Breast Augmentation

Augmentation Mammaplasty requires careful pre-op consideration and decision making. This process begins with a careful Consultation, concentrating on the history of any breast process, including pregnancies, breast-feeding, breast surgeries, and any family history of breast disease or breast cancer.

Mammography is also an important consideration for prospective candidates over age 40, in accordance with the guidelines of the American Cancer Society. Careful physical examination is also very important since physical characteristics of the individuals' breasts, such as shape, size, volume, symmetry, skin characteristics, inframammary fold and nipple position have a great bearing on the achievable result. Also, chest wall size, shape, and symmetry, and patient height and weight have a significant impact on the achievable result as well.

Since Breast Augmentation is a completely discretional, elective cosmetic surgery procedure, there is a special burden to avoid any intervention that may impair future breast exam or diagnostic testing, including mammography. For this reason, I prefer submuscular placement of breast implants, which fortunately has no negative impact on breast self-examination, and using proper Eklund breast implant displacement technique, little if any impact on Mammography quality.

Patients with very small breasts may actually be able to obtain better mammography after augmentation, since the implants have lifted breast tissue and pectoral muscles away from the chest wall, allowing better positioning of the breasts on the mammogram machine. Important details concerning the decision-making process leading up to breast augmentation are presented on the following linked pages, along with many before and after photos and pictures of representative patients.