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Breast augmentation surgery — also known as augmentation mammaplasty — can be performed in a surgical center or hospital outpatient facility. You'll probably go home the same day, but on occasion the procedure requires a hospital stay. Breast augmentation may be performed while you're awake and only your breast area is numbed (local anesthesia), in which case you'll also be given medication to help you relax (sedative). Alternatively, breast augmentation may be performed with general anesthesia, in which you're asleep for the surgery.
Breast implants may be smooth or textured, round or shaped like a teardrop. They consist of a silicone shell filled with salt water (saline) or silicone gel. Your surgeon can help you decide on the best type of breast implant for you.
To insert the breast implant, your surgeon makes an incision in one of three places:
- In the breast fold. An inframammary incision runs along the crease between the underside of your breast and your chest.
- Around the nipple. A periareolar incision follows the natural line of the dark skin around your nipple (areola). This incision may leave a less noticeable scar than does the inframammary incision, but it might also affect your ability to breast-feed or affect sensation in your nipple.
- Under the arm. The axillary incision is made in your armpit.
After making an incision, the surgeon separates your breast glandular tissue from the muscles and connective tissue of your chest to create a pocket either behind or in front of the outermost muscle of the chest wall (pectoral muscle). The surgeon inserts the implant into this pocket and centers it behind your nipple. Saline implants, when inserted, are empty. The surgeon fills the breast implants with sterile saline once they're in place. Silicone implants are already filled at the time they're placed.
- Top five surgical cosmetic procedures in 2007. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/media/statistics/index.cfm. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- Breast augmentation. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/patients_consumers/procedures/AugmentationMammoplasty.cfm. Accessed Dec.2, 2008.
- Breast augmentation. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.surgery.org/public/procedures/breast_augmentation. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- FDA breast implant consumer handbook - 2004. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/indexbip.html. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- Breast implant questions and answers (2006). U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/qa2006.html. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- Breast augmentation: Your surgical experience. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.surgery.org/public/procedure/breast_augmentation/3. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- Breast augmentation: What should I expect during the recovery process? The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.surgery.org/public/procedure/breast_augmentation/6. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
