Breast Implants

A breast implant procedure is a kind of plastic surgery that helps enhance the size and shape of a woman’s breasts. Women who have either disfigured breasts or have undergone breast removal surgery due to cancer or some trauma may benefit from breast implant surgery. A successful breast implant surgery augments body contours and makes one’s appearance proportionate, thus boosting one’s self image.

Breast implant surgery can be performed either in a surgeon’s office or in a hospital, depending on the type of surgery. Generally, longer and more complicated surgeries are performed in a hospital setting, whereas shorter ones can be performed as an out-patient procedure. Generally, the cost for a breast implant procedure may vary from $5000 to 6000 dollars. It is always more cost-effective to perform the surgery in an office or a free-standing facility.

The breast implant surgery usually lasts between one to two hours, without the presence of any complications. Either local anesthesia with some sedative or general anesthesia is given as per the surgeon’s discretion. Then an incision is made either in the armpit or where the chest meets the breast. After this, a saline or silicone implant is placed through an incision at the navel. The surgeon lifts the breast tissue through the incision and creates a pocket behind the breast tissue. The implant is placed in this pocket and then the incisions are closed with either surgical tape or sutures. A gauze bandage is applied over breasts to help speed the healing process. The initial recovery from anesthesia after surgery may take two hours or more. As soon as the patient wakes up she may feel some shivering, discomfort and a confused state of mind due to the effects of the anesthesia. The longer after-effects of the surgery may be temporary soreness, swelling or bruising. The total recovery from such symptoms may take few weeks time.

The risks of the surgery includes rupture of the implants or displacement of the implant over time. However, it is a misconception that the implant rupture increases the risk of breast cancer. Nevertheless, it is always advisable that one chooses the best available facilities and expert plastic surgeon for the breast implant procedure since a bad surgery may lead to irreversible and undesired effects.