Q: Will the operation be very painful?
A: I do a pain control technique for every one of my breast augmentation patients, which significantly reduces, and in approximately 20% of cases, eliminates post operative pain. What this involves is placing a long acting anesthetic in precise locations, so that when you awaken from surgery you do not feel significant pain. Therefore, if you do experience pain, your pain medicine will be much more effective, because it is treating the early onset of the pain, rather than trying to treat it at its maximal level. My patients usually report a pressure like feeling or a soreness after surgery, rather than a true feeling of pain. Typically, when breast augmentation surgery is done elsewhere, it is a painful procedure.
Q: What size breasts are best for me?
A: This is a personal decision, and my staff and I have over 20 years of experience in guiding women to choose an implant that is best for them. It is very important to be honest with your surgeon about your desired results. I recommend bringing pictures of your desired size and shape. Both my patient care coordinator and I will spend as much time as you need going over our photo collection to help make sure you will achieve your desired result.
Q: Which is a better implant, silicone or saline?
A: Both silicone and saline implants are extremely high quality products, have been extensively studied, and are considered very safe. The choice of which implant is better depends on the individual patient. The advantage of silicone are that it has a lower incidence of rippling, and can give the breasts a better feel. In thin patients with little natural breast tissue silicone may be a better choice. Saline implants are inserted in the body when they are empty, then filled with sterile saline, as opposed to silicone, which are prefilled. Therefore, the surgeon can customize your appearance more precisely with a saline implant than with a silicone implant. The incisions for saline are usually smaller and for someone with good muscle coverage and some natural breast tissue, saline can be the better choice. Saline implants are also better for correcting pre-operative asymmetries.
Q: Is it safe to have breast implants in your body?
A: YES. This subject has been exhaustively studied around the world and the consistent conclusion is that there is no significant health risk.
Q: Is it necessary to change implants every ten years?
A: No, it is not. This false idea came about because it is hard to determine when a silicone implant has an early leak, so the notion was circulated that it might be a good idea to change implants every ten years to avoid problems with leakage. This idea does not apply to saline implants. Most reputable plastic surgeons would agree that there is no need to change implants if you are not having a problem with them.