Category: Handbook

Plastic surgery is a big step in your life. The need for it is more of psychological nature. And this is no wonder, because even a small change in your appearance can strongly affect your inside.

Signs of depression

Plastic surgery as every surgery has to be considered seriously and with a good emotional preparation because it may have some post-effects. One of them is depression after plastic surgery the so called post-operative depression. What is that? Many patients has a strong feeling of sadness, fatigue and lose of interests, which begins in three days after surgery when the appearance is not yet improving and can last more than two weeks.

The main factors of post-operative depression

The main factors causing depression after surgery are medications, post-surgical traumatic stress syndrome, constipation from the medications and more over a long period of just lying in bed and being restricted to many activities. The last one is supposed to be more difficult for men rather than women. Men usually reject their pain and not asking for any help make the recovery more difficult. Also the adjustment to new look, family and friends reactions, financial stress and the feeling of guilty for having the surgery at all may leed you to depression.

Depression treatment

That is why first of all it is very important to ascertain what to expect after plastic surgery and in such way to prepare yourself. Also you have to realize that the way you feel after is natural and will subside in time. Of course to deal with all difficult moments in life is easier together with someone. That is why the true support of another person is vital. The feeling that you can rely on your friend or relative and also your own surgeon whenever you need can make you feel better. The little of exercises can also contribute to better inside feeling (of course first of all consult to a doctor).

You have to understand that you are not the only one feeling this way. There are thousands of plastic surgery patients feeling the “after” impact not only on body but also in their mind. In order to make yourself feel better you can find a group of similar people to share experiences and recovery ways. It can also help you understand your thoughts and deal with them. Being social always helps. Do not forget to relax and care for your self.

Plastic surgery as any intervention into your body leaves its trace – the scars. Many people before the procedure inquire about the scars which will appear after the surgery, the depth and the size of them as well as the time they will fade away. Naturally every characteristic depends on the part of the body to which the plastic surgery was applied.

At first all scars are read which in time change to pink and also become softer to touch. On the darker skin scars usually look brighter. Some of them can become hypertrophic that is to say the scars are itchy and painful. To some patients the scars might become thicker and extend beyond the skin (keloid). After you have plastic surgery the skin is very sensitive and the areas with the scars should not be any minute on the sunlight.

In general you will have scars after plastic surgery but they are usually not very large ones. After some time they will become almost invisible. There will be only a thin white line.

Scars after liposuction

Such scars are usually very small as the instruments (cannulas) used are of small size and doesn’t require wide incisions. Except those situations were large canullas are used for liposuction . There might me two forms of scars: the true scar or the one with the dark or light spot on the skin (dyschromia). Depending where the liposuction will be performed the scars can appear under the chin, under- the breast crease, along the arm and one or both sides of the abdomen. The scars in some cases might be abnormal, unattractive and of different color. That can require for additional treatment.

Scars after tummy tuck

The surgeon will decide on the type and the length of the scar that is to say it might be from minimal to the one with the circle around the tummy. The scars in the abdomen area are nicely hidden by person’s underwear. In time the scar will become flatter (it takes about a year) but basically it will always be there. After a big weight loss the vertical scar usually is bigger and goes from the pubic hairline to the lower end of the breastbone. Smoking can make things worse for example – result in wider scars and another surgery. After a full tummy tuck the scars will be seen from hip to hip and the navel area.

Scars after breast augmentation

Scars after breast augmentation are a natural thing. However these kind of scars are healed very well. In some rare cases the scars can transform to hypertophic or keloid. Of course there are things which can make the healing process easier. There is a choice of self-care scar therapy and surgical treatment. The first one includes the usage of silicone gels, Vitamin E, mederma (gel containing onion extract) or rose hip oil (its fatties are extremely helpful for the tissues repairing). If you want to make your breasts smaller you will have to face scaring after the breast reduction surgery.

Scars after rhinoplasty

There’s open and closed rhinoplasty . As closed one is performed through inside the nose the scars are invisible. An open surgery leaves a small incision under the tip of the nose that will result in fine-line scar which will soon fade away.

Scars after blepharoplasty

Scars after blepharoplasty are almost invisible except of course some rare cases when hypertophic ir keloid scars begin to form. Eyelid skin is the thinnest one in the body and keloid scars may appear because of various reasons such as leaving in sutures for too long or removing the excessive skin. In order to fasten the healing process every patient should firs of all rest enough, use ice compresses, protect from the sun and wear sunglasses, no smoking or alcohol consumption.

