Posts Tagged ‘breast implants’
Sunday, November 21st, 2010
Q: I came across your website, while doing research on cosmetic surgery. I currently have depression. After three pregnancies, I feel like my body is mangled. I know that my self-image is what brings on most of my depression. I know that depression alone is not a reason to have surgery. I have been treated for depression for about three years now. I have thought about cosmetic surgery just as long. After the pregnancies and losing weight, gaining weight, and losing weight, my belly definitely needs a tuck. I breastfed all of my children. I breastfed only for about 2 months with the first child but about a year with the last child. With breastfeeding and losing weight; I barely have any breasts at all.
I am only 28 years old. I want to feel young and beautiful again! I know I deserve to and my husband deserves to have a wife who feels good about herself again. My kids deserve a mother that feels comfortable enough to take them swimming. I would love to be able to eventually wear a bikini.
I know that some people may get depressed after they have surgery; whose to know how I will be after surgery. Seeing that a lot of the causes of my depression are due to the way I feel about myself or view my body. I know surgery could not make my depression worse; if anything it will help improve the way I see myself and think about my body. The only way surgery would worsen my depression is if I had surgery by a surgeon who did a lousy job.
I am not interested in looking fake. I just want to look normal again. I would like to either be a full C or small D regarding my breast.
I suppose a ‘Mommy Makeover’ is what I am really looking for. What are your thoughts?
A: Of your situation and feelings, I understand completely and could not be more emphatic. Pregnancies can definitely take a toll on your body, and between the skin stretching and shrinking and the inevitable breast involution (loss of breast tissue), some women can not even recognize the current skin and body that they now have.
As you have correctly pointed out, surgery is not a cure for depression. But at least it can improve one recognizeable and understandable cause of it…the way one looks. The body problems can definitely be improved and, hopefully with that, one’s self-image elevates. In my experience with women and these type of popular ‘Mommy Makeovers’, patient do report a dramatic improvement in their self-confidence and clothing options.
The classic ‘Mommy Makeover’ is some form of combined abdominal and breast rehaping plastic surgery procedures. This is usually a tummy tuck with or without liposuction and breast implants with or without a lift. In about a four hour surgery (or less), a dramatic body transformation can occur.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis Indiana
Tags: breast implants, breast lift, dr barry eppley, indianapolis, mommy makeover, plastic surgery, tummy tuck
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Thursday, September 23rd, 2010
Q: I have been researching getting breast implants for some time. I know the differences between saline and silicone types of implants but am confused about these ‘gummy bear’ implants. I know it is some form of silicone but it is the best type of implant to get? Why is it different and are there any known problems with it? Is it the best type of breast implant to have?
A: The first thing to appreciate is that there are numerous type of breast implants from which to choose. They all will work and are FDA-approved with the exception of the gummy bear implant to which you refer. It has yet to be shown that there is one type of breast implant that is superior to any of the others. They all have some advantages and disadvantages and each woman has to weigh out those implant differences to determine what is the best breast implant for them. If there was one specific type of breast implant that was definitely superior that would be the only one that I would be using in my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice.
The gummy bear implant is a different type of silicone that is more firm than regular cohesive silicone gel. Hence the name gummy bear as it resembles this consistency. It is a textured anatomic implant that remains under clinical trials through the sponsoring company Allergan. It has not received FDA-approval as of yet. Because of its textured surface and its more form consistency, it must be placed through a larger lower breast fold incision than would be used for either saline or cohesive gel breast implants. Whether its added firmness is an advantage in cosmetic breast augmentation is a matter of debate. Its physical properties seem to offer advantages in breast reconstruction where the breast tissue may be thinner and more prone to contracture deformity. Gummy bear implants can and do ‘fracture’, requiring removal and replacement.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: breast augmentation, breast implants, dr barry eppley, gummy bear breast implants, indianapolis, plastic surgery
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Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Q: I was looking at having breast augmentation done. One of my breasts is larger than the other. But I was woundering if you could use instead of saline implants fat from somewhere else on my body, like my stomach area?? That would solve two problems at once!
A: The appeal of using fat instead of a synthetic material certainly is of interest to some patients. If fat worked just as well as implants, and was no more costly to perform, then it truly would be a better option. However, as of today, fat remains a breast technique in evolution and development. The harvesting and injection of the fat are standard plastic surgery methods. However, fat after injection is not yet completely predictable and is prone to resorption, uneveness and lumps. It is also highly likely that multiple sessions of fat injections would be needed to get close to what most women would want. With multiple treatments, the cost would exceed what breast implant surgery would cost.
Scarring and lumps in the breast are also a concern for long-term breast cancer surveillance. It is not yet known if fat grafts into a non-reconstructed breast who has not had a mastectomy interferes with the detection of breast cancer.
