Saline Breast Implants

Saline implants have the potential to look and feel natural following breast augmentation surgery. This requires adequate soft tissue coverage of the implant and the selection of an appropriately sized implant.

When adequate soft tissue coverage is present, the breast looks and feels natural. When soft tissue coverage is inadequate, the breast may not feel normal and rippling may be present.

Adequate soft tissue coverage is more likely if the patient has a moderate amount of her own breast tissue and the implants are placed underneath the muscle. Under these circumstances, the breasts are more likely to feel normal and also have less rippling. The use of large implants would have the opposite effect because the soft tissue coverage would be inadequate.

In patients who have minimal breast tissue and a thin body habitus, an artificial feel and rippling may be unavoidable. In this situation, silicone implants in a submuscular position may be necessary to obtain a natural look and feel.

A consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon will help determine the appropriate style and size of breast implant. It would not be unreasonable to expect a natural feel and look with saline implants. With a reasonable starting breast volume, moderate-sized saline implants and submuscular positioning should give excellent results.

Implant Massage After Breast Augmentation

Not every plastic surgeon recommends implant massage following breast augmentation, but the vast majority of surgeons believe it’s extremely important. Implant massage is also known as implant displacement and is designed to stretch the implant pocket to avoid the development of capsular contracture.

Implant massage starts following surgery and is typically performed approximately three times per day. The implant is displaced superiorly, inferiorly, medially, and laterally. This is done for at least one year following surgery.

Can I Have a Breast Reduction if I’m Overweight?

For many patients, breast reduction surgery is a life-changing experience. Symptoms such as back, neck, and shoulder pain seem to improve almost overnight. Patients note that clothes fit better and over time, their self-esteem and self-image improve as well.

Patients who are overweight don’t differ from other patients in this regard. They note similar improvement in quality of life and significant improvement in symptoms.

When patients who are overweight undergo breast reduction surgery, they often experience additional benefits. They often note increased exercise tolerance and subsequently become more physically active as they adopt a healthier lifestyle. In many cases, this results in significant amounts of weight loss.

Liposuction for Men

Liposuction is one of the most commonly performed cosmetic surgical procedures in men. The flanks, abdomen, chest, and neck appear to be the most commonly treated areas. This procedure is
associated with high satisfaction rates when patients are near their ideal body weight.

Liposuction in men has limitations because the fat tends to be more fibrous. In addition, a large amount of the abdominal fat is located within the abdominal cavity where it can’t be reached by a liposuction canula. These characteristics can limit the amount of fat that can be removed with this procedure. Men generally have thicker skin than women and as a result, skin sag is less likely to occur in this group.In some cases, ultrasonic liposuction has been found to be helpful when performing liposuction on men. In theory, this procedure results in skin tightening as well.

Capsular Contracture Following Breast Augmentation

It’s normal for your body to react to a foreign material such as a breast implant by forming a scar. This scar surrounds the breast implant and is known as a capsule. Capsule formation occurs in every patient to some degree following breast augmentation. In most cases, this represents a normal response to a foreign material being placed inside your body.

Without capsule formation, implants don’t stay in one place. When this happens, implants migrate and secondary pocket revision may be necessary. In some cases, capsule formation occurs in an aggressive form, which results in a capsular contracture. In severe cases of capsular contracture, the breast implants become hard, distorted, displaced, and painful. The majority of capsular contractures develop within six months of surgery, but they can develop at any time.

There’s no laboratory or radiology test that makes the diagnosis. The diagnosis is entirely based on physical examination.

Teen Breast Reduction

When younger patients have significant breast enlargement with associated symptoms, we don’t feel that they should be denied the benefits of this procedure because of an arbitrary age cutoff. Before proceeding, there are several unique considerations in this group that must be considered.

One of these is the issue of breast growth. We would prefer stabilization of breast growth for at least six months prior to proceeding with surgery. Another issue is the age of consent. Because of this, parents should be involved in every step of the decision- making process.

Breast Augmentation Options

Several questions need to be answered before proceeding with breast augmentation surgery.  These pertain to the following issues: 1) Implant size, 2) Implant type, 3) Incision location, 4) Under or the over muscle, and 5) With or without a breast lift.

Depending upon the answers to these questions, a large variety of treatment options potentially exist. Each patient should be considered individually since no two patients are the same. Patients may have unique anatomic findings and specific aesthetic goals that impact their treatment plan.

In general terms, data shows that the majority of implants are placed under the muscle through an inframammary approach.  There is a greater tendency to use silicone gel implants than saline implants, but saline implants are still frequently used.

Will Pregnancy Ruin My Breast Implants?