The survey of American Society of Plastic Surgery carried out in 2000 had shown that two-thirds of cosmetic procedures patients are repeaters. This suggests that plastic surgery is another niche for a new kind of addiction to emerge, but due to a rather young practice of cosmetic surgery, it has not been investigated much.

Scientific facts

What we know about the addiction to plastic surgery is that it is clearly one more type of psychological dependence possibly caused by body dysmorphic disorder. The range of patients is limited to the representatives of the wealthy due to the high costs of repeated cosmetic surgery.

Off-limits of cosmetic procedure gives the completely opposite results than expected: the improvement you wish to have can cause an irreversible damage of normal body structure. However, some people, especially the sharks of the entertainment industry, are taking a risk and become dependent on plastic surgeons and their services.

Psychologists and psychopathologists have come to an agreement that multiple liposuctions , breast reduction surgeries as well as breast implants and chemical peels point out a wish for perfection running into extremes that are beyond what is considered normal.

The primary reason why people would get beauty maintenance work done is the wish to look younger. However, it is no longer true. People are obsessed with the idea that good looks can change their lives, and therefore assume that changing one’s appearance will change one’s personality. Plastic surgeons hear things like “Make me look like her or him” all the time and this is the indicator of the gap in self-confidence and self-esteem.

Red flag for addiction

There are certain character features that plastic surgeons and psychologists identify as the signals of possible addiction. Patients that are not very good candidates for cosmetic surgery tend to be over demanding and extremely picky. Some of them come to a surgeon’s reception with the picture of a celebrity one wants to look like and say “This is how I wanna look – like this person.” It would be normal to show a picture and say “I like those breasts. Can I have something similar?” or “Can I have my lips as full as hers?” But there are patients whose body structure is completely different from the person’s they want to resemble but they still insist on having a similar outlook.

A lot of people point out similar reasons for having a multiple plastic surgery for the same part of the body. They are usually related to not feeling safe, which evokes the fear of loosing one’s career, inability to accept or rather be resistant to critics towards his/her looks. This causes obsessive and occasionally even maniacal attempts to hide the features that supposedly make a person vulnerable. For example, one can spend hours in front of the mirror putting cosmetics in a particular order, buy too baggy or on the contrary too tight cloths and then spend an inadequate amount of time trying to decide what to wear.

It is important to note, that occasionally we all get a feeling that we do not look good enough or the way we want to. A healthy amount of self-critique encourages positive changes that do not require so dramatic means as a multiple plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery addicts have problems not with their anatomy but with their mind. They will never reach a level of perfection that would make them feel completely satisfied with themselves, and that only proves that these symptoms are the sings of something deeper. Therefore in most cases they need psychological help rather than surgical.

Prices for plastic surgery depend not only on the type of the procedure performed but also on the area, country, region and clinic. Usually prices for cosmetic surgery in Western European countries are about 20 % to 30 % lower than the same prices in the USA. Costs for plastic surgery in Eastern European countries are even more attractive to the patients. These prices are usually 40 % to 70% lower comparing to the same procedures in the US.

Plastic surgery cost

People might be concerned about the quality of the same cosmetic procedures in Europe and USA. Even though the difference in costs is comparatively big, patients gain the same exclusive quality and excellent service both in the United States and Europe. The same surgical procedures usually cost less in Europe due to lower specialist’s charges and lower operating room maintenance fees.

Since plastic surgery costs differ significantly, a new type of tourism, called a healthcare tourism, has developed. A lot of people living in the countries, where plastic surgery costs more, travel to countries, where cosmetic surgery prices are lower. It is quite beneficial, since money left from the difference in prices can cover transportation, accommodation and leisure expenses. Moreover, if everything is wisely organized, some money can be left on a side. And people, who anyway are planning on traveling to Europe, can combine both traveling excitement and additional changes in their appearance and life.

Plastic surgery in the USA and Europe

Plastic surgery in Europe and the United States of America differ not only in prices for the procedures but also in the professional quality of surgeons. This does not mean that plastic surgeons in Europe are less experienced, skilled or have a lower education. In the United States surgeons tend to specialize in one particular sphere or procedure and, hence, the same doctor cannot perform several different procedures. For example, if a cosmetic surgeon specializes in abdominoplasty or breast surgery, the same specialist will not agree on performing facelift . Whereas in Europe, plastic surgeons are offering numerous services of the high quality and, therefore, the patient can get both a facelift and tummy tuck at the same clinic. This is even convenient and time-effective.

