Breast augmentation is an aesthetic procedure that allows a woman to achieve the desired size of her breasts. You cannot surgically increase a unit size - with exercises, creams, wearing corrective underwear, and so on. But these methods do not help everyone, and not every woman has enough patience (the results of folk methods appear no earlier than six months later). For a quick effect and a significant increase in the glands, you need to go under the knife of a plastic surgeon.
Breast augmentation surgery
Mammoplasty is the name of an operation in the field of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. The enlargement of the bust is carried out according to the indications:
- Aesthetics - when there are no deviations in the proportions and shape of the breast, but the woman has psychological discomfort due to her breast.
- Medical - if the breast is completely or partially missing (after an operation or injury), has a malformation (e. g. there is a disproportion).
Breast augmentation is done through the installation of implants or the introduction of fat cells. The second method is new (it was first performed in Tokyo in 2004) and is only used in a few clinics in the world. The first type of surgery is ubiquitous - there are dozens of establishments offering breast arthroplasty in every major city. The procedure can be performed with a simultaneous breast lift to sculpt the breast.
The tactics of the operation are put together individually for each patient. The type of incision (under the chest or through the armpit), the possibility of placing the biomaterial (under the muscle, glandular tissue, mixed), as well as the shape of the implant are determined by the properties:
- Development of the pectoralis major muscles;
- the presence or absence of mastoptosis (acquired depression of the mammary glands);
- Thickness and elasticity of the skin and subcutaneous tissues;
- the presence of deformation of the sternum and ribs.
Women undergoing 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 their shape is lost. The reoperation takes place approximately every 7-10 years (the exact expiry date depends on the material)
Choice of implants
Implants differ in the type of filling. The following materials are used in mammoplasty:
Silicone fluid
It has a consistency similar to that of vegetable oil. Allows a significant increase (up to 4 sizes and more), but poorly corrects the shape, additional screw connections are required. The main disadvantage is that the contents easily change their position in the chest, 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 them losing their shape. Cases of shell breakage and leakage of contents are excluded. Minuses - in a short life (needs to be changed every 5-7 years) and relative severity (which is why it is not recommended to increase by more than 2 sizes).
Highly cohesive gel
Material with the consistency of jam. It is considered to be the safest for breast implants. Offers natural breast shape. Minus - with high "shape memory" - with prolonged exposure to the mammary gland (for example, when constantly falling asleep with a lowered stomach), a persistent deformation occurs that cannot be corrected.
Saline solution
The most out of date and unreliable material. The risk of complications is very high. As early as 8 months after the operation, the salts crystallize and can penetrate the shell of the implant. Saline solution continues to be used in aesthetic surgery because of its low cost.
Women are given round or teardrop-shaped implants to choose from. They differ in shape. The second variety is considered to be anatomically correct.
Round implants are recommended for small corrections (for an increase of 1 size) and are better suited for shape correction (e. g. after childbirth or after feeding). When used to create a significant bust, it looks unnatural (the mammary glands protrude too much).
Teardrop-shaped implants have an asymmetrical shape - the top edge is thinner and thicker towards the bottom. Her appearance is as close as possible to the natural female breast. A relative disadvantage is their dense texture (necessary to maintain the shape). For this reason, when you feel it, you can guess that the bust is artificial.
Preparation and implementation of the operation
Mammoplasty is only performed for absolutely healthy women. For 5-10 days, the patient must undergo a full medical examination to exclude contraindications. The following are mandatory:
- Laboratory tests (blood used to clot, general and biochemical tests for infection and inflammation);
- EKG;
- Fluorography;
- Breast ultrasound;
- Examination by a therapist, mammologist, gynecologist.
The operation to enlarge the breast is canceled in case of mastopathy and other diseases of the mammary glands, infectious diseases of any origin, untreated neoplasms and blood clotting disorders. The age limit is 18 years - a mammoplasty cannot be performed earlier due to incomplete body formation. Another contraindication is incomplete lactation.
In addition to health checks, preparing for breast augmentation includes not taking hormones and medication containing salicylates (14 days before surgery). Do not smoke or drink alcohol for 10 days before surgery.
The operation takes place under general anesthesia. During mammoplasty, the entire surface of the breast and the site of future tissue dissection are treated with an antiseptic to prevent it from entering the wound and preventing the infection from spreading. The duration of the procedure is 60 to 130 minutes.
The costs
Breast augmentation can only be performed for a fee. The prices are based on the costs of:
- preliminary expert review and analysis;
- direct work of the surgical team;
- Anesthetic;
- Endoprostheses (the price of implants depends on the material and size);
- Hospitalization and post-operative care (you need to be in the clinic for 1-3 days).
The price is also influenced by the qualifications of the doctors. The more experienced specialists perform the operation, the higher the cost of sutures or seamless breast augmentation.