Until the science of fat transplantation is better understood, fat injections into the breast should only be considered for those patients who are willing to accept the risks that come with being an early adopter of a surgical technique. For now, the use of a breast implant is more predictable and economical.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: breast enhancement with fat injections, breast implants, dr barry eppley, indianapolis, plastic surgery
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Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Q: I am very interested in breast augmentation. I have been pregnant four times and between weight gain and loss my breasts are in need of some repair. Do you think I will need a breast lift also?
A: The anatomic determination of whether any breast needs lifting is based on where the nipple is sitting relative to where the lower breast crease or fold is. If the nipple is at or above the lower fold, one will not need a lift in combination with breast implants. If the nipple sits below the fold, whether it be a little or down so far the nipple points to the floor, then a combination implant and lift will be needed to get a well shaped breast that has the nipple centrally positioned on the mound and pointing forward.
When a women has had more than two pregnancies, it is almost a certainty that a breast lift will be needed. I do not recall ever seeing in my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice a patient with three or four pregnancies who has not needed one. When you combine the number of pregnancies with up and down body weight, there has undoubtably been a lot of stress and strain on the breast skin. This translates into breast skin that is loose, deflated and has a low nipple position. This will happen to most breasts whether one has breastfed or not.
A breast implant will add volume to the mound but will not significantly lift a downturned or low nipple position. That is exactly what a breast lift does…get the nipple back up to where it once was or close to it.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: breast implants, breast lift, breast surgery after pregnancy, dr barry eppley, indianapolis, plastic surgery
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Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Q: My breasts are in terrible shape after having had 4 children and nursing them all. They are saggy and disgusting. I think they need a total breast overall. They look so bad I don’t even know if they can be helped. I have read about breast implants, breast lifts, and breast reductions and I think I need all three. Is it possible to have all three of the procedures I am asking for done at the same time?
A: The combination of a breast lift (skin reduction and tightening) with an implant is a very common procedure for the breast that is small in volume but has an excess amount of skin that sags over the lower breast crease. With the breast in this kind of shape, all three procedures are needed simultaneously to give a more pleasing and uplifted breast shape. This is the most difficult of all cosmetic breast procedures and is best thought of a breast reconstruction rather than a simple breast reshaping.
Unlike breast implants alone, this more extensive form of breast reshaping will result in scars on the breast. The scars will be similar to that of a breast reduction. Because of the difficulty of the procedure, secondary revisional surgery is not rare to get the best shape and symmetry between breasts that often start off not only badly shaped but different.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: breast implants, breast lift, breast reduction, dr barry eppley, indianapolis
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Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Q: I have a strange question for you Dr. Eppley but I am very curious. I am going to get breast augmentation in the near future and am an avid swimmer. My friend told me that it might interfere with me swimming. She said she heard that breast implants will act like floats and slow me down or could weigh me down and make it harder to stay afloat. Is what she is saying true?
A: Your question/concern about the impact of breast implants in the water is neither strange nor new. Women have asked me about that numerous times in my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice. One the one hand, millions of women over the past thirty years have had breast implants and such potential problems have never surfaced or been reported. This would strongly suggest that what your friend is telling you is nothing more than an urban myth.
From a scientific standpoint, the question is one of the buoyancy of breast implants. Depending upon the type of breast implant, the answer differs slightly. Saline implants are neutrally buoyant, meaning that they will neither float nor sink. This makes perfect sense since they are essentially the same density as the water in which they are immersed. The two fluids are only separated by the thin containment shell of the implant. Silicone implants, however, are a little more dense than water and will have a slight sinking effect.But they will not completely sink and essentially float as well. This can be easily demonstrated by placing both type of implants in a sink filled with water.
When placed in the body, however, the buoyancy of breast implants demonstrated by benchtop testing becomes irrelevant. Their impact will be the same as any other enclosed body part. Their only potential impact on swimming is on the aerodynamics of the body shape, which is only relevant if one is an Olympic or competitive swimmer.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: breast implants, dr barry eppley, indianapolis, plastic surgery, saline breast implants, silicone breast implants
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Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Q: I am a 31yr old mother of two kids. I got out of a five year relationship where I got too comfortable and gained a lot of weight. About six months ago I started working out and lost over 30lbs along with a strict diet. I still have about 25lbs to go to reach my goal weight but I know that dieting alone will not give me the final results I want. I am interested in a tummy tuck, a monsplasty, and breast augmentation. I was born with one breast about 1 cup size bigger. I would like them to be equal in size along with a lift. Can all of these procedures be done in a single operation?
A: Congratulations on the results you have obtained so far. It is always surprising what effort and discipline can do for one’s weight. You should be proud that you have gotten this far. In pursuit of your goal weight, think of the plastic surgery as an incentive to get there.
The first step in body contouring is weight loss but this alone is often not enough to get the shape that one wants. There is no better combination than a combined breast and abdominal procedure to change a woman’s appearance between the shoulders and the waistline. In a few hours of surgery, some dramatic changes can be obtained. Putting these two operations together is very common and I have done it many times in my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice. Breast enhancement and tummy tucks together can still be done as an outpatient procedure.
