According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a total of 313,735 breast augmentation procedures were performed in 2018. This is an increase of 4\\% over the 2017 total of 300,378. Cosmetic breast augmentation, AKA augmentation mammoplasty, is performed to augment and enhance the size, shape and contour of the breasts. When patients make the decision to undergo breast augmentation surgery, they will meet with a board-certified doctor who will examine them to decide which cosmetic breast augmentation technique is the best choice to achieve the desired results.
Breast augmentation, AKA a boob job, is performed by placing implants in the body of the patient in the area of the breasts. The implant process begins when the surgeon creates an incision in the body of the patient where the breast implants will be placed. The incisions can be made in a number of locations and they include:
After the cosmetic surgeon makes the decision about where to place the implant in the body of the patient, the breast implant is then inserted into the designated area. The breast implant will be placed under the muscle (submuscular) or above the muscle (subglandular). The incision is closed with sutures once the implant is placed.
The breast implants used by cosmetic surgeons are FDA-approved. The type of implant placed in the body of the patient depends on the goals of the patient as well as the anatomy of the person. The types of breast implants that are placed by cosmetic surgeons include:
Instead of increasing the shape, size and contour of the breasts using breast implants, some patients choose to undergo breast augmentation through the use of fat grafting. Fat grafting is also known as autologous fat transfer and it is the process of removing fat from one area of the body, using liposuction, and transferring it to the breasts to augment their appearance. Common areas of the body where the fat is removed via liposuction include the thighs and the abdomen.
Once the fat is removed from one area of the body, it is processed, purified and cleansed before it is injected back into the body in the breasts. Patients need to be aware that not all of the fat that is transferred into the breasts will survive the process so the final amount of augmentation that is provided to the breasts is not known when the fat is first injected into the breasts.
Besides providing augmentation to the appearance of the breasts, the fat grafting process also provides a better shape and contour to the area of the body where the fat is removed by the liposuction process.
The amount of time that patients need to recover from cosmetic breast augmentation depends on the type of job they have and the amount of physical activity that it requires. Patients should not lift anything that is heavier than 5-10 pounds for an amount of time determined by the doctor. In addition, there will be some bruising and swelling that should subside after 2-3 weeks. Patients will need to prepare for a downtime of 6-8 weeks after the surgery.
When it comes to the final results, the amount of breast augmentation provided by the cosmetic surgeon depends on the body type of the patient as well as the amount of existing breast tissue at the start of the surgery. The amount of elasticity of the existing breast tissue also factors into the amount of breast augmentation provided by cosmetic breast augmentation surgery.
As mentioned above, the surgeon will take the body type of the patient into account when planning the amount of breast augmentation provided by the surgery. The cosmetic surgeon will want to make sure that the results look natural on the patient and they are not “too big” or unnatural in appearance for the body type of the patient.
In general, the patient will enjoy an improvement in the size of the breasts as well as a greater contour, fullness and shape. Any scars from the surgery will be seen for about 3-6 months before they start to soften and fade. It takes about a year for the scars to completely mature on the patient.
The final results of having breast implants placed can last 10-25 years while the results of fat grafting can last a lifetime.
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