If you are considering having a plastic surgery abroad, you might want to compare the prices and services in the United States and Western or Eastern European countries. There are a few travel agents, who organize healthcare travels, and you might want to use their advice or choose their services in organizing your travel. Another possibility is to look for it on the net and this article is a possibility to compare prices for cosmetic surgery in USA and Europe.

Prices, listed on this site, include the surgeon’s charge, operating theatre fee, anesthesia fee and implant fee. If you are considering having plastic surgery and you are inquiring for the price of a particular procedure, make sure you ask for total cost. It is important, since very often only surgeon’s fee is told on the phone or given on a specific internet site, and when you get a check you might experience nothing less than a huge shock.

Prices, listed below are average for cosmetic procedures in accredited surgeon’s offices, accredited surgery clinics, accredited hospitals and surgery centers. Costs for cosmetic surgery are about the same in different areas of USA. It might only be more expensive to get a cosmetic surgery procedure in the States of California or New York, Where prices for the same procedure might be by 50% higher than in other regions.

Procedures	Average fees in USA	Fees in Western Europe	Fees  in Eastern Europe
Blepharoplasty	$4000 – $5,500	$3000	$2000
Botox	$200 – $400 per area	$200	$100
Breast augmentation (saline)	$5000 – $6,500	$4,500	$3,500
Breast augmentation (silicone)	$6000 – 8000	$5000	$4000
Breast elevation	$5000 – $6000	$4,500	$4000
Breast reduction	$6000 – $8000	$5000	$4,500
Cheek or chin implants	$3000 – $4,500	$2,500	$2000
Deep chemical peel	$3,500 – $5000	$2000	$1,500
Facelift	$7000 – $9000	$6000	$5,500
Forehead lift	$3,500 – $5000	$3000	$2,500
Laser hair removal	$300 – $800 per area	$250 – $800	$200 – $600
Laser eye surgery	$3,500 – $4000	$2,500 – $3000	$2000
Lip augmentation	$600 – $2000	$500 – $1,500	$1000
Liposuction (1 area)	$2,500 – $4,500	$2,500	$2000
Liposuction (3 areas)	$5,500 – $7000	$5000	$4000
Liposuction (4 areas)	$8000 – $10000	$6,500	$5,500
Male breast reduction	$5000 – $6000	$4,500	$4000
Rhinoplasty	$5000 – $6000	$4,500	$4000
Pectoral implants	$6000 – $7000	$5,500	$5000
Otoplasty	$3000 – $4,500	$2,500	$2000
Tummy tuck	$6000 – $8000	$5,500	$5000

These are average prices listed above. They might vary in $500-1,000. Bear in mind, that the cost of a surgical procedure will be determined by the surgeon on your initial consultation. Finally, saving some money is a great thing but sometimes you might want to get a procedure for a higher price rather than risking your health or even life. Remember, your health has the greatest value.

Reconstructive surgery is a broad branch of surgery that involves procedures that help to change abnormal and damaged tissues or organs in order to restore their function and normal appearance. Even though most of the procedures are performed by plastic surgeons, this type of surgery differs from cosmetic one. The goal of cosmetic procedure is to change features that a patient is not happy about and features that do not match the ideal ones. Reconstructive surgery procedures are done on damaged parts of the body, either due to birth defects, development deterioration, injury, disease, tumors or infection.

More than one million reconstructive surgery procedures are done annually. The aim of this type of plastic surgery is to help patients at all ages. Young children may need reconstructive surgery due to development abnormalities or birth defects. Young adults may undergo such procedures caused by injury, disease or infection. And older patients sometimes need reconstructive procedures to improve problems due to aging.

All reconstructive procedures are performed to restore function of the damaged structures of a human body. Moreover, they are also performed to improve the looks. Even though perfection cannot be obtained with any type of surgery, modern reconstructive surgery techniques can do miracles.

Candidates for reconstructive surgery

Patients, who may need to have reconstructive surgery , are divided into two general groups. The first one includes patients who need this type of surgery due to birth defects, such as cleft-lip, palate or hand deformities, extra or absent fingers, birthmarks and many more. All these defects are usually improved in an early childhood, so the decision is made by parents of the patient.

