A Detailed Knowledge on Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation or breast enhancement is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures today. It is especially beneficial for women who have small breasts who feel insecure about them. It helps alleviate any dissatisfaction they feel about their bodies.

Such dissatisfaction, especially in the long-term, can have devastating effects on an individual’s emotional and mental health. After all, in an ideal world, there would be no ideal body. But we live in a world that does dictate beauty in a particular shape and wanting that shape is no crime.

And, with breast augmentation or breast enhancement surgeries, you now have access to the ideal body you truly desire!

How is Breast Augmentation Done?

Many women make the terrible mistake of turning towards “miracle cures” that claim to enhance the breasts. Even though there is no scientific backing to such claims, they think it is a safer option simply because it is not surgical.

But this is not the case at all. 

Very few natural occurrences can increase your breast size. One of these is pregnancy. But we can also assume that most women seeking breast augmentation do not want to carry a child for 9 months to get it. 

This is why expert, board-certified plastic surgeons around the world have developed various techniques that increase the safety of the procedure. This means that even the most common complication, i.e. capsular contracture, has been reduced significantly so that <2%  of all breast augmentations report it. 

But we will discuss capsular contracture in further detail later. First, let us discuss the two main ways you get breast augmentation done. 

Breast augmentation happens in two ways:

Fat Grafting

Fat grafting is a method where breast augmentation is typically combined with a liposuction procedure. In liposuction, the stubborn subcutaneous fat is removed from one part of your body. Today, professional plastic surgeons have access to the latest liposuction technology – MicroAire and VASER. 

These tools combined produce infinitely superior results compared to traditional liposuction. They also injure the fat cells least since they are minimally traumatic to the body. This means that a lot more extracted fat can be treated and reused for enhancement. 

And this is how fat grafting is done in breast augmentation, too! 

However, the downside to fat grafting is that you only move up ½ or one cup size. If you want more than that, then the second option is the way to go.

Implants

Breast implants are the most common way of getting breast enhancement. The most popular kinds of implants are silicone gel implants. Since they are artificial, they can be truly customised to your needs. 

There are three main types of implants:

• Smooth implant: This is an entirely transparent implant made of 7th generation highly cohesive silicone gel. It automatically adopts a more natural shape and never loses its shape even if it is cut into pieces. 
• Nano-textured implant: This is a translucent implant, also made with the same silicone gel. It also adopts a more natural shape and does not lose its shape.
• Textured implant: This is an opaque implant, which does not take a more natural shape. Instead, it is rough and remains round instead of hanging slightly, giving the woman a more unnatural look.

The textured implants are when complications like capsular contracture come up due to their roughness. Smoother implants are more natural for your body to accept.

Now that you know the options you have regarding breast augmentation, you can start planning for it.

Planning for Breast Augmentation in Delhi

Before going in for breast enhancement, there are some questions you need to ask yourself:

• What is the cost of breast augmentation?
• What are the approaches to breast augmentation?
• What are the different planes, and how do they impact the final look?
• What are the possible risks -is cancer a possibility? What is capsular contracture?

So let’s answer these questions one at a time:

What is the cost of breast augmentation?

Breast augmentation, like any other medical procedure, has several factors that play a role in determining cost. There is no fixed price. Therefore, it depends on the surgeon you consult.

That said, the cost of breast augmentation in Delhi generally reflects the surgeon’s expertise and the centre’s infrastructure. What do we mean by this?

Well, when it comes to deciding the cost, there are three aspects that matter:

• The surgeon
• The centre
• The technique

The Surgeon

The most important person here is the one who operates on you, i.e. your surgeon. Choosing your surgeon is crucial since you want someone with all the necessary qualifications. This means that you need to select a board-certified plastic surgeon who is well-reputed in their field.

You can check online reviews, testimonials, actually consult the surgeon, etc. for clarity about their expertise. Interacting with the surgeon before going in for your surgery is also very important since you want someone who can deliver the results they promise. 

You also want someone who will be honest with you – someone who will not just tell you what you want to hear. This is very important. If they are honest with you, that means that they care about you and your individual needs since they want what is best for you and also give you realistic expectations.

