Introduction
Women are the ones that wear make-up, spend hours in front of a mirror, and cannot decide on which dress or skirt makes them look better. The logical explanation of all these facts is that women have been under the pressure of being beautiful, perfect and decorative for centuries. When the standards of beauty become more and more obvious, it could happen for the image in the mirror to become less and less perfect. Luckily, times have changed and women not only have the power to decide if they want to change and what to change, but they also have the means to do so. Plastic surgery offers them the possibility of becoming more confident and to trust more in their femininity. One of the first things that women are inclined to change is the way their breasts look.
Information on breast augmentation is available all over the internet, but still, there are things that are less known and less clear. To be able to get an informed opinion on what is to come and if this is the right decision for you, you also need to know the less familiar facts.
You cannot choose an exact size
It is important to be aware that you need to have reasonable expectations. You might have seen a picture or want breasts that look like a celebrity’s or neighbor’s. It is not possible to copy some other size or person, and what works for others might not work for you. You need to know this and accept that the plastic surgeon might need to change your opinion on the breasts you will have. Yes, you can change the size of your breasts, but if you are intent on a huge size, you will be getting yourself in a lot of trouble.
The perfect size of your implants can be calculated, and the plastic surgeon will take your measurements and be able to suggest the best fit for you according to your bone structure, weight, chest width, etc. Sizers, a sort of bra with implants, can help you also decide, being able to see yourself after trying on various options. If you choose an implant too big for you, not only will you get a fake look, but this will also cause problems in the long run. The skin will not be able to support this new, super-extra weight, so it might get saggy.
Implant placements
There are two options to position the implant inside the pocket made inside your breast: in front of the pectoralis muscle and behind it. Most women know this fact, but they are not aware of the major differences between these two placements.
Placing the implant in front of the muscle means it will stay right below the glandular tissue. This is the one placement that leads to a very quick recovery and less pain because the muscle is not moved from its place. This is also highly recommended for athletic women because the flexing of the muscle will not affect the way the implant looks. This placement supposes more natural glandular tissue; otherwise, it will not provide good coverage for the implant or you will have to use a very small one. This kind of placement also exposes the implant because it is only one layer between it and the outside world.
If the implant is placed under the muscle, the pectoralis muscle will be lifted, so the implants will be placed under it. It will surely be more painful and the recovery more difficult since the muscle will be manipulated, but it will also have some important advantages. If you are a woman with very small breasts, then this is the placement to go with. It will provide more coverage of the implant, thus avoiding the possibility of rippling. It will also be less exposed to the outside world since there will be two layers to protect the implant.
Implant settling
Your first impression after your surgery will be a fake one. You will probably be terrified that the whole procedure failed somehow. Apart from the pain and soreness, you will feel your breasts like two bowling balls sitting too high up on your chest and looking as fake as possible. Even more, one might look more swollen than the other, so there will be some asymmetry present.
Do not despair! It is absolutely normal for your breasts to look unreal in the beginning. They will look more and more natural with each passing day. The swelling will go down gradually over the next several weeks. It is better not to invest in any new wardrobe items, and especially not bras for the first 6 months.
During this time, your implants will undergo a process called settling. Your tissues and muscles will be very tight at first, not allowing the foreign objects a.k.a. implants to float free in your breast pockets. Little by little, they will ease up and allow the implants to get settled into their place. Not being constricted by anything, the implants will “drop” in the normal breast position and “fluff,” being allowed to spread to become soft in feel and touch. This whole process might even take one year, but if you see no improvement in the way your breasts look after the first 4 to 5 months, you should ask your doctor if something is wrong.
Breastfeeding and pregnancy are possible with implants
There are some that say that once you get implants, you cannot have kids anymore. Nothing is falser than this. Fertility and the ability to have children has nothing to do with implants, but rather with hormones and a balance of them in your body. While it might be advisable to get implants after you decide not to have children anymore, there is no issue in doing so before your firstborn comes. It is suggested to postpone implant surgery after you are done with having kids, because during pregnancies and breastfeeding a woman’s body goes through a lot of changes, and the part that is most influenced are the breasts. On the other hand, the lack of confidence and low self-esteem because of one’s looks might result in an impossibility to create social relations, thus being unable to get pregnant in the first place.
Another sensitive subject that is much discussed is breastfeeding. Can this be done if you have implants? Yes, studies have shown that there is no direct link between women who are not able to breastfeed and those who have implants. It seems that those who have small breasts have little glandular tissue and are the ones with small chances of successfully breastfeeding or doing so for a long time.
Implants do not impede breastfeeding. It is true that milk ducts might be severed during the making of the incision, but this is true only if the incision is periareolar. Furthermore, an experienced doctor you have advised beforehand that you would want to breastfeed in the future will be able to perform the surgery without any damage to your milk ducts or areola nerves.
There is also no danger of silicone gel leaking or transferring to the milk. Modern gel fillers are made so cohesive that even if rupture occurs, the leakage will remain contained inside of the shell.
Mammograms with breast implants
Some say that malignant tumors will be much more difficult to spot in the presence of an implant. This was very true some time ago, but these days implants are very common amongst women. Therefore there are radiologists that specialize in exactly this type of mammography.
It is essential you inform the clinic that you have implants when you make your appointment. They will be able to tell you if their radiologist is able to perform this analysis or not, and if yes, they will advise him or her to be prepared for this. You will probably need some extra pictures taken, called implant displacements. The implant will be pushed back to your chest wall, and your natural breast will be pushed forward. This might be a bit uncomfortable, but rest assured that the radiologist will know exactly how to manipulate your implant not to produce any rupture. An advantage of this examination will be having an implant that is placed below the muscle.
Conclusion
Before taking the decision to get a breast augmentation procedure, you need to try and get yourself informed even on the smallest things. It is important to know all details before you go through any surgery, but unfortunately, more often than not, you cannot fully do this because that specific surgery must be done to ensure your health. The advantage of an elective surgery is that you have all the time in the world to ponder, study and discuss any matter that seems unclear or troubling.