The second group involves patients who need reconstructive surgery development abnormalities, caused by injury, tumor, infection or any other disease. This group also includes patients, who need to undergo a reconstructive procedure to change abnormalities caused by aging process A few examples of such changes are sagging breasts, drooping eyelids, tumors due to old age and others.

In most of the cases function of an organ is restored, and this is the main goal. In addition external looks are also being enhanced.

Reconstructive surgery

In childhood most of the reconstructive procedures are performed to reconstruct abnormalities due to birth defects. Most common surgeries are otoplasty, rhinoplasty , oral cavity surgery to restore cleft-lip and palate, hand deformities, eye deformities, different inborn tumors that interfere with function.

Later most common cosmetic procedures are wound treatment, reconstructive procedures to restore function and appearance of paralyzed organs, breast reconstruction procedures after breast cancer, tumor surgery, breast reduction , blepharoplasty to improve drooping eyelids.

Laser surgery is one of the most modern treatments in reconstructive surgery. With the help of different types of lasers, surgeons can safely remove different birth marks, benign or malignant skin growths, treat scars. Laser treatment is safer; it minimizes bleeding and leaves smaller, less noticeable scars.

Wound treatment is one of the most common reconstructive procedures that are performed by a plastic surgeon. If a wound has straight edges on the skin surface it is usually cured with direct closure, taking care to leave the scar as unnoticeable as possible.

Wide wounds are treated with the use of skin grafts. A kin graft is a piece of healthy skin taken from one area of the body to cover the skin defect in another area. Plastic surgeons try to match the skin of a wound as much as possible in color, texture, elasticity and so on. There are three main types of skin grafts: split-thickness, full-thickness and composite ones. Each of them is used to cover different types of skin defects.

More complicated techniques of wound treatment are tissue expansion and flap surgery. Tissue expansion may seem uncomfortable for patient temporarily but it has a lot of advantages: it provides with more matching skin, less visible scars, lower risk of losing a skin graft. Whereas flap surgery involves microsurgical techniques to close wounds where not only skin but also fat tissue, muscles were lost and to restore the function of the organ.

Reconstructive surgery specialists

Specialists from different branches of surgery perform reconstructive procedures. These are dental surgeons, who reconstruct different abnormalities of oral cavity and face. Facial surgeons treat facial tumors, wounds and different birth defects. Eye surgeons may improve drooping eyelids that interfere with vision. Orthopedic surgeons will restore function of a skeletal system.

Reconstructive surgery cost

Many reconstructive procedure costs are covered by health insurance. However, it depends very much on the type of health insurance and type of a procedure. If you are considering a reconstructive procedure, check with your health insurance whether they cover all expenses of a certain type of plastic surgery and also consult your doctor about it.

There are a lot of options to improve or restore function of a certain organ or structure. If you do not know whether a doctor can help you or not, do not hesitate to ask your health care professional to refer to a certain specialist.

Everyone knows that plastic surgeries and other cosmetic procedures are expensive and health insurance does not cover most of them. Because of that reason, many people put off plans for having surgical or nonsurgical procedures. Fortunately, plastic surgery financing makes procedures affordable for those, who do not have enough money for that.

There is several plastic surgery financing options for patients. Firstly, the surgeon can offer you to fill out the loan application during the consultation. The biggest advantage of this option is that you will receive loan approval almost immediately. Secondly, you can research for the plastic surgery financing by your own. This option enables you to find the best financing rates.

Funded procedures

Plastic surgery financing can cover almost surgical or nonsurgical treatments. More to say, it is impossible to cover two or more surgeries at the same time. Here is an approximate list of procedures that can be financed:

• Breast augmentation /Breast reduction
• Gynecomastia
• Liposuction
• Rhinoplasty
• Laser eye surgery
• Tummy tuck
• Blepharoplasty
• Facelift
• Chemical peel
• Laser skin resurfacing
• Hair transplantation
• Dentistry
• Vasectomy /Tubal ligation
• Infertility
• Bariatric surgery

How much can I borrow?

Statistics shows that one in every four Americans can pay for surgical or nonsurgical procedure $500 and more. Many financing companies can offer loan from $1000 to $25.000. In addition, there are several month plan options – you can pay from 1 year to 60 months. Monthly payment depends on the amount of borrowed money, the length of time needed for repayment and credit ratings.

