Breast enlargement, or augmentation mammoplasty enhances the body contour of a woman who is unhappy with her breast size. It may also be used to correct volume loss after pregnancy, or to help balance breast size asymmetries as well as a reconstructive technique following other breast surgery.
Trends in India
Like it happens in any developing economy, in India, there’s been an apparent growth in aspirations of the people. Today, people aspire to be someone famous. And,wish to carry a beautiful and engaging personality. To become ‘that someone’, they’re willing to pay a premium for quality, design and exclusivity. Be it the contemporary housewife, a sophisticated or the next generation of working class, they all want the best in life. Anything written on celebrity, fashion and social revelry etc. is received with great delight.
Let’s take up growing awareness about fashion among youngsters. Media has given a boost to the fashion industry to the fashion shows. The fashion industry is at its peak with Indian couture catching the fancy of the fashion gurus all across the globe. Beauty pageants have helped in promoting it. These factors coupled with some real life examples like our Sushmita Sen and American lady star Pamela Anderson have women wanting to use silicone breast implants for contouring their breasts.
Breast Implant Procedure
The operation is carried out under general anesthesia and usually on an outpatient basis. The artificial substitute may be placed through a surgical cut, under the breast tissue or under the muscle or through an incision in the belly button region. A surgical scratch can be made under the breast, around the nipple or in the armpit. It generally takes one to two hours to complete the entire procedure in the clinic or hospital.
Types of Implants
There are basically two types of implants. Today, most implants are silicone elastomer-shelled. There may be implants which are silicone-free, but most are silicone elastomer-shelled with various fillers.
a) Saline-filled (silicone elastomer shell) implants
More common than any other available type of implant. In certain advanced countries like the US where medical advancement, legal surgical norms and bright lifestyle go together, the saline-filled implant is the only implant made available here to women wanting cosmetic breast augmentation. They are constructed of a tough, semi-permeable silicone elastomer shell with a single valve on the anterior (front) surface of the implant. These implants come in both smooth and textured surfaces and round or contoured shapes.
b) Silicone-filled implants
If some women meet certain criteria such as reconstruction, thin skin, asymmetry, congenital deformities, replacing an already existing silicone-filled implant, etc., they may be eligible for silicone filled implants. Although a controversial type, they are the most sought after ones for they are safer, more durable and last longer in charm.
Breast Augmentation Recovery
On the recovery part I say there are many individual factors that will vary the breast augmentation recovery time a patient may experience. Age, skin type, medical conditions, family history, surgery techniques to name a few, even attitude and outlook also come to matter.
Returning to work, given the employment does not involve any substantial physical activity, can normally be immediate, mostly after a week. However, it is better assessed by your surgeon depending on individual breast augmentation recovery periods.
FAQs
It is recommended that you take one week off from work after breast augmentation surgery and continue to avoid strenuous activity and heavy lifting for 4 weeks after the surgery. We also ask the patients to not drive for 2 weeks after the surgery.
Breast augmentation can be performed on 18 years old and older. You are NEVER too old to improve the appearance of your breasts.
No, it is a matter of choice for each woman. More than half of patients perform the surgery before having children and the majority of them have no problems breast feeding afterwards. The incisions used are small and the surgeon attempts to minimise the amount of disruption of the glands to the nipple/areola. The underlying breast implant does not harm the breast fed baby in any way.
The size that a patient decides to achieve is a very personal decision. A surgeon is required to assess the candidate's personal ambition, for much depends on that. This certainly follows rounds of consultation to decide the proper approach. Many a time the patient wishes to achieve a "natural look" to simply improve the proportionality of the upper and lower body. Some patients, however, want a "round" look. For these patients a "natural look" is not a priority and they are not concerned if other people know that they have had a breast augmentation. In making this decision, it helps to discuss your goals with your surgeon.
In general, implants feel firmer than your own breast tissue. Also, the appearance and feel of augmented breasts depends on how much breast tissue the patient had pre-operatively. In general, the more tissue the patient has pre-operatively, the more natural the look and feel post-operatively.
A breast lift (mastopexy) is an operation used to treat ptotic (sagging) breasts. A consultation with a well qualified surgeon can help answer this question for you. In general, evaluating the position of the nipple/areola complex in relation to the fold under the breast (infra-mammary fold) will help determine the need for lifting. Different types of breast lifting operations are available depending on the severity of the sagging. Reviewing pictures of patients with similar situations may be helpful in deciding how to proceed.
This is when the two breasts communicate in the midline (cleavage area). This may be done to “increase cleavage�? by dividing the soft tissue or muscle fibers at the medial edges of the breast. This can be seen with implants placed over or under the muscle. It is a correctable problem.
Normally, the bra will need to be worn for 2-4 weeks. There are reasons why the bra is important and following the surgeon's directions will give you the best possible results. Each patient is different and so the recovery will also be different.
I do not recommend heavy weight lifting or strenuous exercise until 6 weeks after the procedure. You may still walk a bit and do leg exercises soon after the procedure.
Every patient is different in their recovery. Most patients are able to resume the majority of their normal activities 4-6 weeks after the procedure.
Yes, these breast implants have life time warranties. The breast implant companies will cover the cost of the breast implants for life and may also supply a stipend to cover some of the cost associated with returning to surgery (anesthesia, surgery center, etc.) for 10 years after your primary procedure.
At this time, there are special categories that a Cosmetic Surgery patient will need to fall into to be able to request silicone gel implants. We can discuss these criteria with you at the consultation if you are interested.
After the stitches are removed, the patient is allowed to shower.
Currently, the implants are warranted for life by the implant manufacturer.(may very).
Often, by looking at pictures, we can ascertain your goals of size and shape of breast desired.
Bijal Parikh
Doctor Details
Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction, or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery.