What Are My Breast Surgery Options?

You’ve decided to get breast surgery. But now what? Now, you have the joy of choosing which procedure will help you achieve the figure you’ve always wanted. With the number of breast surgery options, you might feel intimidated, but never fear—the Maryland Institute of Plastic Surgery is here to explain the benefits of each breast surgery procedure.

Breast Augmentation

If you’ve never heard of breast augmentation (which you probably have, since it’s so prominent in the media and happens to be one of the top plastic surgery procedures of all time), then breast augmentation is a plastic surgery procedure that inserts implants into the breast to improve volume and shape. There are countless ways that you can customize your breast augmentation for your needs.

Choice of Implants

Breast implants come with two types of fillings: saline and silicone. Saline implants were the dominant kind of implant for a long time, but new silicone fillings are increasing in popularity because of their realistic feel and the natural look they create. Implants also come in a countless variety of shapes and sizes.

There is a third kind of implant colloquially called the “gummy bear” implant; while it’s technically a silicone implant, gummy bear implants are special because they have a highly-cohesive gel. It’s a particularly popular implant because the gel can stick together even when the implant is cut or ruptured. That means it’s not likely to leak into the body if there’s ever an issue with the implant.

Placement of Implants

Most of the time, implants are placed either over the chest muscle or under it. There is some disagreement about whether the implants look more natural over or under the muscle; some say that implant rippling is more likely to occur over the muscle, and some say that the implants under the muscles look unnatural whenever a woman contracts those muscles. In the end, only and your surgeon can decide on the best path to take.

Type of Incision

The kind of incision used in a breast augmentation matters because women often want them hidden in specific places or want them to be of a certain size. Some incisions can be hidden in the armpit, under the breast crease, or sometimes, around the areola. Certain factors, like whether you get a saline or silicone implant, can affect what kind of incisions you get.

Breast Lift

A breast lift is a procedure that essentially lifts the breasts to a much younger position. It’s a particularly effective procedure for women whose breasts were affected by aging or pregnancy or women with tubular breasts. A breast lift will essentially remove excess skin, lift the breasts to a higher position, and then tighten the breasts to a perkier shape. It’ll also reposition the nipples in to a normal orientation.

A breast lift is performed using a series of incisions, and these incisions will differ depending on how your breast lift is done. Sometimes, the incisions will look like an anchor that goes around your nipple and down the crease of the breast, and sometimes the incision will merely surround the nipple.

The one caveat is that a breast lift will likely decrease the size of your breasts. If retaining or increasing the size of your breasts is something that’s important to you, then there’s another procedure that can help you get the best of both worlds: the breast augmentation with the breast lift.

Breast Augmentation and Breast Lift

If you’re experiencing sagging, then be warned: heavy breast implants might make the sagging worse. If you want bigger breasts but also suffer from substantial sagging, then you can combine a breast augmentation with a breast lift to get powerful results. In a combination breast augmentation and breast lift, your surgeon will insert a breast implant during a breast lift; the results are a perkier breast and a substantial increase in volume.

Breast Reduction

Who says bigger is always better? Some women suffer from a barrage of issues due to overly large breasts: backaches, sore shoulders, neck pain, headaches, shortness of breath, and more. With breast surgery, you can give yourself more proportional breasts, but more importantly, you can move freely again and say goodbye to the burdens caused by overly large breasts. A breast reduction is somewhat similar to a breast lift, except it removes a substantial amount of tissue to leave you with more proportional breasts.

You’ll have plenty of options when it comes to breast surgery, the trick is finding the right one for your unique goals. If you’d like to know more about what each procedure can do for you, contact the Maryland Institute of Plastic Surgery to get in touch with our incredible team of board-certified surgeons.