Breast Enhancement Procedures

The complications of breast augmentation are of critical importance and must be fully understood prior to your surgery. The most serious complication is infection. Infection in a breast augmentation can be life threatening and Dr Sam Cunneen uses an array of techniques to reduce the chances. All implants should be changed every 10 to 15 years to reduce the chance of rupture and capsular contracture. This is an expensive secondary surgery which needs to be budgeted for in planning surgery. ALCL is a very rare form of Lymphoma which has been linked to breast implants and will be discussed at any implant consultation. Hematoma is bleeding post operatively. The most common time for this is in the 2-4 week period after your surgery when the body is starting to repair. Bad scars are very uncommon as is loss of nipple sensation and chronic pain.

There is always a degree of asymmetry, animation when the implant is under the muscle and you will always be able to feel the implant in the lower part of the breast.

Tear drop implants give more options in terms of their base size than the round implants. This is critical if a shorter lady is trying to achieve ‘side boob’ to offset larger hips. The big disadvantage of tear drop implants is rotation. This leads to a quite odd looking breast and generally leads to further surgery to correct the rotation. Interestingly studies have found that in comparing women with tear drop implants to women with round implants, plastic surgeons are unable to tell the difference. Because of this I tend to use round implants unless there are compelling reasons to do otherwise.

There are pros and cons to both approaches. I tend to favour under the muscle as the implant is held a little better with more tissue covering it giving a more natural look and feel. However it is a little more uncomfortable and associated with increased swelling. If you are after a very fake look, this is best achieved by placing the implant on top of the muscle.

We help you choose your volume by measuring your chest to see how much volume is possible for your breast width. Based on this assessment we ask you to try various breast implant sizers placed inside a sports bra so you can feel the weight of the extra volume and see the different shape that it creates. Once we have an agreed approximate size, we use 3D photography which enables us to show you a representation of you with your chosen sized implants (cosmeticdesign.com.au).

Intra operatively local anaesthetic is placed around the breast which allows the surgery to be performed as a day case. Depending on pain tolerance, size of implant and implant position, the first night can be uncomfortable. Our anaesthetist makes sure you are sent home with the best regime of analgesia to make your evening tolerable. Ladies are usually back at work 5 to 7 days following surgery, although this is quite variable between patients. I recommend a snug surgical bra to be worn for 6 weeks following the augmentation and no jogging for that first 6 weeks.

If you don’t want any extra volume then you don’t need a breast augment and you can simply have a lift. If you would like volume in the upper pole then a lift can achieve this for a short time but an implant will maintain volume in this area for longer. For a number of reasons I tend to prefer to stage lifts first and perform the augmentation at least 3 months later if required. The reasons for this are that 1) I find the operation is safer 2) The scars heal better 3) Often the patient decides that they don't actually need an implant once their own breast tissue is squeezed into a tighter skin envelope. 4) If an implant is decided upon sizing is much simple with less errors made.

Part of the operation cost is covered by most private health funds.

The types of incisions and therefore scars vary depending on how much skin needs to be removed. The most common incision is one around the areolar with a vertical line down to the breast fold and then a smaller horizontal line along the breast fold. For smaller reductions some ladies are able to get away with just an incision around the areolar.

If you don’t want any extra volume then you don’t need a breast augment and you can simply have a lift. If you would like volume in the upper pole then a lift can achieve this for a short time but an implant will maintain volume in this area for longer. For a number of reasons I tend to prefer to stage lifts first and perform the augmentation at least 3 months later if required. The reasons for this are that 1) I find the operation is safer 2) The scars heal better 3) Often the patient decides that they don't actually need an implant once their own breast tissue is squeezed into a tighter skin envelope. 4) If an implant is decided upon sizing is much simple with less errors made.

The types of incisions and therefore scars vary depending on how much breast tissue and skin needs to be removed. The most common incision is one around the areolar with a vertical line down to the breast fold and then a smaller horizontal line along the breast fold, like for a breast lift. For larger reductions the horizontal incision is longer to allow removal of the extra skin and breast tissue.

Part of the operation cost is covered by most private health funds.

Most women are back at work within 2 weeks of surgery. there is a natural variation in this however with some returning much earlier and some a little latter.