close together at the midline? Or is it both upper pole fullness and medial cleavage? The surgeon has two surgical methods to improve cleavage with breast implants.

  • Breast surgery: What type of scar do I get with different breast techniques?

    An illustration showing a breast scar comparison for various techniques.

    I have been looking at some of the breast implant forums, and there are a lot of issues related to breast scars. It seems most surgeons use the Wise pattern, or Anchor scar, and some use the Benelli scar. A few surgeons use the Vertical scar or the Crescent scar. I use all of these breast techniques, except the Wise pattern scar. I feel that the Wise pattern technique makes unnecessary scars.

  • Types of Breast augmentation incisions

    An illustration showing incision types for breast augmentation: inframammary, infraareolar, TUBA

    What type of incision should you get for your Breast augmentation procedure? In addition to the implant size this is another very important decision that you need to make. It seems to me when I ask a patient whether they have a preference as to what kind of breast incision they want, the most common answer is that they want the type of incision that they have seen on a friend. Likewise, the second most common comment is “I don’t want such and such incision because somebody I know had one and it looks bad”. The truth is every type of incision has its pros and cons. Here is my explanation of the types of Breast augmentation incisions…

  • Vertical breast reduction: less scars, better shape

    A photo of a patient's breasts, showing what they looked like before and after a breast reduction.

    I have been doing the Vertical Scar Breast reduction since 1989, having learned it in Nice, France, from Dr. Claude Lassus, a French plastic surgeon, who is the originator of the technique. When I left France, I started doing the technique at Yale, where I was a faculty member in the plastic surgery department. I presented the first scientific paper on the technique in the US in 1992 at the 25th anniversary meeting of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.