DR. RICARDO L. RODRIGUEZ
Founder, Ricardo L. Rodriguez MD, Baltimore Plastic Surgeon
Medical Director, Cosmetic Surgery Facility, LLC
Board-Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
While the decision to augment your breast is usually an easy one, the decision to have a Breast Lift with Implants is not always so obvious. To help you better think this through, I have come up with some questions that you should think about. These questions should help you decide IF you need a lift with your Breast Augmentation.
Most Breast augmentation patients are very focused on breast implant size. While that is important, it is only one of the 8 decisions you need to make before having a Breast augmentation procedure. I think that the choice of implant incision location is a very important decision that you should discuss with your plastic surgeon in your pre-operative appointment. In my own Baltimore practice, I always discuss the choice of incision location with patients before the procedure. The incision location is where the breast implant is inserted. Therefore, it is the location where you will have a small scar. In most cases, the scar is barely noticeable, but in any event you should KNOW where your implants will be inserted.
When most women ask for a Breast augmentation, they imagine a larger breast positioned where their breast was when they were in their younger years. They also want some cleavage. For the final result they want as minimal or undetectable a scar as possible.
What are the most common sizes of breast implants used in Breast augmentation? To find out, we did an analysis of the last 125 cases of Breast augmentation procedures performed by Dr. Rodriguez in our surgery center located in Baltimore, Maryland. So what styles and sizes of implants were most popular? Glad you asked!
One of the biggest concerns patients have with any surgery is the amount of pain they will have to endure afterwards. This is especially true in cases of Breast augmentation and other cosmetic surgery procedures since the patient is undergoing elective surgery and wants the best experience possible. Pain itself can have a negative impact following surgery. In fact, it’s the main cause for readmission to a hospital after cosmetic surgery. When patients are in pain, they tend to breathe in short, shallow gasps which results in poor oxygen delivery tot he tissues that, in turn, affects healing. Besides, when the lungs don’t fully expand, patients are more prone to additional complications such as pneumonia. To prevent this, patients need pain relief. The traditional way is pain pills but there’s a better, less nauseating method for treating post-op pain.
Most patients are often surprised by the choices and considerations they’re faced with when considering a Breast augmentation.
Looking at your breasts the way a doctor does can be an emotional event full of new information which may be hard to process. However, it is essential that you and your doctor are ‘on the same page’ regarding the type of implant and surgical approach that will be used.
After the initial consultation, I prefer to see all of my patients one more time to be sure that we have answered all of the questions.
If you are considering Breast augmentation, don’t get too focused on a particular implant size. The shape of the implant will also play a big role in your implant selection! Watch Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez explain what the difference is between a 350cc high profile implant vs. a 350cc moderate profile implant. Dr. Rodriguez is a Yale trained, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who has been in practice for over 20 years. Ask questions about implant selection at his Cosmeticsurg blog.
There are several factors which contribute to visible breast implant rippling. The most common factors are:
Tubular breast deformity is a condition where the breasts have the shape of cylindrical tubes. Dr. Rodriguez, a Yale trained plastic surgeon, explains how this can be corrected with a certain type of implant and incision. Read about it in his Cosmeticsurg blog.
High profile breast Implants have a smaller base diameter so it preserves the appearance of a narrower chest, and you get more anterior projection from the same 400cc volume. High profile implants have a more up front look.
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.
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.
Many times during a breast augmentation consult a patient will say to me: “I want to look proportionate.” In other words, the patient wants to make sure that a particular implant size will look right on her. The right proportion is determined by several factors. A good proportion is not only determined by the size…
In my last blog post, I went over briefly how the silicone implant moratorium came about. This week I’ll tell you why it is such a good thing that silicone implants are back as a choice for all breast augmentation patients. Remember, silicon implants weren’t really banned, as we have been using silicone implants for cancer patients, those with congenital defects, and patients needing a breast lift. Over the past 14 years they were just not available for cosmetic surgery patients. However, now all patients will have the choice to use saline or silicone implants.
Silicone breast implants are back! The truth always comes out in the end. In the case of silicone breast implants, it took 14 years! How can it be that implants are supposed to be so bad yet they’re back in the market? Well, because silicone breast implants were never really ‘bad.’
