The Do’s and Dont’s of Recovery for Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures performed today. With multiple techniques for this procedure, as well as a variety of options for implant placement, size, shape, and texture, recovery can vary considerably. Discussing your recovery with your Los Angeles plastic surgeon is helpful when considering the procedure. There are, however, general rules of thumb that I tell all of my breast implant patients, including the do’s and don’ts of recovery.

Do’s:

• Follow all of your doctor’s aftercare instructions.
• Allow ample time for your body to recover – don’t overdo it.
• Sleep on your back.
• Move around. Being mobile will help reduce your chances of blood clots.

Don’ts:

• Do not smoke before or after your surgery. Smoking will significantly increase the amount of time it will take to recover (and negatively impact your overall health).
• Don’t resume strenuous activity until your doctor allows you to.
• Do not lift anything above your head or do any stretches that will open or pull your sutures.
• Don’t submerge your sutures in a bathtub until they have completely closed.

These are some general tips that I tell all of my breast augmentation patients. However, it is important to talk to your surgeon and get specific details on your post-operative instructions.

Tags: los angeles plastic surgeon
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Breast Implants and ALCL

In the last few days I have received questions from several patients who heard about the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s recent guidance regarding a possible connection between breast implants and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Both for women who have implants and those who are considering a breast augmentation procedure, I would like to provide more information about this guidance and suggest some next steps.

What the FDA Is Doing

An initial review by the FDA has identified 34 unique cases of ALCL in women with breast implants throughout the world. To put this in perspective, it is estimated that 5 to 10 million women worldwide have breast implants. The FDA believes that women with breast implants may have a very small but increased risk of developing this disease, and is asking health care professionals to report confirmed cases of ALCL in women with breast implants to the FDA.

What the FDA Is Not Doing

The FDA is not taking back its approval of saline and silicone gel breast implants. To quote the organization: “The FDA believes that the totality of evidence continues to support a reasonable assurance that FDA-approved breast implants are safe and effective when used as labeled.”

What You Need to Know

If you have had breast augmentation, I advise you to continue to follow your doctor’s regular implant care instructions. Because ALCL is not a breast cancer, there is no benefit to performing additional self exams, but it is worth talking with your surgeon in more detail if you are particularly concerned, if only for added peace of mind.

For women who are thinking about breast augmentation, it is important to get the latest facts. Additional fact finding on this issue will be ongoing and informed surgeons will be able to give you the most current information while providing additional context for the scientific findings so far.

Tags: alcl, Breast Augmentation, breast implants
Posted in Breast, Breast Augmentation, Breast Implant, General Plastic Surgery, Plastic Surgeon, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Is Post-Op Breast Asymmetry a Sign of a Bad Surgeon?

During consultations, I hear from some women that they are concerned about having asymmetry after breast surgery. Many of my breast augmentation patients felt anxious as they searched for a Los Angeles or Santa Monica plastic surgeon. They want to feel confident in their choice and, most of all, want to enjoy “perfect” results from their surgery.

A few years ago, a study of breast asymmetry found that after breast augmentation, 88% of patients had some degree of asymmetry and 65% of the women had more than one type of asymmetry. These numbers may seem very high, but before we start questioning the skills of plastic surgeons, we should consider the issue from every angle.

While a beautiful result is always the goal, some asymmetry is simply a result of each patient’s unique physiology. For instance, asymmetry following breast augmentation may be the result of slight pre-op asymmetry that has been magnified by the increase in breast size. However, skilled surgeons can minimize asymmetry by:

• Performing a thorough chest wall evaluation before surgery to determine your individual needs
• Carefully choosing your implant size, profile and placement based on your physiology
• Using an areolar (around the nipple) incision to ensure areolar symmetry (if necessary)
• Performing a breast lift in conjunction with augmentation
• Considering inframammary fold position before surgery to help prevent the implants settling in different positions.

Choosing a surgeon who is highly qualified can help prevent some of these issues, but keep in mind that asymmetry is a natural occurrence. Discussing your concerns with your surgeon is a great way to ease your anxiety and find out what he or she can do to help improve your symmetry after surgery.

