Background: Breast augmentation is done on many different types of women from a wide range of ages to numerous ethnicities. There are an incredible large number of breast implant types, styles and sizes from which to choose that can ultimately appeal to any woman considering the procedure.
But it is up to the plastic surgeon to listen to and appreciate the goals of each woman prior to surgery and the most contemplated issues is the size of the implant and the location of the incision.. While every women is unique and has her own desires, their ethnic background can factor into these decisions.
The Asian breast augmentation patient usually presents with several issues to consider. While an Asian female wants their breast to be larger, they still want them to be natural, not look overaugmented and fit their often smaller and more petite body frames. For most Asian women this means that the implants sizes are smaller than what most Caucasian women want and are often in the 250cc to 300cc volume range.
Scarring is of paramount concern to Asian women as their skin type is very prone to hyperpigmentation and prominent scars. Incisional options include either an intrareolar or axillary location to introduce the breast implants. Both can be effective and produce scars that are virtually invisible when healed. The small diameter of many Asian nipples may not allow the nipple approach to be used.
Case Study: This 18 year-old Asian female wanted breast augmentation due to her very small natural breast size. Because of her age, she could only get saline breast implants. Using a volumetric sizing method, she opted for a maximum size of 275cc.
Under general anesthesia, she had a transaxillary approach done to place 250cc moderate plus profile saline implants which were filled to 275ccs on each side. The size of the axillary incisions was 2 cms placed in a high axillary skin fold right under the muscle edge.
She was not seen again after surgery for five years when she wanted to increase the size of her implants as well as switch to new silicone implants. It is interesting to see her long-term natural looking breast augmentation result
Asian breast augmentation must consider the body shape of the Asian female and the potential for adverse scarring at the incision site. These often require a different approach than that of the Caucasian breast augmentation patient who often wants much bigger implants and whose scar naturally heals well in the inframammary location without hyperpigmentation.
Case Highlights:
1) Asian breast augmentation requires consideration of small petite body types and often requires the use of smaller breast implants.
2) Due to scarring concerns and hyperpigmentation, a transaxillary approach to Asian breast augmentation is often used.
3) Saline or small silicone breast implants can be placed through an armpit incisional technique.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana