October 1, 2012
I am both blessed as well as cursed to live in Colorado. While I love the weather and I love the people, almost everyone is in great shape. And that, unfortunately, makes my job even more difficult.
Let’s face it; if you’re the average American woman with a body fat of around 22-25 percent, you’ve got a fair amount of your own tissue that can help conceal breast implants. But apparently when you move to Colorado, you take up some type of endurance sport or workout routine, exercise your heart out, lost most of your body fat, and ultimately get in amazing shape. Or at least that’s what has happened to many of the women I see on a daily basis. And that makes breast augmentation really hard!
To get the best result with breast augmentation, you need a Plastic Surgeon that understands not only how to do the surgery but also how to envision what you will look like before you even hit the operating room. And that, unfortunately, is less common than you would think. The lower body fat you have, the more impact your implants will have on shaping and volumizing the overall appearance of your breasts. Having performed several thousand breast augmentations over the last ten years, I personally prefer silicone gel implants because they look more natural and feel more natural than their saline counterparts especially in athletic women. I also discuss realistic expectations at length with my patients before even considering scheduling them for surgery. If I cannot accomplish what you want, there is no way that either you or I will ever be happy. To do that, I take measurements (surprisingly, some Plastic Surgeons do not) and talk not only about an appropriate implant size range but also an acceptable implant style. Implants vary in how wide they are and if the wrong width is used, the look simply will not fit your chest. I also ask my patients to bring in 2-3 photos of a “look” that they are shooting for. This helps me not only better understand what they find attractive but it also helps to potentially reduce any unrealistic expectations. While you may find some of these steps basic, to me they mean all the difference in the world.
During residency, we are taught how to work with our patients before and after surgery and how to perform the actual procedure. But we are never taught what helps creates a good result or what even dictates a good result. That is the artistry in Plastic Surgery and what differentiates a skilled Plastic Surgeon and a simple technician.
As I tell all of my patients, it is far easier to create a good result the first time around than to fix a bad result thereafter. That philosophy is true of most procedures within Plastic Surgery but I would argue that because breast augmentation involves the creation of a pocket which holds the implant in a specific plane, the first surgery is potentially even more critical here than for any other procedure. And that is why your choice of a surgeon is incredibly important and why it can impact how your breasts will look like for the rest of your life.
So how do you know if your Plastic Surgeon has a good eye or an artistic bend? Just ask! You’ll be surprised how many of us actually practice some form of art not only to fuel a passion but also to help keep our visual skills sharp and, ultimately, make us better at the practice of Plastic Surgery.
I encourage you to speak with former clients and ask for word of mouth referrals. Patients are incredibly insightful and, having gone through the surgical process, can be an amazing resource in helping you differentiate between those of us who place implants and those of us who create something of beauty. Just ask yourself how so many different results (both good and bad) can be created when we are all using very similar implants. The answer is not only in the execution but also in the basic planning of the surgery. The devil is truly in the details and who you choose to perform your breast augmentation can and will make all the difference in the world.
If you have any questions about not only primary breast augmentation but also revisionary breast implant surgery, I encourage you to contact my team or me. We would look forward to working with you.
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