Created on 25th February 2009
Mr Andrea Marando, a leading cosmetic surgeon, offers some advice for patients considering breast augmentation
Well, nobody ‘needs' cosmetic surgery and nobody ‘needs' bigger breasts is my usual answer.
However, for many women the desire to improve this aspect of their body has made breast augmentation consistently the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure performed in the USA and UK and Europe.
Today, thanks to the media, the fashion industry and celebrities, there is a dramatic increase in the awareness of cosmetic surgery, all of which educates people about the possibilities that can be achieved through invasive and non-invasive surgery.
In my experience, having performed in excess of 2,500 cosmetic breast surgery procedures, there are many reasons why women consider breast augmentation and the most common ones are as follows:
• After having a child/children
• Weight loss/weight gain
• Ageing process
• Large heavy breasts (breast reduction)
• Breast reconstruction
• Breast re-augmentation (to change an implant that has been in for five to fifteen years)
• To enlarge naturally small breasts.
• To correct asymmetrical breasts (breasts which may not be the same size)
• To correct inverted nipples
• To reduce the size of the areola
The top three are for most women very normal and natural life processes. The affect of these events can leave some women with differences in the breast size, breast shape and breast firmness and lead them to want to improve their appearance.
To many, wanting implants has become stereotyped as the desire of very young women who wish to emulate celebrities. Rarely this is the reason for surgery and for many surgeons this is often the reason not to perform surgery. In reality, more and more women between 35 and 50 are having breast surgery.
If having breasts more in proportion with your body would make you feel better about your body shape and restore personal confidence then cosmetic surgery and a reputable cosmetic surgeon can dramatically improve and change your appearance.
Are implants a good option for every woman feeling her breasts are ‘inadequate'?
This really depends on several factors that have to be analyzed and discussed with every single patient in details during the consultations preceding the operation.
In medicine it is always difficult, and sometimes inappropriate, to set rigid rules applicable to every clinical or surgical case; the patient has to be studied individually and the expectations, lifestyle and mental state of the patient explored. Usually, the two most important physical factors to consider are the position of the inframammary fold (the breast crease) and the position of the nipple in relation to the fold. When the former is higher than the crease, a breast enlargement should usually give a satisfactory result in terms of shape; should it be lower, then a mastopexy (uplift) should be considered, explained and offered. A mastopexy (uplift) with implants requires further incisions and scarring.
Therefore, it is important to understand that only a patient who has an acceptable shape will benefit from a breast enlargement alone.
Should this not be the case, the patient should be offered and explained different options: mastopexy (uplift) with implants or - when the volume of the breast is adequate but just ‘in the wrong place' - a mastopexy (uplift) without implants.
I often consult women who feel they only require a breast augmentation but during the consultation and breast analysis they begin to realize that if they don't fit the right criteria then they will only end up with a larger, heavier version of the small ptotic (saggy) breast they had in the beginning. This is not a successful outcome for either the surgeon or the patient.
CSMUK
Mr Andrea Marando has just opened his new private clinic, Star Clinic, at 17 St John Street, Manchester and can be contacted on 0870 8031391. For more information, also visit www.andreamarando.com
