True or False: Breast Augmentation Surgery
It’s perfectly normal (and in many cases helpful) to have some concerns or reservations before undergoing a cosmetic surgery procedure. Even the most common, routine plastic surgeries like breast augmentation are often more complicated than many prospective patients realize. With so much information (and misinformation) available online, I often take it upon myself to educate my patients on the many cosmetic procedures that I perform. For the sake of clarity and knowledge, I wanted to take some time today to present some common true and false statements about breast augmentation surgery.
Claim #1: Breast augmentation is only meant for adult women.
It’s true that I typically will not recommend this procedure for any woman under the age of 18. I personally feel that it is important to wait until the breasts have had time to fully grow and develop. However, every person develops differently and there can be exceptions. For instance, breast augmentation may be able to provide relief for younger women who experience breast asymmetry (one breast considerably larger than the other). In these cases, I always meet with the patient and her parents to determine the safest and most appropriate surgical plan.
Claim #2: Undergoing breast augmentation surgery will prevent you from being able to safely breastfeed.
This is false. In my personal experience, patients who have undergone breast augmentation will not have any difficulties safely breastfeed their babies if they choose to. It is very uncommon for breast implants to interfere with breast function. In some very rare instances, complications like a loss of sensation in the breast can potentially affect a woman’s ability to breastfeed after breast augmentation, but we will discuss this during the pre-surgery consultation appointment.
Claim #3: A breast augmentation procedure always includes a breast lift.
It’s not true that these two procedures are always performed together, but combining breast augmentation and a breast lift is in fact very common. Doing so can help women simultaneously enhance the size of their breasts while improving their overall positioning and perkiness. As long as an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon deems the patient to be a good candidate for both procedures, it is very safe to undergo a combined breast augmentation and breast lift. But to reiterate, these procedures do not need to be performed together.
It’s important and often incredibly helpful for patients to come into their plastic surgery consultation with as much knowledge and information about their respective cosmetic procedure as possible. However, I’m always happy to address any questions or concerns my patients may have during my consultation appointments. For more information or if you would like to schedule an in-person consultation appointment to discuss your options, please contact me, Dr. Franklyn Elliott. And you can also follow along with me on Facebook for additional plastic surgery news, tips, and much more.