Breast implants remain a very popular plastic surgery option. Despite the recent economic downturn, however, the number of women requesting the procedure has not substantially decreased. The reason undoubtably is that it is a very successful procedure that produces instantaneous results. In my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice, I know of few operations that can make such a dramatic difference in a very short period of time.
Despite the dramatic improvements that implants can make in breast size, there are several things that they can not do. These are important for prospective patients to understand so their expectations after surgery are realistic.
Breast implants will not lift a saggy breast or move the nipple higher up on the chest wall. In essence, breast implants do not replace a breast lift. This is certainly one of the biggest misconceptions that I come across. To properly understand that statement, we must first define what saggy (or ptosis as we plastic surgeons call it) is. If the nipple is at the level of the lower breast or above it with some loose skin, this is not what I define as saggy. Breast implants will fill out the loose skin and the nipple position will point forward. However, if the nipple sits anywhere below the lower breast crease, this is significant ptosis and some form of breast lift with the implant must be considered. If not, an implant will make the breast bigger but the nipple will end up on the bottom pole of the breast pointing downward.
Breast implants will not necessarily being the breasts closer together. Certain women have very widely spaced breasts. Many women have seen pictures of breast augmentation results in which they comment about how widely spaced the breast implants are and they don’t want a large valley between their breasts. Whether you will or won’t have that aesthetic problem after surgery can be determined beforehand. If your breasts are positioned way to the side of your chest wall, you will have widely spaced breasts afterwards. Implants will not move the breast mound inward. It does fill out the breast mound and will move the inside of the breast mound closer to the sternum. But if the implants are placed too close together, the nipples will point outward or sit on the outside of the breast. For many breast augmentation patients, bras make cleavage not the implants.
Implants won’t get rid of stretch marks or any skin irregularities on the breast. Women are usually concerned about these issues if they exist on the upper pole of the breast where they can be seen in certain types of clothing. In expanding the skin surrounding the breast, stretch marks will actually get bigger but they often become less noticeable because they become flatter. At the very least, plan on those skin imperfections staying the same. Consider it a bonus if they actually look better.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana