Breast augmentation is an aesthetic procedure that allows a woman to achieve the desired size of her breasts. You can get an increase in one size non-operationally - with exercises, creams, wearing corrective underwear, and so on. But these methods do not help everyone, and not every lady has enough patience (the results from folk methods appear no earlier than six months later). For a quick effect and for a significant increase in the glands, you will have to go under the knife of a plastic surgeon.
Breast augmentation surgery
Mammoplasty is the name of an operation related to the field of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. Bust augmentation is carried out according to indications:
- Aesthetic - when there are no deviations in the proportions and shape of the breast, but the woman experiences psychological discomfort from her bust.
- Medical - when the breast is completely or partially absent (after surgery or injury), malformed (for example, there is a disproportion).
Breast augmentation is performed through the installation of implants or the introduction of fat cells. The second method is new (it was first carried out in 2004 in Tokyo) and is used only in a few clinics in the world. The first type of surgery is ubiquitous - in every major city there are dozens of institutions offering breast arthroplasty. The procedure can be performed with a simultaneous breast lift to shape the breast.
The tactics of the operation are compiled individually for each patient. The type of incision (under the breast or through the armpit), the variant of placement of the biomaterial (under the muscle, glandular tissue, mixed), as well as the shape of the implant are determined by the characteristics:
- development of the pectoralis major muscles;
- the presence or absence of mastoptosis (acquired lowering of the mammary glands);
- thickness and elasticity of the skin and subcutaneous tissue;
- the presence of deformation of the sternum and ribs.
Women undergoing mammoplasty should be prepared for temporary breast augmentation. After a couple of years, the implants wear out (become less elastic), the size of the mammary glands decreases again, and the shape is lost. Reoperation is done approximately every 7-10 years (the exact expiration 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 is similar in consistency to vegetable oil. Allows to achieve a significant increase (up to 4 sizes and more), but poorly corrects the shape, additional tightening is required. The main disadvantage is that the content easily changes its position in the bust, which makes the mammary glands appear 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 losing their shape. Cases of shell breakage and content leakage are excluded. Minus - in a short service life (it will have 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 marmalade. It is considered the safest for breast implants. Provides natural breast shape. Minus - in high "shape memory" - with prolonged exposure to the mammary gland (for example, with constant falling asleep with the stomach down), a persistent deformation is formed that cannot be corrected.
Saline water solution
The most outdated and unreliable material. The risk of complications is very high. Already 8 months after the operation, the salts crystallize and can pierce the shell of the implant. Saline continues to be used in aesthetic surgery due to its low cost.
Round or drop-shaped implants will be offered to women to choose from. They differ in shape. The second variety is considered anatomically correct.
Round implants are recommended for small correction (for 1 size increase), more suitable for shape correction (for example, after childbirth or after feeding). If used to create a significant bust, then it will end up looking unnatural (the mammary glands will protrude too much).
Drop-shaped implants are asymmetric in shape - the upper edge is thinner, thickens towards the bottom. Their appearance is as close as possible to a natural female breast. A relative disadvantage is their dense texture (necessary to maintain shape), because of this, when feeling, you can guess that the bust is artificial.
Preparation and performance of the operation
Mammoplasty is done only for absolutely healthy women. For 5-10 days, the patient must undergo a complete medical examination to exclude contraindications. Mandatory are:
- laboratory tests (blood for clotting, general and biochemical tests for infections and inflammation);
- ECG;
- fluorography;
- Breast ultrasound;
- examination by a therapist, mammologist, gynecologist.
The operation to increase the size of the breast is canceled in case of mastopathy and other diseases of the mammary glands, infectious diseases of any genesis, any untreated neoplasms, blood clotting disorders. The age limit is 18 years - mammoplasty cannot be done earlier due to incomplete body formation. Another contraindication is incomplete lactation.
In addition to health checks, preparation for breast augmentation includes not taking hormones and medications with salicylates (14 days before surgery). Do not smoke or drink alcohol 10 days before the surgical procedure.
The operation takes place under general anesthesia. During mammoplasty, the entire surface of the breast and the site of the future tissue dissection are treated with an antiseptic to avoid getting into the wound and spreading the infection. The duration of the procedure is from 60 to 130 minutes.
The cost
Breast augmentation can only be done for a fee. Prices are determined by the costs of:
- preliminary examination of specialists and analyzes;
- direct work of the surgical team;
- anesthetic drug;
- endoprostheses (the price of implants depends on the material and size);
- hospital stay and postoperative care (you must be in the clinic for 1-3 days).
The qualifications of the doctors also affect the price. The more experienced specialists perform the operation, the higher the cost of suture or sutureless breast augmentation.