The Centre

Alongside choosing a surgeon, you also need to look at the centre they operate out of. Is it a clinic? Is it a hospital? Does it have the infrastructure you need for the best final results? 

Does it have the latest technology? An excellent cosmetic surgery centre should have the latest tools, like MicroAire and VASER. It should be clean, hygienic, and recognised as an official and proper centre. Therefore, it should be subject to the same standards you hold your surgeon to. 

The Technique

Combining the surgeon and the centre gives you the technique – what technique does your surgeon use? Are they only equipped in traditional liposuction tools? What about more refined and sophisticated tools like MicroAire and VASER? Just because they have access to the tools does not mean they can successfully use them.

What technique is chosen for breast implant placement? What all options of planes do they put breast implant in? We shall discuss these in more detail subsequently. Does the technique your surgeon chose, give an option of what is called as “fast recover breast augmentation”?

You need to ensure they can use all these tools and have command over the latest techniques. Modern techniques are much less traumatic and therefore allow for breast augmentation procedure to be instant recovery and as painless as possible.

When you hold these three factors to the highest standard, the cost of breast enhancement increases. But, if you do not hold them to the highest standard, the quality suffers. This is why the cost should not be your focus when deciding on breast augmentation. You need to choose a surgeon and a centre that match your needs so that you do not need additional, corrective procedures.

What are the approaches to breast augmentation?

The approaches to breast augmentation mainly reflect the kind of cut you get, i.e. the placement of the incision. That said, every incision has its pros and cons – something you need to discuss thoroughly with your surgeon before going through with the procedure.

There are three areas where an incision can be made:

• Trans-axillary Cut: Your surgeon makes the incision under your arm, in the armpit, hiding the resulting scar in the axilla. This is dangerous, however, because the sweat glands in the armpit are the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. This, therefore, could cause an infection.
• Periareolar Cut: Your surgeon makes the incision at the edge of the areola. This is the point where the light-skin of your breast meets the darker skin around the nipple. Therefore, the scar remains well-hidden, making this the preferred technique in some patients.
• Inframammary Cut: Your surgeon makes the incision under your breast, completely hiding it from view. A lot of surgeons also prefers this since the scar is hidden even if the patient stands completely naked.

While these are the different incisions for the placement of the implants, the actual placement also matters, which brings us to the second question.

What are the different planes, and how do they impact the final look?

Placing breast implants is very important since it determines the final result. There are two planes where your implant can be placed:

• Subfascial Technique: In this plane, the implant is placed between the breast tissue and muscle. Therefore, it is also called the above-the-muscle technique. The final result from this technique gives you a fuller look on the upper pole. 
• Dual-plane Technique: The dual-plane technique, like it suggests, places the implant behind two planes – both the breast tissue and the muscle. The implant, therefore, is in a much more secure position behind the muscle. The final result here looks much more natural and appealing particularly if you are a thin female.

What are the possible risks – is cancer a possibility? What is capsular contracture?

There is an unfortunate myth surrounding breast augmentation that it is linked to breast cancer. This has no scientific basis at all. There is no scientific evidence linking breast augmentation and breast cancer. 

In fact, women with breast cancer often choose breast augmentation after recovering from cancer and removal of their natural breast tissue. Breast augmentation is an excellent reconstructive tool. When the tumour is removed during the cancer surgery, it usually leaves behind a deformity. Expert plastic surgeons correct this through breast augmentation. 

The only possible cancer that people have tried linking to breast implants is ALCL – a rare type of blood cancer that may be caused due to textured implants. But there is still not enough conclusive evidence to establish a proper link. ALCL has been linked in some studies to capsular contracture formation and that is prevented following multiple steps during the procedure!

Capsular Contracture

Unlike cancer, there is proof that breast implants cause capsular contracture. However, with cosmetic technology progressing as fast as it does, the chances of capsular contracture have significantly reduced. In fact, under expert care, the number of cases that result in capsular contracture can be as low as 0.3%!

What is capsular contracture?

When an implant is placed inside a body, the body’s automatic response is to create a thin, soft layer over it. This is the capsule – the body’s way of accepting a foreign substance. And this is a good thing. 

