At Galanis Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA, Dr. Galanis has decades of experience performing breast augmentation and other aesthetic procedures. If you’re looking to improve the size, shape or symmetry of your breasts, Dr. Charles J. Galanis can help you boost your self-esteem by augmenting your breasts while maintaining a natural appearance.
How Does Breast Augmentation Work?
There are several ways breast augmentation can work. If you’re looking to correct asymmetry or add a small amount of volume to both breasts, augmentation works by removing excess fat from parts of your body and injecting them into strategic locations within your breast.
If you’re looking for a significant amount of volume addition, silicone or saline implants work to drastically lift and augment your breasts. The volume you can add to your breasts depends on several factors, including the amount of extra weight your chest wall and ribs can support, as well as the circumference of your hips and waist.
Where Do Incisions Go?
The placement of the incisions will depend on several factors, including your personal preference, the results you’re looking for, and the health of your skin. Inframammary incisions are made along the inframammary fold, or crease beneath your breast, to allow for incredibly precise implant placement.
If you’re concerned about temporary incision scarring beneath your breast, you may benefit from a trans axillary incision made beneath the arm. Implantation placement is also very precise when inserted through the armpit and nobody will see the incisions as they are healing. Finally, you may opt for a periareolar incision around half of your areola.
How Does the Placement of the Implants Work?
Depending on your lifestyle, family planning goals, and aesthetic goals, your implants may be placed beneath your glandular tissue and above your pectoral muscle or beneath your pectoral muscle. Subglandular implantation is ideal for women with enough existing breast tissue to be at low risk of rippling. In other words, the wrinkles of the implant won’t be visible through the skin.
If you have little natural breast tissue, submuscular implantation is ideal. Regardless of the type of implant you opt for, nobody will be able to see or feel any rippling affecting the implant itself. Submuscular implantation is also ideal for women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer, do not engage in competitive weight lifting or similar sports, and do not anticipate nursing in the future.
What Can I Expect During the Procedure?
Most of our clients are asleep during the breast enhancement procedure. Some are placed under general anesthesia and others are placed under local anesthesia and intravenous sedation. Both outcomes are the same.
Women who aren’t healthy enough to be asleep during the procedure will not experience any pain or discomfort. Local anesthesia numbs the treatment area while the recipient of the medication stays awake. Clients who are concerned about being awake during the procedure can take a mild anti-anxiety medication to help calm the nerves before the procedure.
How the Procedure Is Performed
Before you are numbed and put to sleep, the incision locations will be cleaned with an antiseptic to ensure there is no dirt or other pollutants or contaminants that can get inside your skin through the incisions. To ensure that you don’t get an infection after your procedure, you will be given a prescription for a full course of antibiotics before your procedure. Take these pills as directed.
Remember, the incision location and implant placement location depend on your aesthetic goals. Dr. Galanis will give you a better idea of what to expect during your procedure when he determines the appropriate method for implantation to achieve your unique goals. On average, the procedure is over in one to two hours and then you will be observed for a few hours as the anesthesia wears off.
How Does Recovery Work?
Recovery from breast implantation is fairly short. If you opt for augmentation via saline implants, your recovery should only take around five days. If you opt for augmentation via silicone implants, your recovery may take up to seven days. One of the most significant factors affecting how long the recovery process lasts is how well you follow post-op instructions.
What to Wear After the Procedure
Depending on the size of the implants placed, you may be asked to wear a front-clasp compression bra for two weeks or a compression band for two weeks. You will be instructed to wear a compression bra if you only received a moderate increase to breast size. If you received a large increase in breast volume, a compression band is required to protect your incisions.
It is important to wear your compression garment at all times except for when you shower. For this reason, we encourage you to have several compression garments so you don’t feel rushed into finishing the laundry when all you want to do is rest. If you usually sleep without a bra at night, practice wearing a soft compression bra at night for a couple of weeks pre-op.
What to Do After the Procedure
After the procedure, you should rest as much as possible. Sleep on your back for at least nine hours per night and take naps whenever you feel drowsy or tired. To ensure you’re getting enough sleep, avoid blue light exposure in the hour before bed and minimize the amount of light and sound you are exposed to while you sleep. Blackout curtains are great for this.
