Breast augmentation used to be the stuff of dreams only. But, as with many human dreams, it’s become a reality that helps almost 300,000 women a year in the United States achieve their ideal figures. Breast augmentation is the second most popular cosmetic surgery for the body, following liposuction.
You may have been born with small or flat breasts. Or, your breasts may have started to sag or decreased in volume due to aging. Or, you may have lost one or two breasts to mastectomy.
Whatever your reasons, if you’d like fuller, rounder, firmer, higher breasts, you don’t have to spend your time dreaming. You can have the breasts you desire. You have more choices now than ever before in the history of womankind.
Connie Hiers, MD, is an expert plastic surgeon who offers a variety of choices for breast augmentation at her clinic, Dr. Connie Hiers Plastic Surgery & Med Spa in San Antonio, Texas. Depending on your needs, you could choose implants, breast lift, fat augmentation, or a combination
Are you interested in creating fuller, more symmetrical, and more youthful breasts? Following are the many ways you can make your dreams a reality.
Breast implants
Breast implants have come a long way since the first silicone implants were introduced in 1962. You now have your choice of implant materials, sizes, and shapes, including:
- Saline — silicone shells filled with sterile salt water
- Silicone — silicone shells filled with soft silicone
- Gummy bears — silicone shells filled with thick silicone
- Round implants — full and dramatic shape
- Teardrop implants — most natural shape
You and Dr. Hiers discuss which shape is best for your figure and what texture or type of implant you want. You also discuss the insertion process. You may opt for an under-arm insertion, for instance, which hides your scars.
Whatever your choice, however, breast augmentation with implants is major surgery. You must prepare for a recovery period that could last several weeks before you can do things like return to work. You may also have to curtail more strenuous activities for longer than that.
Breast implants, as beautiful and touchable as they may be, have a limited life. You usually need to replace them after about 10 years. In the meantime, as your breasts age, you may opt for a breast lift or may change the type of implant to give you a more youthful outline.
Breast lift
If your breasts have sagged due to aging or breastfeeding, you may not need an implant to feel better about your shape. You may benefit from a less invasive procedure called a breast lift, otherwise known as mastopexy.
During a breast lift, Dr. Hiers removes excess skin and reshapes your breast tissue. She’ll also lift the tissue and your nipples to a higher, more youthful position, and then stitch it tightly in place. A breast lift makes your breasts look perky again. You may also want to combine a breast lift with either implant surgery or fat transfer.
Fat transfer
If you’ve ever wished you could take the fat from your hips and place it in your breasts, instead, the universe was listening. Fat transfer is a nonsurgical way to make beautiful improvements to your breasts’ shape and volume, without having to undergo invasive surgery.
If you want to replace lost volume, add a small amount of volume to create more beautiful breasts, or even out slightly uneven breasts, a fat transfer may be your best, most satisfying, and least invasive option. However, fat transfers are only available to women who have extra fat on other parts of their body.
To augment your breasts with a fat transfer, we start by making one of your other dreams come true. We first use liposuction to remove fat from various parts of your body where you have excess fat, such as your:
- Thighs
- Arms
- Abdomen
We then purify the fat by running it through a centrifuge. Next, we fill several syringes with the purified fat and inject it into various areas in your breasts, to create more volume and lift.
Because the injected fat must integrate with your breast tissue, and some of the fat cells initially die off, it may take up to six months before you see your full and beautiful results. Best of all, they’re yours to keep for life. With a fat transfer, you don’t have to replace an insert, because the insert is your own fat, now naturally incorporated into your breasts.
Now that you know how many options you have to finally achieve the figure of your dreams, contact us by phone or request an appointment online today.