You’ve been considering a breast augmentation ever since you can remember
While visiting with women considering breast implants in my St. Louis plastic surgery office, I often hear the same concerns. While it’s impossible to get medical advice on the internet, I wanted to share just a few things for you to think about before taking the next step.
- You don’t know how to choose your surgeon
- You don’t know if the surgeon will understand exactly what it is you want and if she/he can create what you have in your mind
- You don’t know if you want a saline or silicone breast implant
- You don’t know if you want the implant under your breast or under the muscle
- You are not sure if you need to have a breast lift along with the breast implant.
All of the above questions are completely legitimate. I’m going to give you a list of questions you need answered by your plastic surgeon. You also need to educate yourself on the look and size of your future breasts. You therefore need to acquire a breast vocabulary. You will then be able to ask more informed questions and you will know how to better describe exactly what it is you want your breasts to look like.
- The first question you need answered is: Is your plastic surgeon a BOARD CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON?
- Is your plastic surgeon a Member of the Aesthetic Surgery Society?
- Does she/he have MANY before and after pictures of women who have had breast enhancement and are those patients willing to talk to you?
- Have your plastic surgeon explain the positives and negatives to silicone versus saline breast implants.
- Do you know how often you will need to have your breast implants changed?
- What about future mammograms?
- What if you have a family history of breast cancer?
- How full will my breasts be and how long will that look last?
The remainder of the questions are actually thoughts you need to sort out before finalizing your decision as to the ‘CUP SIZE’ of your augmented breasts.
- How noticeable do you want your breasts to be? Do you want them noticeable all the time or do you only want them noticeable when YOU want them to be noticed (when you wear something tight, are naked, or in a swimsuit)?
- How round and full do you want your breasts to appear? Do you want them to fall gently off your chest wall and want a very natural slope so your breasts almost appear to be a little low so no one will guess you have breast implants?
- If your plastic surgeon were to err on a fuller side or a smaller side for your breasts, which would you choose, fuller or slightly a little smaller?
Truthfully, the most important point is that you convey accurately what you want your breasts to look like. Your surgeon should completely understand your vision for your body. She/he should be able to articulate back to you exactly what you feel you want for your breasts. You should view before and after pictures from your prospective plastic surgeon’s photo gallery. You need to bring a picture of your “perfect breasts” to your plastic surgeon so she/he can see your mind’s eye view of what you want AND of what you don’t want.
You need to be completely comfortable with your surgeon and truly feel that you have connected. I think that is THE most important element of achieving your perfect breasts. Your breast enhancement surgery should be seamless and a great life enhancing experience. If you do your homework and ask the appropriate questions, you’ll be thrilled! Let me know how it goes and feel free to contact me with questions. I’d be more than happy to help you out and answer your questions of concern.