Breast augmentation is an aesthetic procedure that allows a woman to achieve the desired breast size. You can get an increase in one size non-operatively - with exercises, creams, wearing corrective underwear, etc. But these methods do not help everyone and not every lady has enough patience (the results of folk methods appear at the earliest six months later). For a quick effect and for a significant increase in the glands, you will need to go under a plastic surgeon’s knife.
Breast augmentation surgery
Mammoplasty is the name of the operation that refers to the area of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. Breast augmentation is performed according to the indications:
- Aesthetically - when there are no deviations in the proportions and shape of the breast, but the woman experiences psychological discomfort due to the bust.
- Medical - when the breast is completely or partially absent (after surgery or injury), defective (for example, there is a disproportion).
Breast augmentation is performed by implant placement or the introduction of fat cells. The second method is new (first implemented in 2004 in Tokyo) and is used in only a few clinics worldwide. The first type of surgery is ubiquitous - in every major city there are dozens of institutions that offer breast arthroplasty. The procedure can be performed while simultaneously lifting the breast to shape the breast.
The tactics of the operation are compiled individually for each patient. The type of incision (under the breast or through the armpit), the possibility of placing biomaterials (under the muscles, glandular tissue, mixed), as well as the shape of the implant are determined by the characteristics:
- development of the main chest muscles;
- presence or absence of mastoptosis (acquired mammary gland prolapse);
- thickness and elasticity of skin and subcutaneous tissue;
- the presence of deformity of the sternum and ribs.
Women on mammoplasty should be prepared for temporary breast augmentation. After a few years the implants wear out (become less elastic), the size of the mammary glands decreases again and the shape is lost. Reoperation is performed approximately every 7-10 years (the exact expiration date depends on the material).
Implant selection
Implants differ in the type of filling. The following materials are used for mammoplasty:
Silicone liquid
The consistency is similar to vegetable oil. It allows a significant increase (up to 4 sizes and more), but poorly corrects the shape, additional tightening is required. The main disadvantage is that the contents easily change their position in the bust, which makes the mammary glands look different. Silicone breasts look the most unnatural.
Cohesive gel
This material is harder than silicone and feels like jelly. Breasts with such an implant look more natural, there is less risk of losing shape. Cases of shell breakage and content leakage are excluded. Minus - in a short lifespan (will have to be changed every 5-7 years) and relative weight (which is why it is not recommended to increase by more than 2 sizes).
Highly cohesive gel
Marmalade consistency material. It is considered the safest for breast implants. Provides a natural breast shape. Minus - in high "shape memory" - with prolonged exposure to the mammary gland (for example, with constant sedation of the abdomen down), a permanent deformity is created that cannot be corrected.
Saline solution
The most obsolete and unreliable material. The risk of complications is very high. As early as 8 months after surgery, the salts crystallize and can penetrate the implant shell. Saline is still used in cosmetic surgery due to its low cost.
Women will be offered round implants or drop-shaped implants. They differ in shape. The second variety is considered anatomically correct.
Round implants are recommended for small correction (for 1 increase), more suitable for shape correction (for example, after childbirth or after feeding). If used to create a significant bust, then it will eventually look unnatural (the mammary glands will protrude too much).
The drop-shaped implants are asymmetrical in shape - the upper edge is thinner and thickens towards the bottom. Their appearance is as close as possible to natural female breasts. The relative disadvantage is their dense texture (needed to maintain shape), which is why, feeling, you can assume that the bust is artificial.
Preparation and execution of the operation
Mammoplasty is done only for absolutely healthy women. Within 5-10 days, the patient must undergo a comprehensive medical examination to rule out contraindications. The following are required:
- laboratory tests (blood clotting, general and biochemical tests for infections and inflammation);
- ECG;
- fluorography;
- Breast ultrasound;
- examination by a therapist, mammologist, gynecologist.
Breast augmentation surgery is canceled in case of mastopathy and other diseases of the mammary glands, infectious diseases of any genesis, any untreated neoplasms, blood clotting disorders. The age limit is 18 - mammoplasty cannot be done earlier due to incomplete body formation. Another contraindication is incomplete lactation.
In addition to health checks, preparation for breast augmentation also includes not taking hormones and medications with salicylates (14 days before surgery). Do not smoke or drink alcohol for 10 days before the surgery.
The operation is performed under general anesthesia. During mammoplasty, the entire surface of the breast and the site of future tissue dissection are treated with an antiseptic to avoid entering the wound and spreading the infection. The duration of the procedure is from 60 to 130 minutes.
Costs
Breast augmentation can only be done for a fee. Prices are determined by costs:
- preliminary examination by experts and analysis;
- direct work of the surgical team;
- anesthetic drug;
- endoprostheses (the price of the implant depends on the material and size);
- hospital stay and postoperative care (you must be in the clinic for 1-3 days).
The price is also affected by the qualifications of the doctor. The more experienced professionals perform the surgery, the higher the cost of sutures or breast augmentation without sutures.