Breast implants are not impacted by pregnancy and breast-feeding, but the surrounding breast tissue can be significantly impacted. These changes vary from patient to patient following breast augmentation and pregnancy. Some patients are minimally impacted, while others note sag of their native breast tissue, loss of breast volume, and stretch marks. These changes are probably not related to breast implants, but are instead related to the natural biologic tendencies of the breast tissue. In other words, loss of breast volume, sag, and stretch marks would occur even if breast implants weren't present.

Exercise Following Breast Augmentation

Recovery times following breast augmentation surgery vary from patient to patient. These times are significantly impacted by the nature of the procedure, the patient’s employment, and the patient’s social situation. It’s important to realize that even though breast augmentation is a cosmetic procedure, it’s still a significant operation with associated risk. For this reason, premature return to normal activity can result in an increased incidence of complications.
  
We generally recommend light activity for the first week following the procedure. After one week, patients are allowed to gradually resume normal non- strenuous activities. Strenuous activities and heavy lifting are not allowed for at least six weeks in most cases. At six weeks, most patients are able to resume all of their normal activities.

Insurance Coverage for Blepharoplasty?

When redundant upper eyelid skin results in obstruction of vision, it’s more than a cosmetic issue.  Patients often have excess skin, which obstructs vision superiorly and laterally.  Under these circumstances, excess upper eyelid skin can actually cause significant functional problems.  For instance, this can create problems when driving a motor vehicle and this can be potentially dangerous.  When this happens insurance carriers will occasionally view upper lid blepharoplasty as
medically necessary and cover its expense.

Before insurance carriers cover the expense of blepharoplasty they require that certain criteria be met.  These include documentation of symptoms and physical findings associated with visual field obstruction.  In addition, visual field studies that demonstrate visual field obstruction are critical to insurance approval.

Visual field studies are typically performed by an ophthalmologist or optometrist. The study is performed by measuring the patient’s response to a series of flashing lights. The patient’s responses are recorded and a computer- generated report is made. This report will demonstrate any visual field defects that the patient may have. The initial study is followed by a secondary study in which the upper eyelids are taped in an upward direction.  Improvements in the results of visual field studies with the upper lids taped as opposed to untaped would indicate that blepharoplasty would benefit the patient.

Should I Get Breast Implants If I Plan On Getting Pregnant Later?

The results of breast augmentation surgery are never permanent. Changes in weight, normal aging, pregnancy, and breast-feeding can all be expected to change the breasts. Each patient who is considering breast augmentation and possibly pregnancy should be considered individually based on their personal situation. As a rule, if a patient is planning pregnancy within a year of surgery, we generally recommend postponing surgery until after the pregnancy. Most patients who present for breast augmentation don't have plans for pregnancy in the short term, but realize that it's probably in their future. It's important for this group of patients to realize that pregnancy may impact their final result.

The impact of pregnancy on breast augmentation varies from patient to patient. Some patients are minimally impacted, while others note sag of their native breast tissue, volume loss, and stretch marks. This often results in the need for secondary procedures, such as implant exchange and breast lift.

Three Benefits of Breast Reduction in Omaha

Many patients visit Aesthetic Surgical images to learn more about their options for an Omaha Breast Reduction. Below are three benefits of undergoing a breast reduction procedure.

1) Reduced or Eliminated Pain
Overly large breasts can cause pain for women in their neck, back and shoulders. Some patients even experience migraine headaches and notice deep grooves in the shoulders from bra straps. When breast tissue is reduced, much of this pain is eliminated or significantly decreased.

Surgical Correction for Patients with Breast Asymmetry

Often unrecognized, the vast majority of women have mild to moderate asymmetry of their breasts. Caused by genetics or hormonal fluctuations, asymmetry occurs during adolescence or pregnancy. Depending on the degree of breast asymmetry, you have options to correct your condition.

Women with a large size difference in breast size find appropriate clothing and bra fitting extremely difficult. Some women may also feel self-conscious or embarrassed about their condition which affects their sense of body image. Cosmetic surgery may be a viable solution to their problem. Surgical options include breast augmentation, breast lift or breast reduction – or a combination of any two or all three.

Breast Reduction, Omaha Nebraska

We know you take pride in your appearance, and we want you to look and feel your best. At Aesthetic Surgical Images, our board-certified plastic surgeons are here to help. Many women find that very large breasts may seem disproportionate to the rest of the body, and may even cause physical pain. Breast reduction surgery is a procedure that can help alleviate neck, back and shoulder pain.

Mommy Makeover

Most women, today, take pride in their appearance. They work hard to maintain a proper lifestyle by eating mostly healthy foods, exercising, and keeping fit. When motherhood occurs, however, everything changes. Pregnancy, childbirth, and breast feeding all take their toll on every part of the body. Before a woman knows it, a lifetime of her efforts have been undone.