Possible complications
Before the operation, the pros and cons must be carefully weighed, as mammoplasty has one significant disadvantage - there is a high risk of negative consequences of breast augmentation. If the operation was performed on a patient with contraindications and the safety rules were violated during the operation or during the recovery period, complications may arise:
- Hematoma;
- Lymphorrhea (accumulation of tissue fluid in the subcutaneous tissue of a sutured wound);
- Keloid scars (as a result, a scar that protrudes above the skin forms);
- infectious infection;
- Rupture or displacement of the endoprosthesis;
- fibrous formations.
Even if the rules are followed, the risk of such a consequence of breast augmentation as the rejection of the installed implant by the body cannot be excluded. The only way out of this situation is the complete removal of the endoprosthesis and the long-term elimination of the consequences resulting from it.
rehabilitation
Any breast correction surgery requires long-term recovery. Thorough rehabilitation protects against complications. For 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 few days after mammoplasty is normal due to skin tension and postoperative edema, but it gradually subsides and disappears (symptoms should definitely go away by the end of the 10th day).
Immediately after the operation, the woman should take antibiotics to prevent infection (the course lasts 5 to 10 days, depending on the drug prescribed). A month or a half after the mammoplasty, you will need to wear special compression underwear that will correct the correct shape of the renewed breast and accelerate the healing of the surgical wound.
An important recommendation concerns physical activity. For 2-3 months, you shouldn't lift weights more than 3 kg, you shouldn't exercise (including stretching and running)You can have sex after 7-10 days (depending on how you feel), but for the first 8 weeks you will only use the classic missionary position - on your back.
Photo: before and after
According to statistics, around 65% of requests for mammoplasty are associated with loss of breast shape after childbirth and breastfeeding. In addition to a facelift, women also order a volume increase (by 1–2 sizes).
In the absence of medical indications, women turn to surgeons more often to get rid of the lack of a figure such as undersized breasts (including those of zero size). Even without a photo before and after the operation, it is clear that such women need a mammoplasty to get rid of self-doubt. Natural breast sizes of 2 and 3 are the least likely to be treated.
According to statistics, more than 2. 5 million breast augmentation surgeries were performed worldwide in 2017. Of these, giant implants were installed in only 11% of cases to enlarge the breast to size 5 (more than "six" orders only 5%). The most common is the medium size 3 (over 71%).
The most common method of breast augmentation is silicone-free (using helium implants) through the armpit. If round endoprostheses were preferred five years ago (approx. 85%), women now prefer naturalness and choose teardrop-shaped implants.
Non-surgical augmentation methods
Without surgery, it is impossible to achieve significant growth of the glands. You can only strengthen the pectoral muscles, correct posture, add a little fatty tissue, improve the elasticity of the skin - this leads to an increase of 1 at best, but more often it just corrects the shape. The main method of breast enlargement is sports exercises plus creams. By wearing corrective underwear you can achieve a visual tightening: push-up bras lift the breast and make it appear one size larger.
Exercises
Regular exercise strengthens the muscles - they tighten and "lift" the mammary glands. This will make the breast firmer and add some volume. The main disadvantage is that this process is very tedious and tedious. To get a pronounced effect, you need at least 6-10 months of daily chest exercises (20-40 minutes each).
The five easiest exercises to do at home are twisting with your arms outstretched, closing your palms in front of your chest, pulling your arms back, lifting objects in front of and behind your head, and lifting your chest from the prone position. Add dumbbell swings to this workout.
eat
Scientists have shown that increased consumption of legumes and grains, as well as high-protein foods, contributes to the growth of the mammary glands. However, such a diet is useful only for girls in puberty. With a sculpted figure, it is impossible to induce breast growth through nutrition (with diet, you can only reduce the amount of adipose tissue, that is, reduce the breast).
Folk methods
There is a lot of information on the internet about non-traditional methods of increasing breast volume. Be careful with home trials as many of them are dangerous. For example, many forums discuss the folk method of enlarging the breast with toothpaste. When mixed with a cream and used every day, the mammary glands reportedly grow one size or even more in 1-2 months due to tissue irritation. This is a myth, nothing but a burn cannot be obtained from this method.
An even more dangerous tip is to use a syringe to inject saline into the chest. Such injections lead to a slight increase in the breast for 1-2 days. However, the cost of temporary beauty will be such serious problems as the rapid development of tumors.
Of all the advice, ridiculous at first sight, the most harmless is an increase in the bust with the power of thought. Of course, there will be no real increase in volume from auto training. But self-hypnosis makes a woman more confident - the lady stretches her shoulders, stretches her back, which makes her breasts appear visually larger.
Results (photo)
Of all the non-medical ways to change the appearance of the bust, exercise is the most effective. However, the result will not be noticeable at the earliest six months later (subject to regular training).
Second is auto training and posture correction. As you can see in the photo, the size of the chest has not formally changed, but the straight back, the tucked-in stomach and the straight shoulders make the chest look more attractive.
If shaping the breast and the visual effect of a tight breast is not enough for a girl, then she can not do without surgery. Only implants can add multiple sizes. But before going to the operating table, it is necessary to weigh the pros and cons to determine whether the desired beauty is worth the possible postoperative complications, and whether a woman is ready to change the endoprosthesis every 5-7 years.