Breast augmentation can enhance the appearance of your breasts with silicone or saline implants, giving you breasts that are fuller, perkier, and more attractive.
What is the surgical procedure for breast augmentation?
In planning your breast enhancement, we will discuss the incision technique and placement option before your surgery. Our plastic surgeons offer many incision options, including: the inframammary, areolar, and transaxillary breast augmentation techniques.
- Inframammary: The inframammary incision is made in the fold of the breast. The benefit of this approach includes greater control when creating the implant pocket and positioning the implant. The disadvantage is the presence of scarring where the breast meets the chest wall; however, this scarring is discreet and is usually hidden by the fullness of the breasts, bras, or bikini tops.
- Areolar: The areolar incision is made on the outer, lower edge of the areola. This incision gives our surgeons good control when placing the implants, and the scar blends nicely with the skin surrounding the areola. Some downsides of this technique include the increased risk of permanent nipple numbness after surgery; there are also some limitations on the size of silicone implants that can be placed through this incision type.
- Transaxillary: When the transaxillary technique is performed, the incision is made in the armpit. As a result, there is absolutely no scarring on the breasts; the small scars will instead be located in the armpits. The disadvantage of the transaxillary method is that it makes it more difficult to place and position the implants.
We do not perform the navel, or belly button, method of breast augmentation surgery due to its limitations and increased risk of complications. Silicone gel implants cannot be placed through the navel incision, and the manufacturers of saline implants do not offer a warranty on implants when this incision technique is performed.