Possible complications
Before the operation, it is necessary to carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages, because mammoplasty has a significant disadvantage - there is a high risk of negative consequences of breast augmentation. If the operation was performed on a patient with contraindications, safety rules were violated during the operation or during the recovery period, then complications can occur:
- hematomas;
- lymphorrhea (accumulation of tissue fluid in the subcutaneous tissue of the sutured wound);
- keloid scar (as a result, a scar protrudes above the skin);
- infectious infections;
- rupture or displacement of the endoprosthesis;
- fibrous formations.
Even if the rules are followed, the risk of such a consequence of breast augmentation as rejection of the implant by the body is not excluded. The only way out of this situation is complete removal of the endoprosthesis and long-term removal of the resulting consequences.
Rehabilitation
Any surgical correction of the breast requires long-term recovery. Thorough rehabilitation protects against complications. In the first week, it is recommended to stay in bed (1-3 days in the hospital, the rest of the time - at home). The pain in the first days after mammoplasty is normal due to skin tension and postoperative edema, but it gradually weakens and disappears (by the end of the 10th day, the symptoms should definitely disappear).
Immediately after surgery, a woman should take antibiotics to prevent infection (the course is 5 to 10 days, depending on the prescribed medication). A month or a month and a half after mammoplasty, it is necessary to wear special compression underwear, which will correct the correct shape of the renewed breast and accelerate the healing of the surgical wound.
An important recommendation relates to physical activity. You should not lift weights over 3 kg for 2-3 months, you should not do sports (including stretching and running). You can have sex after 7-10 days (depending on how you feel), but for the first 8 weeks use only the classic missionary position - on your back.
Photo: before and after
According to statistics, about 65% of requests for mammoplasty services are related to the loss of breast shape after childbirth and breastfeeding. In addition to facelift, women also order an increase in volume (by 1-2 sizes).
Without medical indications, women more often turn to surgeons to eliminate such a lack of features as too small breasts (including those of zero size). Even without a photo before and after surgery, it is clear that such women need mammoplasty to get rid of self-doubt. Natural bust sizes 2 and 3 are treated the least often.
According to statistics, in 2017, more than 2. 5 million breast augmentation surgeries were performed worldwide. Of these, only in 11% of cases huge implants were installed to increase the bust to a size of 5 (more than "six" orders only 5%). The most common is medium size 3 (over 71%).
The most common method of breast augmentation is without silicone (using helium implants) through the armpit. If five years ago they preferred round endoprostheses (about 85%), now women prefer naturalness and choose teardrop-shaped implants.
Non-surgical augmentation methods
Without surgery it is impossible to achieve significant glandular growth. You can only strengthen the pectoral muscles, correct posture, add a little fat, improve skin elasticity - at best it will increase the size by 1, but more often it will simply correct the shape. The main method of breast augmentation is sports exercises and creams. Wearing corrective underwear allows you to achieve visual tightening: push-up bras lift the bust, which makes one size larger.
Exercises
Regular exercise will strengthen the muscles - they will tone and "lift" the mammary glands. As a result, the bust is tightened and adds a little volume. The main disadvantage is that this process is very long and arduous. To achieve a pronounced effect, you will need at least 6-10 months of daily chest exercises (20-40 minutes each).
The five simplest exercises you can do at home are rotating your outstretched arms, closing your palms in front of your chest, pulling your arms back, lifting any object in front of you and behind your head, lifting your chest from a prone position. Add dumbbell swings to this workout.
Food
Scientists have shown that increased consumption of legumes and grains, as well as any protein-rich foods, contributes to the growth of the mammary glands. But such a diet will be useful only for girls during puberty. With the formed figure, it will not be possible to stimulate breast growth through diet (with a diet you can only reduce the amount of fat, or reduce the bust).
Folk methods
There is a lot of information on the Internet about non-traditional methods of increasing breast volume. Be careful with experiments at home, as many of them are dangerous. For example, many forums discuss a folk method of breast augmentation using toothpaste. Supposedly, if it is mixed with the cream and applied every day, then due to tissue irritation in 1-2 months the mammary glands will grow by one size or even more. This is a myth, but nothing but burns can be obtained with this method.
An even more dangerous tip is to inject saline into the chest with a syringe. Such injections give a slight increase in bust in 1-2 days. But the cost of temporary beauty will be serious problems like the rapid development of tumors.
Of all the seemingly ridiculous tips, the most harmless is the bust growth with the power of thought. Of course, there will be no real increase in volume from self-training. But self-hypnosis makes a woman more confident in herself - the lady straightens her shoulders, straightens her back, which makes her breasts visually look bigger.
Results (photo)
Of all the non-medical ways to change the appearance of the bust, sport is the most effective. But the result will be noticeable at the earliest six months later (subject to regular training).
In second place is self-training and posture correction. As you can see in the photo, the size of the breasts has not formally changed, but due to the flat back, tucked belly and straightened shoulders, the bust looks more attractive.
If it is not enough for a girl to shape a bust and the visual effect of a tight breast, she cannot do without surgery. Only implants can add several sizes. But before going to the operating table it is necessary to weigh the advantages and disadvantages - to assess whether the desired beauty of possible postoperative complications and whether a woman is ready to change endoprostheses every 5-7 years.