Capsular contracture occurs when this layer gets infected, making it hard and rough. This can become a source of extreme discomfort and is completely undesirable. In this case, it has certain impacts:

• The area becomes painful to touch
• It can change the shape of the body and the organ
• It can even change the shape of the implant

Expert plastic surgeons typically use 10 different steps to prevent this:

1. Injecting prophylactic antibiotics so that they are at an optimum level in the bloodstream when making the incision and during the procedure.
2. Completely cleansing the area, therefore, minimising any risk of infection.
3. Using nipple shields to prevent any possible infection caused by the lactation ducts.
4. Making an inframammary incision that hides the scar and has the least chance of an infection.
5. Using prospective haemostasis which prevents blood collection and therefore removes the possibility of bacteria breeding. This may be prevented with a diathermy or Quadri instrument which coagulates or burns the blood vessels before cutting into them, therefore significantly reducing bleeding.
6. Changing gloves regularly to optimise cleanliness and hygiene. Only using powder-free gloves is essential. That said, at the right clinic, implants may also be placed through a no-touch technique, i.e. through an implant funnel.
7. Using a triple antibiotic betadine wash to clean and disinfect the cavity before placing the implant correctly. 
8. Using the no-touch technique or the implant funnel, which reduces human contact – the fastest way to spread an infection. The implant funnel is a plastic bag which goes into the incision. The implant is put in this bag, and the surgeon then pushes it through the funnel and into place.
9. The post-surgery aftercare includes medications like antibiotics and capsule-preventive medications for a few weeks. This significantly reduces the risk factor.
10. There is a post-surgery breast-massage training, which involves teaching the patient the imperative massage techniques. This massage prevents the capsule from getting hard/ tough.

As long as your surgeon follows all of these rules, you are in perfectly good hands. Your breast augmentation should go off without a hitch, and you should have a contracture-free recovery!

The Recovery Process

When all these questions are successfully answered with the necessary expertise, the recovery process is completely smooth. Breast augmentation, when done under a professional hand, only takes a day, and you can go home on the same day.

After five days of antibiotics and analgesics, you are ready to go back to cardio within a week!

There are only two precautions:

• No heavy weight-lifting above the shoulders for 6 weeks
• Wear only sports bras for 6 weeks so that your breasts keep their new shape

As long as you follow these precautions in mind and adhere to the necessary measures that help you avoid capsular contracture, you are perfectly free to enjoy your new body and show it off to the world!

The Difference between Breast Lift and Breast Augmentation

The final question that potential breast enhancement patients have regarded is the difference between a breast lift and breast augmentation. There is a very unclear line of difference between them and, when talking about a boob job, they are often used interchangeably. 

However, breast lifts are totally different. Breast lifts are for women who have either gone through a massive weight loss very quickly or have had multiple pregnancies or whose breasts have begun sagging due to age and gravity. 

A breast lift does exactly what it says – it lifts the breasts and reorients the nipple to point upwards. The idea behind a breast lift is not to make the breasts bigger but to make them perkier and more youthful. 

A lot of board-certified expert plastic surgeons combine breast augmentation with a breast lift. Instead of just lifting the breast, they add a little padding. This makes the breasts fuller, curvier, more aesthetic, and, most importantly, very natural-looking.

Therefore, if you suffer from sagging breasts that look old and dull, breast augmentation is not the answer. It is simply part of the answer. What you actually need is a breast lift. And this can even be done with or without adding implants. Or you can just use fat grafting for some additional padding and rounding instead of implants. Either way, breast lifts and breast augmentation procedures remain different in their final results as well as what the procedure entails.

At RG Aesthetics, Dr Rajat Gupta, our board-certified plastic surgeon working in Delhi, has over a decade of experience conducting breast augmentation procedures. As one of India’s best plastic surgeons, he adheres to international standards of patient care. 

He is also well-versed in the MicroAire and VASER technologies that aid other body contouring procedures and conducts training classes regarding their usage around the country. Additionally, we are the only clinic in India that uses an implant funnel, therefore truly minimising human contact during the breast augmentation procedure and maximising patient safety!