Many larger tummy tucks require reduction of a large mons at the same time. It is done as part of the tummy tuck by modifying the location and orientation of the lower incision. Complete mons reduction may still require a secondary liposuction procedure for optimal flattening. Breast enhancement in most significant weight loss patients requires a combined lift with an implant, known as an augmentation mastopexy.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: breast implants, breast lift, dr barry eppley, indianapolis, plastic surgery, tummy tuck, weight loss
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Monday, May 24th, 2010
Q: I have breast implants originally placed in 2002. I got pregnant shortly afterwards and once I delivered my breasts changed afterwards and I developed some drooping. So I went back and had new implants placed in 2007 that were bigger and helped to fill out some loose and droopy skin. After having these implants for a while, I have decided that I want to go back to my original augmentation size. But I fear in doing so that I will get saggy breasts again. What do you recommend?
A: Going up in breast implant size is always easy because loose skin is expanded and filled out. While breast implants alone are often not the sole solution to a really saggy breast, they do help tremendously and are very forgiving of less than ideal breast skin.
Going down in breast implant size, however, is not so forgiving. Even the smallest amount of loose or droopy breast skin will get much worse as the ‘balloon deflates’ so to speak. As a result, some form of breast lift is often needed in many breast implant downsizings. What makes this aesthetically difficult is that this will involve creating breast scars which is another form of a cosmetic breast deformity.
If the nipple is fairly centered on the breast mound, a smaller implant replacement may not involve any type of lift or only a very small one such as a nipple or circumareolar type lift. If the nipple is off-center or points any amount downward, then a more significant lift with breast skin scars may be necessary when the breast implants are down-sized.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: breast augmentation, breast implants, breast lift, dr barry eppley, indianapolis, plastic surgery
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Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Q : I had saline implants done three years ago in 2007. I had some left breast pain last night and woke up this morning with my left breast almost completely flat. I was mortified. How did this happen? I need to get my implant replaced as soon as possible. How quickly can we get this done?
A: Failure of a breast implant is a lifetime risk for anyone that undergoes breast augmentation. While everyone thinks it just happens to someone else, the statistics say that the risk is 1% per year of implantation. Failure of most breast implants occur spontaneously, meaning that there is no specific reason why or there is nothing that the patient has specifically done to cause it. It just happens from the fatigue of the implant folding back and forth.
Saline breast implants fail in a particularly dramatic fashion, known as deflation. Once the implant shell develops a hole or tear, the saline fluid comes rushing out and the breast goes partially or completely flat. This is one of the few cosmetic ‘emergencies’ that exist from a patient’s perspective.
If this should happen, contact your plastic surgeon immediately. Arrangements should be made to have replacement surgery within a few days. In my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice, we make every effort to get a patient’s deflated implant replaced no later than the next day if possible. If you have a copy of your implant size and serial numbers that is very helpful to get an exact size replacement. In the past ten years, most plastic surgeons provide a plastic card to the patient after surgery that has the lot and serial numbers from the manufacturer. This information is also very useful to find out what your warranty replacement is from the manufacturer, if the implants are not too old. (greater than 10 years)
The good news is that the breast implant replacement surgery is nothing like the original surgery. The pocket has already been made so the surgery is simpler and is comparatively painless from the initial breast augmentation surgery.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Tags: breast augmentation, breast implant deflation, breast implants
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Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Q: I had breast implants done about 8 to 9 years ago and am looking to have them redone. Thr original size was 600cc implants. I am between D and DD cup size I think…but it depends on the bra. I want them increased but not sure if that is something you do? I know I would like to be DDD cup. I am a body builder as a hobby. I think it would balance my shape better.
A: Breast implant size is a personal choice and no one can really say what size someone should or should not be. Breast implants of 600cc size can be big or not so big depending upon whose chest they are on. For a small person this could be fairly large, for a bigger and broader-chested woman this may only be average looking in size. Most women are interested in having breasts that are in proportion to the size of their body but a few women want more than that.
Within reason, just about any breast implant size can be put in any patient. Whether that final size is in or out of proportion, or what someone really desires, is up to the patient to judge. In my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice, I try and accomodate a woman’s breast implant size desires. That being said, women should know that there are potential long-term consequences for having large breast implants. (i.e., extreme breast augmentation) Over time, the weight and size of the implant may cause tissues to stretch out and a ‘bottoming out’ of the implant may occur as the implant falls on the chest wall. This is known as loss of tissue support. This is why as a general rule it is wise to keep the base width size of the implant within the natural breast base width. Also remember, it is easy to go up in size without significant scar consequences. Should one day the desire arises to go smaller, there will be significant breast scars to remove and tighten the loose skin that the implant has created.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Tags: breast augmentation, breast implants, dr barry eppley, extreme breast augmentation, indianapolis, plastic surgery
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