Breast Augmentation Incisions, Breast Implants
Beverly Hills breast augmentation, breast enlargement, breast implants, breast augmentation incisions blog:
Regarding breast augmentation incisions, they can vary from many locations such as the armpit also called axillary approach, inframammary (which is in the breast crease), periareolar, or some people refer to this as around the nipple (although technically it is around the margin of the slightly darker areola), and transumbilical or belly button, referred to as TUBA (transumbilical breast augmentation). Please refer to this page regarding the benefits and disadvantages of all these incisions.
Regarding incision length, many women wanted to know how large is the incision going to be. The most important determining factor in incision length with breast augmentation is the breast implant size and content. Saline breast implants come deflated or empty. Thus, they can be placed in a smaller incision.
Silicone breast implants already come pre-filled with silicone. Hence, placing silicone breast implants require a larger incision. The length of the incision for silicone breast implants depends on the size of the implant. Naturally, bigger silicone breast implants require longer incisions. It is not uncommon for a larger silicone breast implant, that is, a silicone breast implant greater than 450 cc could be 4.5 cm in length. Larger silicone breast implants may even require larger incisions. In fact, a determining factor to incision location is the size of the incision that needs to be placed. Periareolar incisions can typically be as great as half of the circumference of the areola. Thus larger silicone breast implants are difficult to place through the periareolar incision, particularly if the woman has very small areola. Sometimes, silicone breast implants that are forced through smaller periareolar incisions cause scar hypertrophy making the incision once it heals more noticeable. Trading a smaller, more noticeable scar for a larger one that is almost unnoticeable is generally not a good idea. Never be sold on promises from someone who boasts they can give you the “smallest incision”. That may not be in your best interest.
Regarding saline breast implants, regardless of the size of the implant because they can be inflated, these could generally be placed with incisions as small as 2.5 to 3 cm. The main trade-off, of course, is more realistic (natural) look and feel of saline versus silicone. For more information about this, please refer to this article.
Dr. Tim Neavin is a board-certified plastic surgeon located in Beverly Hills, California.
