When is breast augmentation not enough?

Year after year breast augmentation with silicone gel or saline implants is one of the most popular operations performed by board certified plastic surgeons and for good reason.  When the surgery is performed by a surgeon who is highly experienced and who has a good artistic eye, there is a very high probability that the patient will be very pleased with the outcome of the surgery for many years.

If you are considering breast augmentation surgery, it is important for you to realize that breast implants alone will not solve every breast problem.  If I were to describe the ideal patient for breast augmentation surgery, she would have a relatively well-toned breast structure with very little of what plastic surgeons refer to as ptosis.  The word is pronounced with a silent “p” and is perhaps a gentler way of saying, “sagging” or “drooping.”

The more ptosis you have, the less likely it is that a simple breast augmentation will produce a beautiful result.  This is particularly true if the surgeon places a relatively large implant in the subglandular plane (the plane just beneath the breast structure).  Over time the breast will thin out and sag and the implant will be all too visible.

Fortunately there is a good solution for the patient who wants to increase the volume of her breasts that are ptotic.  The augmentation mastopexy procedure has two helpful elements:  a breast lift to correct sagging and volume enhancement with a silicone gel or saline implant.  There are several types of augmentation mastopexies that I do.  You can find details in another blog in this series or in the augmentation mastopexy section of my general website.

This is just one more reason to choose your surgeon carefully.  There are breast augmentation “mills” out there where the same operation is done for every patient.  Eventually the patient will need to come to an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon to correct the first surgery.  Why not do some homework before you have the surgery and save yourself this aggravation and expense?

In my next blog I will provide you with a simple test that will help you to determine if you need more than just a breast augmentation.

Dr.John Q. Cook , the director of the Whole Beauty Institute™, is a recognized leader in the field of aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery.  Dr. Cook, who is on the staff of Rush University Medical Center, brings his patients the benefit of over 20 years of experience in refined and innovative techniques of breast surgery.  The Whole Beauty Institute™ has two convenient locations; visit us at our Chicago office located on North Michigan Avenue or our North Shore office located on Green Bay Road in Winnetka.  We see patients from all over Chicago including the Gold Coast, River North, Old Town, Near North, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Wrigleyville, Uptown,  Hyde Park,  Evanston, Wilmette, Libertyville, Kenilworth, Glencoe, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Deerfield, Northbrook, Northfield, Glenview, Barrington, and many other areas of the city and suburbs as well as patients from other states such as California,  New York, Wisconsin and Indiana and outside the country from England, Denmark, and Japan to name a few.    Visit wholebeautyinstitute.com.