Implant Patients Fall Into the Following Categories
1. Small Breast (A to B)
With very little breast tissue, women with small breasts will likely get the best results with silicone implants as they do not have much breast tissue to “camouflage” the implants. An implant which is properly selected.
2. Medium Breast (B to C)
These women represent the easiest group of patients to receive implants as they can have excellent natural results with both silicone and saline implants. These patients do possess enough breast tissue to camouflage most irregularities in the implants.
Their own breast tissue feels so soft on top of the breast implants that arguably it does not make a difference which implant, silicone or saline, they choose to have, particularly in those with larger C-cupped breasts.
Large Breast (D)
Very few patients with D sized breasts request breast implants. Given our goal to achieve natural results in all patients, we would discourage most patients with D breast from pursuing a breast implant procedure as their larger breast can actually prohibit them from performing strenuous physical activities and lead to unnatural results.
Involuted Breast After Breast Feeding
With pregnancy, the female breasts engorge with milk as it prepares for lactation. The repeated engorgement and deflation during lactation typically leads to loss of the dense breast tissue which characterizes pregnancy.
The repeated enlargement and eventual involution or thinning of the breast glands leads to loose skin with decreased elasticity which is more severe in some women versus others. Women who are most affected are left with an empty shell or envelope of skin with no breast tissue inside either breast after breastfeeding. Their breasts can therefore fit a larger implant as their breast skin has “grown” to accommodate a larger breast sometime in the past during lactation.
Silicone implants are typically the best implants in this group of women with very little residual glandular breast tissue in the breast that have large empty skin pockets.
Droopy Breast
As we age almost every part of the body gets droopy with the force of gravity and breasts are no exception. This is particularly the case with women who have not worn a supportive bra regularly in their lifetime. Light to moderate drooping breasts can be corrected with breast implants. Breast implants placed under the breast (above the muscle) can effectively correct drooping breasts. The implants will have to be large enough, though, to be able to push the breasts up by their sheer size. Breast implants placed under the muscle will not have as much of a lifting effect on the breast unless extremely large volumes are used. Some women may benefit from a procedure during which the top of the implants are placed under the pectoralis muscle and the bottom of the implants are placed under the breast tissue (over the pectoralis muscle). During your consultation, all of these techniques will be explained further and your expectations addressed in great detail until you have selected the ideal implant for your particular body.
Some of those with moderate drooping may require a breast list of mastopexy at the same time as the breast implant surgery. The breast lift can typically be performed using a limited scar technique with an ultimate scar either around the nipple / areola or a lollipop scar which also has a vertical scar from the areola to the bottom of the breast. Depending on the volume of natural breast tissue within the drooping breast as well as the degree of drooping, you can choose different implants. In those with small drooping breasts, a small implant may be sufficient. Larger implants are required in those with medium drooping breasts.
Tubular Breast
A congenital deformity, tubular breasts represent a group of breast abnormalities where the breast tissue is tightly constricted and firm at the center. The firm breast tissue typically herniated or pooches through the nipple and areola (dark skin around the nipple) to various degrees. The treatment for this deformity is to break up the tight breast tissue during surgery (as one would slice an orange) and place an implant of appropriate size within the breast to maintain the breast tissue in its open configuration. Breast implants are ideal in such patients when it comes to correcting their deformity.