Interest rates for plastic surgery financing

The interest rates are based upon the credit history. Patients with a very good credit history can get the lowest interest rate. Many financing companies offer to have option for a 0% or 1.9% interest rate. However, usually, plastic surgery financing companies offer interest rates from 5.99% to 24.99%.

Giving a birth is a gift that nature gave to women. Most women enjoy being pregnant, but for some of them body changes caused by pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding takes away the joy. Many women find that their tummy after childbirth became flappy (because of excess skin) and full of stretch marks; the breast after breastfeeding has lost its nice shape, also sometimes there are changes in skin pigmentation and etc. These changes may frustrate and depress a woman, because each woman one wants to look as attractive as she was before pregnancy. Well, if a woman wants to restore her pre-pregnancy form, there are some options to choose – nonsurgical procedures (exercising, dieting) or plastic surgery. However, many women prefer to have plastic surgery .

Breast augmentation or Breast lifting

As it was mentioned above, many women find that breastfeeding has ruined nice appearance of their breast. Why is it so? During the pregnancy, woman’s breast prepares for nurture infant, milk glands in the breast enlarge and replace fat tissue. After childbirth, milk glands shrink and this cause breast to look less full. In this case, breast augmentation is an ideal choice to restore the previous shape. There are plenty of breast implants , which return a youthful fullness of a breast.

In addition, some women find a significant breast enhancement during the pregnancy. After childbirth, it returns in normal size, but also leaves an excess skin. In this instance, only breast lifting (mastopexy) will remove excess skin and reduce sagging.

Tummy tuck and Liposuction

If you want to remember your pregnancy – just take a look on your abdomen after childbirth. It became flappy and full of stretch marks; also, your skin around belly button may be wrinkled. Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) may return pre-pregnancy shape to your tummy, remove stretch marks and wrinkles around belly button.

Many women have less time to exercise after childbirth, so it’s problematic to lose some extra weight. Liposuction can be an ideal way to restore your waist, buttocks, thighs and upper arms without exercising or being on a diet.

Changes in skin pigmentation

Changes in skin pigmentation are common on the face during pregnancy. These changes may be characterized by blotchy brown increase in pigment. If the pigment exists in the epidermis, it is helped by bleaching devices as hydroquinone.

Recommended e-book:

1. Pregnancy without pounds

Perhaps that should not even be surprising that teenagers have started applying the plastic surgery topic for themselves. The very first reason for the cosmetic surgery being the desire to look younger, it is no longer relevant for today. Young people are as interested in changing something in their appearance as older ones and it is getting hard to control the situation.

What makes teens get plastic surgery?

Luckily, the greatest majority of teens in America do not go for it, but the part of the ones who turn to plastic surgery is rapidly increasing. Surgeons report that there is the difference between the motivation of why teenagers and adults head into it: it is a way of finding one’s place within a group of friends or peers for teens, while for adults plastic surgery is one of the means helping to stand out from the mass.

Teens choose plastic surgery in order to correct a visible physical defect or to change a certain part of the body that causes negative self-evaluation and psychological dissatisfaction. Of course, the necessity for plastic surgery varies from patient to patient, but despite the degree of how bad or how good the case are, all teens claim that a physical improvement would make them fell better about the way they look.

What cosmetic surgery procedures do teens choose?

Nose reshaping, ear reshaping, acne and acne scar treatment, sometimes breast augmentation and breast reduction are some of the most popular procedures among teenage patients.

For example, guys with gynecomastia – exess breast tissue – that is related to a fast growing or a sudden weight loss may be looking for reduction procedure. A person with an inborn mark quite often chooses laser procedures to make it less obvious. However, there are some who choose such cosmetic surgery as otoplasty (a procedure when sticking out ears are pinned back a bit), botox for blepharospasm (nervous eye "ticks"), and hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating), dermabrasion (it helps to smooth severe acne scars), breast reduction (changes not only the size of breast but the shape as well), liposuction (sculpts localized areas of fat) and other.

How to make a right decision?

Before deciding if you really want to give yourself into plastic surgeon’s hands, talk to your parents and consider if your problem will always be a problem. Surveys show that teens are usually aware about their body changes related to time. Think about whether you want to undergo plastic surgery just for yourself or it is rather an attempt to please other people.