If possible, sleep without an alarm set for the first two weeks post-op. This gives your brain the opportunity to wake you up naturally when your body is done resting and recovering. At the very least, take five business days off from work and go seven nights without setting your alarm. The more you rest, the quicker and smoother your recovery will be.
What to Avoid After the Procedure
After your procedure, avoid the temptation to do too much too quickly. You may want to pick up your puppy or your child or vacuum your floors. Resist this urge. You should not lift anything weighing 10 pounds or greater in the first six weeks post-op. Your incisions are closed with sutures and it’s important that you don’t strain them or your muscles.
Furthermore, avoiding changes in blood pressure should be another top priority. To ensure your blood pressure doesn’t drop too low, eat an adequate amount of sodium, and stay hydrated by drinking at least half a gallon of water, tea, and coffee daily. Avoid high blood pressure by regulating your stress levels and avoiding strenuous exercise. Weight lifting may resume six weeks post-op.
How Long the Results Last
There is a common misconception that you have to switch out your implants every 10 years. This is because anecdotal evidence suggests that implants may rupture with 10 to 20 years of implantation. However, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, breast implants are medical devices without an expiration date.
A good rule of thumb is that if you don’t have a problem with your saline implants, they don’t need to be replaced. They may last for the rest of your life. If you have silicone implants, come in every three years for imaging tests. Saline ruptures are obvious because the implants appear deflated nearly immediately. You may be unable to see or feel a silicone rupture.
Breast Implants and Breastfeeding: Another Common Misconception
While we’re dispelling myths about breast implants, we’d like to address another common misconception. Many women are concerned that breast implants will affect their ability to breastfeed in the future. This is due to another unfortunate misconception that breast implants affect the nerve endings required to feel an infant suckling and produce breast milk.
However, when you get breast implants at Galanis Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA, Dr. Galanis is very careful to ensure that no nerve damage occurs when your implants are placed. Just let him know of your plans to breastfeed in the future so he can determine the appropriate incision and placement locations for your potential future needs.
When You Should See the Results
You can see the volume added to your breasts immediately after your procedure. If you had your nipple reduced in size or raised up your chest wall, you will also be able to see this immediately after your procedure. However, the final results of your breast enhancement will not be visible for several weeks after your procedure.
The final results of your procedure can take up to a year to be seen. It usually takes between four to six weeks for your skin to settle into position once your breasts have been augmented. Therefore, if you have elastic skin that is very reactive to change, you may see the final results in a month or two. You may see the final results after a year if your skin is unhealthy.
The Right Breast Augmentation Method for You
If you are a good candidate for breast augmentation, the only way to identify the appropriate augmentation method for you is to come in for an initial evaluation. During this initial evaluation, Dr. Charles J. Galanis, M.D. will review your aesthetic goals and evaluate the physical structure of your chest wall and the measurements of your other contours.
Again, if you only need a small amount of volume added to one or both breasts, the right augmentation method for you is augmentation via fat transfer. If you want durable, low-maintenance, natural-feeling, natural-looking results, saline implants are the ideal augmentation for you. However, there are also many benefits to silicone implants.
Good Candidates for Breast Enhancement
If you feel self-conscious about the size, shape, or symmetry of your breasts, there’s a good chance that you’re a good candidate for breast enhancement. When determining who is a good candidate for the procedure, Dr. Galanis looks for a healthy individual with realistic expectations about the entire process, from preparation through recovery, and a desire to add volume to the breasts.
The volume of your existing breast tissue doesn’t affect your candidacy because Dr. Galanis offers options for women of all shapes and sizes. Nevertheless, to be an ideal candidate, you should have fairly elastic skin around your breasts. Elastic skin results in a smoother recovery and better results.
Discover How to Improve Your Proportions Today
If you think your self-confidence would improve with the augmentation of your breasts, breast augmentation surgery Beverly hills may work for you. To learn more about how this procedure works, or determine if you’re a good candidate for this procedure, call Dr. Galanis at Galanis Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA today at (310) 818-7876 to book an appointment.
