subject: Breast Implant Size Is The Choice Of The Patient [print this page] Breast augmentation is a cosmetic surgical procedure that uses silicone or saline implants to refine the shape and size of the breasts. Recently, the FDA has lifted the restriction on the use of silicone implants allowing patients the choice between silicone and saline breast augmentation. Breast augmentation and other breast surgeries has seen a dramatic increase in popularity over the past three years, a testimony to the high satisfaction rate that most women give to the results of their breast augmentation surgeries.
There is a considerable amount of controversy among surgeons over breast implants, particularly those related to decisions about size and shape. The size and shape are decisions that are mostly subjective and are governed by prevailing taste. Adding to the confusion is the fact that nobody really agrees about what the appropriate size of the ideal breast actually is.
To resolve these issues in many plastic surgery offices, plastic surgeon's and their staff first perform detailed measurements and estimate a reasonable implant volume, based upon the tissue characteristics that you and your plastic surgeon measure. This size becomes your starting point for the next step of your breast augmentation process.
To help a plastic surgeon's patients better visualize the suggested volume, many plastic surgeons have them use "sizer" bras with different sized sizer implants to demonstrate the effects on them. By standing in front of a mirror with these sizers in their own clothes, patients can more appropriately appreciate what is ideal for them. Within reason, most plastic surgery facilities let their patients pick their own size of implants. If the patient's choice differs dramatically from what their plastic surgeon thinks their tissues will accept, they then try to compromise. It is paternalistic of a plastic surgeon to choose the "correct" implant size for a patient. What the plastic surgeon thinks is the right size may have nothing to do with what women think is the right size. It is far more important to please the patient's body image than a plastic surgeon's sense of beauty.
By combining the biodimensional measurements with the patient trial sizers, plastic surgeons are now able to have uniformly happy patients and have greatly reduced implant size exchanges. Recovery time depends on the type of procedure and ranges from two days to one week. The discomfort ranges from mild, when the implant is placed above the muscle, to moderate, when the implant is placed below the muscle.