Tags: breast augmentation in los angeles, santa monica plastic surgeon
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Breast Enhancement – Before or After Weight Loss?

If you’re trying to lose weight, seeing those extra pounds start to melt away is exciting. But remember, you can’t always control where you’re losing the weight – it’s going to come off across your entire body, not just in one or two “target areas.” What this means for women is that, whether they like it or not, there’s a good chance their breasts will get smaller as the rest of their body gets slimmer. This is an important factor to consider if you’re planning a breast enhancement. Here’s why:
 

• Breast lift: Weight loss often causes breasts to droop or sag. Subsequent weight loss could undo the results of a previous breast lift. Women considering a breast lift should definitely wait until after they’ve reached their target weight.
• Breast augmentation: Results of breast augmentation will be impacted by weight loss in several ways. First, larger breasts may look out of balance with your new, slimmer physique. Second, weight loss may cause breasts to droop, creating the need for a second breast surgery.

I suggest that my patients wait to have their breast lift or breast augmentation in Los Angeles until they’ve lost the weight. By waiting, they are ensuring that they choose an implant size that fits with their new body contours and that they will have perky, youthful-looking cleavage.

And, just to note, I would also recommend waiting to perform other procedures until my patients have accomplished their weight loss goals in Los Angeles, such as face lift, tummy tuck, or liposuction.

Tags: breast augmentation in los angeles, los angeles face lift
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Natural Is In, “Fake” Is Out

I recently appeared on The Today Show to provide commentary for a segment on the trend toward natural-looking plastic surgery in Hollywood. It’s still very common for celebrities to turn to plastic surgery to enhance their look, but moderation is in and the emphasis is on surgical results that look natural and believable. Fake, overdone breasts and lips, for example, are on their way out.

I’ve seen a similar trend among my patients in Los Angeles. With breast augmentation, for example, the majority of my patients tell me that they want to increase their breast size, but they don’t want to be overly large. The stereotype about breast augmentation patients wanting huge breasts is definitely not the reality – most of my augmentation patients simply want to look proportionate, not unnatural. “Boob jobs” are out – breast enhancement is in.

Facial rejuvenation is another area where I’m seeing a lot of emphasis on natural-looking results. It can be very obvious when a person has had too much facial plastic surgery and one of the comments I hear consistently from my patients is that they don’t want to look like they’ve “had work done.” Men and women want to correct sagging skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles, but they don’t want their faces to look too tight or lose the ability to make natural facial expressions.

Plastic surgery is about enhancing your appearance so you look like the best version of yourself, not a completely different person. I work with each of my Los Angeles breast augmentation, facial rejuvenation, and body contouring patients to choose the procedure and technique that will deliver results that are dramatic, but still natural-looking. Hollywood is on the right track – natural is beautiful.

Tags: los angeles breast augmentation
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Breast Augmentation Size – A Highly Personal Choice

Across the country, many people think that in Los Angeles, breast enhancement means “super-size me,” and for some women, this is true. However, I see many patients who only want a subtle change in their breast size, and they will come to their consultation wondering if a more “subtle” augmentation is possible. My answer: definitely. I perform breast enlargement for women of all shapes and sizes, and sometimes it’s the smallest changes that produce the biggest benefits for my patients.

If you are a petite or very slender woman, you may not feel comfortable with large breasts. I see patients almost weekly who have very small breasts and only want a little cleavage, or would like to fill out a bathing suit just a bit more. Sometimes these women have been considering breast enhancement for a long time, but weren’t aware that small breast implants are available in Los Angeles. Others have consulted with plastic surgeons who have tried to convince them that there is no point in having breast augmentation without going significantly larger. In my opinion, a good plastic surgeon approaches each breast augmentation as a unique procedure, customized to meet each individual’s expectations.

My goal is to make each patient as happy with her surgical outcome as possible, so I listen closely and discuss all of her options. If it is clear that the patient wants only a subtle enhancement, I work with her to choose the size, shape, and profile of implant that will best achieve her goals. Breast enhancement is about improving the way a woman feels about herself, and that means achieving her personal ideal, not someone else’s.

Tags: breast augmentation in los angeles, breast implants in los angeles, los angeles breast enhancement
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