Breast enlargement surgery

Procedure steps

• Dr.Petit will begin with questioning your medical history as well as your family history of breast cancer, your bra size, your weight and your size, your breast erogenous sensitivity (sensitive to sexual stimulation), your pregnancy and breast-feeding projects as well as your tobacco consumption.
• He will listen to you in order to understand your motivations and your desire for a breast enlargement.
• He will carry out a clinical examination of your breasts and will note the possible asymmetries that can persist after the surgery.
• He will assess your fat reserves and the feasibility of a breast lipofilling. If the fat reserves are insufficient, the breast implant surgery is the best procedure to increase the volume of your breasts.
• Breast implants are made from silicone rubber, and filled with silicone gel or with physiological saline solution. Dr. Petit will advise you on the choice of the implant, adapted specifically to your anatomy and to your request. These implants are reliable and offer their own benefits and drawbacks. You will try out different implants placed within your bra (preferably without padding), in order to determine with you the desired volume in front of the mirror.
• Dr. Petit will provide information on the scar positioning, treatment process and procedure limits, post-operative recoveries as well as main risks, so as to make an informed decision.

Procedure limits

• Breast implants does not enable to correct a low position of areolae and nipples (drooping breasts). A breast lift surgery combined with a breast enlargement surgery (also known as breast mastopexy or plasty-prostheses) is necessary to obtain a good result, when your breasts are drooping and emptied.
• The asymmetries relating to the position of areolae and submammary folds present before the procedure persist after breast implant surgery.

Good candidates for breast implant surgery are those

• With small breast morphology.
• Frustrated by a loss of shape and volume of their breasts following pregnancy or weight loss, and having deflated breasts.
• Wishing to fill the upper part of their chest (in order to regain all its roundness in the neckline area).
• With a mammary malformation or a mammary asymmetry, resulting in a lack of mammary volume.
• For which a breast lipofilling (fat injections within the breasts) cannot be carried out.
• And having understood the procedure limits.

Pre-operative instructions

General pre-operative instructions relating to aesthetic surgery

• Smoking cessation 1 month before and after the procedure.
• Discontinuation of medicines which increase bleeding 10 days before and after the procedure: aspirin, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant medicines, vitamin E.

Specific pre-operative instructions relating to the breast implant surgery

• To undergo a mammography to bring back on the day of the operation.

Procedure stages

Pre-operative markings are performed by Dr. Petit before the operation.

The operation is achieved under general anesthesia, with an out-patient basis (hospital discharge that very evening) or with hospitalization of one night at the clinic according to the cases.

Dr. Petit inserts the breast implants behind the pectoralis major muscle in most cases.

The insertion depends on the type of implant chosen. The scars are located below the nipples for implants filled with physiological saline solution, and at the lower edge of the areolae or within the submammary folds for implants filled with silicone gel.

The cutaneous closure is performed with subcutaneous resorbable sutures.

A compression garment is set up in the treated areas at the end of the procedure.

What to expect after surgery

Pains can be moderate or more significant, on the first post-operative days, and are well soothed by analgesics.

Ecchymosis (bruises) can subside within 15 days. An oedema (swelling) is classical and of variable duration, gradually subsiding within a few months.

The shower with a soft soap is possible the day following the procedure.

The wearing of a support bra without any underwiring is recommended day and night during 1 month.

The progressive resumption of daily activities is possible the day following the procedure.

The resumption of professional activities is possible 7 days after the operation.

The resumption of sports activities can be done within 4 to 6 weeks following the operation.

Procedure risks

The complications of a breast implant surgery are weak.

Mains risks are the following

• A haematoma: rare complication which may involve a secondary surgical revision to drain it.
• An infection: rare complication involving the removal of the implant.
• A decrease or a loss of erogenous sensitivity within the areola and nipple regions in 5% of cases.
• Occurrence of a shell (or adhesive capsulitis) in 3 to 5% of cases, involving a surgical revision to remove it, and to change the implant.
  A palpability of the implants, especially in the lower and external parts of the breasts.
• A rupture of the implant involving its replacement.

Long-term result

The final result of a breast implant surgery is obtained between 3 to 6 months after the procedure, when the post-operative oedema has disappeared.

The submammary and lower periareolar scars are usually very discreet. The scars below the nipples are almost invisible in the long term.

The result is stable and long-lasting except in case of significant changes in body weight or pregnancy.

This procedure is highly appreciated by patients, with significant physical and psychological benefits.