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Introduction To Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation is a cosmetic procedure to alter the shape and size of a woman’s breasts and this procedure is also known as breast implant, mammoplasty enlargement, breast enlargement. The breast enlargement is mainly done for primary reconstruction, primary augmentation, revision reconstruction, and revision augmentation. In primary construction, the breast tissue that has been removed during trauma or cancer treatment is replaced. In primary breast augmentation before and after, the breast size is increased for some cosmetic reasons.

In revision reconstruction, revision surgery is performed to improve the condition of the original reconstruction surgery. The surgical procedure takes about two to four hours and there are different types of procedures. The procedures vary with respect to implant material, incision type, and implant placement. The different incision types are inframammary, periareolar, transaxillary, transumbilical, and transabdominoplasty.

Inframammary is the most commonly used incision type and here incision is made below the breast. This type is more preferred for silicone implants and this technique leaves thicker and visible scars. In periareolar, the incision is done on the areolate border and the scars are less visible. This method causes many problems and most common problem is trouble with breast feeding as the nerves and milk ducts are cut during the process. Transaxillary incision is made near the armpit and this method leaves no scars.

Transumbilical is the least used technique where incision is placed in the dissection tunnels and navels. This method does not show any visible scars, but carrying out this procedure without any error is more difficult. Transabdominoplasty is similar to transumbilical. The two major types of implants are saline and silicone gel. The saline shells are prepared from silicone elastomer and after completing the procedure the implants are completely filled with salt water. During the procedure, the saline implants are empty, and thus leaves no scars. Saline implants may cause some problems such as wrinkling and rippling. Silicone breast implants are more suitable for a woman with more breast tissue.

The silicone gel implants are best described in terms of five generations. The first generation silicone-gel was of tear drop shaped and was filled viscous, thick gel. The second generation shells were thinner and came with less cohesive gels. Due to some difficulty in this implant, polyurethane foam coating was done on the shell. This type of implant was later discontinued due to carcinogenic problems. The third and fourth generation represented more advancement in the manufacturing techniques. In these generations, the implants shell was coated with elastomer and gel was thicker and more cohesive to avoid cosmetic problems.

The fifth generation marks the improvement of the efficacy and safety of the implants with fewer problems. The different implant placements are subglandular, subfascial, subpectoral, and submuscular. After the procedure, the patients will be able to resume their normal activity in a week. Women who have undergone this surgery are advised to restrict exercises and any strong physical activity for at least six weeks. The scars begin to fade after few months of surgery. Breast implants does not last longer and therefore, a woman might need a revision or repair surgery. 

  • Women prefer silicone to saline after mastectomy (msnbc.msn.com)