1. How are the breast implants put in?

A deep sedative or light general anesthetic will be used. Anesthesiologist will be available at all times to ensure your comfort and safety. The operative time is approximately an hour and a half. A small incision is placed in the fold beneath the breast, around the areola or in the armpit. A pocket, which will accommodate the implant, is created beneath the breast tissue, either above or below your chest muscles. The location of your incision, as well as options relating to implant types, sizes and location of the pocket will be discussed with you at length pre-operatively.


2. What is a "drain" and when is one used?

A drain is a tube that lets excess fluid out from the surgical site. We find drains very helpful when doing facelifts or tummy tucks, but do not use them for breast surgery because of two reasons. First of all, theoretically, drains are two way streets and if fluid can come out, bacteria can get in, causing a devastating complication which would necessitate removing the implant. But of equal importance is the fact that they are not necessary or helpful with breast surgery, as witnessed by lack of fluid accumulations in thousands of cases that I have done over the years.


3. What about doing other operations at the same time?

Many patients use the down time to combine a breast augmentation procedure with a liposuction, tummy tuck, breast uplift or other aesthetic procedure.


4. Why must I have an adult stay with me the first night?

Our patients all receive short acting sedatives during their surgical procedure, and some patients do take a pain pill afterwards. Both may have lingering effects into the evening - it is not appropriate for a patient who has been sedated in this way to be by themselves. The adult spending time with the patient is basically there to make sure the patient does not harm themselves in any way.


5. What measures can be taken to prevent capsular contracture?

A capsular contracture occurs when the scar around the pocket contracts and the implant no longer can move around. Of course, being greedy during surgery and inserting an implant so large that it cannot move within the pocket dooms the patient to a contracture like situation right off the bat.The ways to minimize the possibility of a contracture from occurring include dissecting an appropriately large pocket, choosing an appropriately smaller implant for any given pocket, treating the tissues gently to avoid unnecessary trauma, taking steps to prevent infections or hematomas, and to encourage gentle massage of the implants afterwards.


6. What is the "Band" or "Strap" that everyone talks about wearing after operation?

We do not recommend the Band, Strap or any bra after surgery because we believe that immobilizing the implant immediately afterwards will INCREASE the possibility of a capsular contracture occurring.


7. What is meant by the Rapid Recovery method? How much swelling is there after operation?

There isn' t a lot of swelling after a breast augmentation if the tissues are treated gently by an expert surgeon. Our recovery today is much quicker and less painful than in the past, largely due to a gentler handling of the tissues and due to our insertion of pain pumps during surgery - these are fine catheters that allow the instillation of local anesthesia into the surgical site, continuously for the first three days. With such techniques, most of our patients do not require pain medication and return to work after a weekend at home.