Date Added: August 26, 2008 10:51:58 PM

Breast augmentation (medical term: augmentation mammaplasty) is a procedure that will enlarge the breast and increase its fullness. It is a procedure for women who feel that their figure is unbalanced and would feel better about themselves with larger breasts. Augmentation is also performed for women who have lost breast mass due to significant weight reduction, after a pregnancy or for reconstructive purposes following a mastectomy.

Augmentation is accomplished through the use of breast implants.  These are plastic bags filled with either saline solution or a silicone gel.  The points of incision for breast implants may be along the breast crease at its bottom, beneath the upper arm, or around the areola.

The surgeon may place the implant beneath the muscle on the chest wall (hence the incision beneath the arm) or behind existing breast tissue.  Sometimes these implants are filled after being installed to increase the breast’s interior volume.  Once in place, an implant will take a few weeks to settle into place.  It may feel somewhat unnatural until then.  There will also be a two to four week period over which the swelling from the surgery will subside.

You might think that a breast implant is a permanent procedure, but such is not the case. You can expect to have implants replaced after a period of years, usually between five and ten. Implants can develop leaks after a period of time, deflating one breast or the other. Saline solution is dissipated through the body, while a silicone leak is a little more subtle in appearance. It may stay relatively close to the implant and go unnoticed for a long period of time.

Implants can develop ripples that are visible through the skin. They can also harden over time, bringing on both an unnatural feel and an unnatural look. In any case, a breast augmentation procedure is one that will require revision at some point in the future.

Breast augmentation has become the most popular cosmetic plastic surgery choice in this country. In 2007, there were nearly 350,000 augmentation procedures performed. It has become a choice among women of all ages, and it is within financial reach of people with average incomes today. Breast augmentation has lost its Hollywood stigma; it has become an option for millions of women who are self conscious about their figures.

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