Possible complications
Before the operation, it is necessary to carefully weigh the pros and cons, since mammoplasty has a significant disadvantage - it is a high risk of negative consequences of breast augmentation. If the operation was performed on a patient with contraindications, safety rules were violated during the operation or during the recovery period, then complications may occur:
- hematomas;
- lymphorrhea (accumulation of tissue fluid in the subcutaneous tissue of a sutured wound);
- keloid scarring (as a result, a scar protruding above the skin is formed);
- infectious infection;
- rupture or displacement of the endoprosthesis;
- fibrous formations.
Even with the observance of the rules, the risk of such a consequence of breast augmentation as rejection of the installed implant by the body is not excluded. The only way out of this situation is the complete removal of the endoprosthesis and long-term elimination of the resulting consequences.
Rehabilitation
Any surgical breast correction requires long-term recovery. Thorough rehabilitation protects against complications. In the first week, it is recommended to stay in bed (1-3 days in the hospital, the rest of the time - at home). Pain in the first days after mammoplasty is normal due to skin tension and postoperative edema, but gradually they weaken and disappear (by the end of the 10th day, the symptoms should definitely go away).
Immediately after the operation, the woman should take antibiotics to prevent infection (course from 5 to 10 days, depending on the prescribed drug). A month or a month and a half after mammoplasty, you need to wear special compression underwear, which will fix 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 should not lift weights of more than 3 kg, you should not go in for sports (including stretching and running). You can have sex after 7-10 days (depending on how you feel), but for the first 8 weeks, use only the classic missionary position - on your back.
Photo: before and after
According to statistics, about 65% of requests for mammoplasty services are associated with the loss of breast shape after childbirth and breastfeeding. In addition to a facelift, women also order an increase in volume (by 1–2 sizes).
Without medical indications, women more often turn to surgeons to eliminate such a lack of a figure as too small breasts (including those with zero size). Even without a photo before and after the operation, it is clear that such ladies need mammoplasty to get rid of self-doubt. Natural 2 and 3 bust sizes are the least frequently treated.
According to statistics, in 2017 more than 2. 5 million breast augmentation surgeries were performed in the world. Of these, only in 11% of cases huge implants were installed to increase the bust up to size 5 (more than "six" orders only 5%). The most common is the medium size 3 (over 71%).
The most common breast augmentation method is silicone-free (using helium implants) through the armpit. If five years ago, preference was given to round endoprostheses (about 85%), now women prefer naturalness and choose teardrop-shaped implants.
Non-surgical methods of augmentation
It is impossible to achieve significant growth of the glands without surgery. You can only strengthen the pectoral muscles, correct posture, add a little adipose tissue, improve the elasticity of the skin - at best, this will give an increase of 1 size, but more often it will simply correct the shape. The main method of breast augmentation is sports exercises plus creams. Wearing corrective underwear allows you to achieve a visual tightening: push-up bras raise the bust, which makes it seem one size larger.
Exercises
Regular exercise will strengthen the muscles - they will tone up and "lift" the mammary glands. As a result, the bust is tightened and adds a little volume. The main disadvantage is that this process is very long and laborious. To achieve a pronounced effect, you will need at least 6-10 months of daily chest exercises (20-40 minutes each).
The five simplest exercises that can be performed at home are rotating with outstretched arms, closing the palms in front of the chest, pulling the arms back, lifting any object in front of you and behind your head, lifting the chest from a prone position. Add dumbbell swings to this workout.
Food
Scientists have shown that increased consumption of legumes and grains, as well as any foods high in protein, contributes to the growth of the mammary glands. But such a diet will only be useful for girls during puberty. With a formed figure, it will not be possible to induce breast growth with nutrition (with a diet, you can only reduce the amount of adipose tissue, that is, reduce the bust).
Folk methods
There is a lot of information on the Internet about non-traditional methods of increasing breast volume. Be careful with home experiments, as many of them are dangerous. For example, many forums discuss the folk method of enlarging the bust using toothpaste. Allegedly, if it is mixed with a cream and applied every day, then due to tissue irritation in 1-2 months, the mammary glands will grow by a size, or even more. This is a myth, nothing but a burn from this method can not be obtained.
An even more dangerous tip is to inject saline into the chest with a syringe. Such injections give a slight increase in the bust for 1-2 days. But the cost of temporary beauty will be serious problems like the rapid development of tumors.
Of all the at first glance ridiculous advice, the most innocuous 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 in herself - the lady straightens her shoulders, straightens her back, which makes her breasts seem larger visually.
Results (photo)
Of all the non-medical methods of changing the appearance of the bust, sports are the most effective. But the result will be noticeable no earlier than six months later (subject to regular training).
In second place is auto-training and posture correction. As you can see in the photo, the size of the chest has not formally changed, but due to the straight back, the drawn in abdomen and the straightened shoulders, the bust seems more attractive.
If it is not enough for a girl to shape the bust and the visual effect of a tightened breast, then an operation is indispensable. Only implants can add several sizes. But before going to the surgical table, it is necessary to weigh the pros and cons - to assess whether the desired beauty is worth the possible postoperative complications and whether a woman is ready to change endoprostheses every 5-7 years.