When breast implants became popular in the 1980s, breast augmentation was well on
its way to becoming the most commonly performed surgery by plastic surgeons.
Admittedly, there have been several generations of implants that has each sought to
look and feel the best while also being the safest. The Sientra 5 th generation implant is
now the gold standard and has the lowest rate of contracture and rupture.
While internally the implant itself might not be changing, the actual breast gland and
the skin around it is not so fortunate. As we age and lose elasticity, skin will stretch, but
it won’t snap back. As a result, the breast may droop and now the nipple position might
be much lower than it was previously. As women get into their 40s and 50s, more of the
breast gland is comprised of fat rather than the dense gland that it once was in their
teens and 20s. With weight gain that is often seen with menopause, breast volume can
increase and alter the size and shape of the breast. This can be particularly troubling for
women with implants that were placed in the past who now have way more breast
volume than they want. Another common scenario is a woman who got large implants
at a younger age and now is very unhappy with them.
Breastoration is the answer
We’ve all seen HGTV and how they restore older homes
and the positive impact it has on the owners, couple, family, etc. This is exactly the type
of impact we can have on women’s breasts. Breasts come in all shapes and sizes and
clearly the grass is always greener somewhere.
Two patients that recently had breastoration surgery illustrate different scenarios.
SM is a 65yo female who had silicone implants placed when she was in her early 30s.
Over the years her breasts became rock hard and they looked like softballs. She refused
to hug anyone because she felt like everyone looked at her funny afterward. She had
developed a contracture from the hardening of the capsular scar tissue around her old
silicone implants. I was able to remove her implants and the old scar tissue and replace
them with new implants that I placed under the muscle. The surgery took an hour and a
half and she was driving and running errands in 5days.
JJ is a 48 yo female who had larger saline implants placed when she was 28. Her breasts
had become very stretched out from the weight of the implants and her implants would
almost fall off her chest to the side when she laid down. I was able to downsize her
implant size and place a much more natural silicone gel implant that was much more
proportionate to her frame. I lifted her breasts to make them perkier and placed an
absorbable mesh/internal bra (GalaFORM) to help support the breast skin and gland.
The surgery took 2 ½ hours and she was back at work in less than a week. More
importantly after 3 weeks she could start light workouts.
If you have implants and want to know your options, please give us a call at 512-300-2600
or email us at [email protected]
