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Breast Augmentation

A breast augmentation, also known as augmentation mammoplasty, is an elective, cosmetic surgical procedure performed to enhance the size and shape of a woman’s breast. Poughkeepsie plastic surgeons Doctors Lawrence Enisman and Celestino Sepulveda will carefully tailor your breast augmentation to match both your preference for size and shape, as well as your physical proportions of height and weight.

Breast augmentation is performed as a single procedure or it may be combined with other surgeries if you seek additional body contouring. For example, breast augmentations are frequently performed as part of a Mommy Makeover, which includes a tummy tuck and liposuction, to reshape your entire body. If your breasts are sagging, your surgeon might recommend a breast lift in conjunction with your enhancement. Whether performed alone or in combination with other elective procedures, breast enhancements will improve your self-confidence by giving you more balanced proportions.

Whether your goal is to correct misshapen or uneven breasts, enlarge your breast size, alter your breasts after pregnancy, or to improve the appearance of previous breast implants, the Plastic Surgeons of the Hudson Valley can assist you in obtaining your desired result. The goal of our Poughkeepsie plastic surgeons is to provide you with a breast augmentation that is natural in appearance and proportionate to your height, weight and body type. The end result is an enlargement that is both appropriate to your desired aesthetics as well as your natural frame.

Good Candidates for Breast Implants

The best candidates for breast augmentation are healthy women who have realistic goals and expectations for the outcome of their surgery. While it is important that you are emotionally prepared for cosmetic surgery, much of what makes up an ideal candidate for a breast augmentation has to do with age, body type and overall health. During your private consultation at our Poughkeepsie plastic surgery office, we will evaluate your breasts to determine which surgical technique is most appropriate for you.

A breast enlargement is ideally performed on women who are at least 18 years of age, as by this point, most women’s breasts have reached their final adult size. However, for teenage girls who have very asymmetrical breasts, ie, one is much larger or smaller than the other, or tuberous breasts, implants may be appropriate.

Conversely, if you are 40 or more years old, we may require a mammogram prior to surgery, regardless of any history of breast cancer in your family. The mammogram provides an “original mapping” of your breasts and can reveal any abnormalities in the breast tissue prior to your procedure. Any irregularities found in the mammogram must be addressed before you can undergo your breast procedure.

The majority of women who undergo breast augmentation are of childbearing age. If you plan to have children, you should discuss your plans with Dr. Enisman or Dr. Sepulveda during your consultation so that he can make the best recommendation for your procedure as it relates to your personal goals.

Types of Breast Implants

You have two options for the type of implants to be used in your breast augmentation: Gel and Saline. It’s important to understand that all implants have a silicone outer shell—the difference is the filling material used in the implants.

→Saline implants are filled with saline (sterile salt water). A benefit of saline implants is that the silicone shell is filled after insertion. Therefore, smaller incisions can be made. Incisions for saline implants can be made under the arm, under the breast (in the inframammary fold) or around the areola (the pigmented area surrounding the nipple). If saline implants rupture or leak, you will almost immediately notice a difference between your breasts. The saline fluid is not hazardous to your health, however, and is absorbed naturally in your body.

→Gel-filled implants, often called “silicone implants,” are filled with gel, not saline. Many women believe that gel implants look and feel more natural than saline implants, as the texture of the gel is more like breast tissue than is saline. Further, gel implants are less likely to break than saline implants and, if they do, it’s difficult to notice a difference in the breasts. In comparison, when a saline implant ruptures, there’s an immediate change in the appearance of the breast. For this reason, it’s often recommended that women with gel implants have an MRI every few years to confirm that their gel implants are still fully functional. Studies have shown, however, that the gel filling poses no danger to your health if your gel-filled implant should rupture.

Warranty Information for Saline and Gel Breast Implants

In general, all Breast Implant Manufacturers provide lifetime replacement in case of implant failure. Additionally, if implant failure occurs within 10 years of the original surgery date, financial assistance to defray the cost of surgery is also provided. The amount of coverage varies by manufacturer and type of implant (gel-filled vs. saline-filled). Some companies have a standard free breast implant warranty, and also offer an enhanced warranty for increased coverage, at an additional charge. Currently, all manufacturers provide enhanced coverage for their gel-filled breast implants.

How Breast Augmentation Surgery is Performed

The Plastic Surgeons of the Hudson Valley group perform surgeries, including breast augmentation, in a fully accredited and licensed surgical outpatient facility and/or hospital. Facilities include St. Francis Hospital, Vassar Brothers Medical Center and two ambulatory surgical centers at the Atrium at St. Francis and Westage in Fishkill.

Cosmetic surgery performed in these facilities provides the privacy and personal attention that you both want and need. All centers are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art equipment and materials, allowing our surgeons and their team of experts to
provide the safest care for their patients and to achieve excellent surgical results.

The Plastic Surgeons of the Hudson Valley choose from a variety of techniques when performing breast enhancement, and the details of your specific procedure will vary according to the decisions made during your preoperative consultation. Your options for this 90-minute procedure, including incision sites, the size and type of implants, and location (i.e. above or beneath the pectoral muscle), are all discussed prior to your breast augmentation.

Breast augmentations are performed under general anesthesia. Depending upon choices decided, the breast implant is place through the chosen incision after a pocket is created to receive the implant. Once your surgeon has checked for position and placement of both breasts, he will close the incisions with tiny dissolvable  sutures and place you in supportive bra before you go to Recovery. You will wear this bra 24 hours a day for several weeks, to give support to the breasts and to manage swelling.

Recovery from Breast Augmentation

As mentioned above, we will provide you with a bra to be worn after your procedure. You will wear this bra 24 hours a day until you are instructed otherwise. It will alleviate discomfort by holding your breasts in place and minimize swelling. Limitations will be placed on your activity levels during recovery, but we will urge you to get up and walk around when you feel comfortable enough to do so.

You are not likely to see your final results until after three months of recovery, since there is always some postoperative swelling. In addition, it is important for breast augmentation patients—regardless of what kind of implant they have selected— to have their breasts checked on a regular basis.

A breast augmentation is a relatively safe and simple procedure that can give your breasts an enhanced and shapely appearance. If you would like to learn more about breast augmentation or other cosmetic procedures, please call Plastic Surgeons of the Hudson Valley at 845-471-0800 to schedule your initial consultation.

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