Always remember that body parts time related changes are inevitable and it sometimes happens that a certain part of your body grows quicker than the rest parts of it. However, it does not mean that it will always remain bigger, because human beings have a feature to follow the rules of proportion.

If you think that you are a little bit overweight, think about the alternatives that might give similar or maybe even better results than plastic surgery. Buying a membership in a gym can be a good start and following a balanced, effective and healthy diet would make things better.

Some people get extremely emotional during his/her teenage years. Physical changes make them feel uncomfortable and dislike themselves. However, quite often it is excessively far from reality and needs the help of psychologist rather than plastic surgeon.

People, who have unwanted hair in certain places of their body, know how frustrating it can be to choose the right method for hair removal. They are also aware of how much time and money it requires to get rid off unwanted hair. However, growing demand for good image and beautiful looks make people overcome all the trouble that hair removal brings. Fortunately, there are modern methods that people can choose to get rid off unwanted hair most probably for good.

What is it?

Nowadays, newest technologies are very efficient in removing hair for a long period of time. However, there is no such technique or equipment that would be able to eliminate unwanted hair forever. Most of the time “permanent hair removal” means that hair growth will be stopped for a long term.

Statistics claim that newest technologies bring permanent decrease in hair growth in 90% of cases, however, there are still 10% left and therefore, the FDA does not approve to use the term “permanent hair removal”. Just like permanent pen is not actually permanent or permanent hair wave does not stay forever, permanent hair removal does not imply hair growth reduction forever. It does mean, although, that your hair growth will be diminished for a long time and you will not have to shave for a certain time lasting even a few years.

Permanent hair removal methods

There are several methods available in market that provide long-term hair growth reduction to most of the people. These include electrolysis, laser hair removal, flashlamps/intense pulsed lamps.

Electrolysis brings a long-term hair growth reduction in most of the cases if performed correctly. It works in a way that a thin metal probe is inserted into a hair follicle and electricity is brought through the probe. This causes permanent damage of a follicle and therefore, the hair can no longer grow. There are a few types of electrolysis that differ in type of energy used. These are galvanic electrolysis and thermolysis. Using galvanic electrolysis water and salt around the hair follicle is chemically formed into lye which damages the cells responsible for hair growth. During thermolysis water around the hair follicles are heated up to high temperatures so that there is enough heat to damage the cells responsible for hair growth.

Although the method might be expensive and a little bit painful, it is a safe method providing good long-term results, therefore consumers can save on all the other hair removal methods and means. However, electrolysis may not be suitable for hair removal in large areas.

Laser hair removal is one of the newest methods used. The main principle of this method is based on contrast between hair and skin color. Lasers cause localized damage by heating dark target substance in the area that causes hair growth while not heating the rest of the skin. Newest techniques enable removing hair even for people with light skin and fair hair.

Laser technique is considered to be one of the most effective and safe methods of hair removal. It is very suitable for large areas, such as back or chest. Even if removed hair grows back it is usually thinner and lighter in color.

Using flashlamps/intense pulsed lamps usually give good and long-term results in hair removal. Specific wavelengths of light are produced in a flashlamp that filters full-spectrum and infrared light. This light, just like a laser, targets the dark matter in the hair follicle and, just like during laser hair removal, causes localized damage to the cells causing hair growth.

It is very similar to laser technique, the only difference is in the form of light used and efficiency of these two methods. Laser hair removal is considered to be more efficient in providing long-term hair growth decrease than flashlamps/IPL.

One of the most important functions of the breasts is breastfeeding. Therefore women, who wish and plan to have breast augmentation or any other breast surgery, are concerned whether they will be able to nurse their babies after the procedure or not. This ability after surgery depends upon various factors but the answer to the question is “yes” although you should be aware of all the possible complications and risks.

Firstly, there was a huge concern in the early 90’s with the reports of a so called silicone illness. People and professionals feared that silicone from the breast implants could leak into a mother’s milk and thus affect a baby’s health. However, later studies showed that there was no base to think so, since the silicone molecule was too small to get into the milk ducts.

Now most professionals use saline implants in breast augmentation surgery. They are said to be safe and have no harm to health. Even though there is no evidence that saline solution could pass into the milk ducts, there is no danger since this solution could not harm mother’s or baby’s health.

Some professionals claim that breastfeeding after the procedure could depend upon the type of the surgery and the incision site. Peri-aeroral, made around aerola, incision is believed to be the most risky of all. Nerves and vessels could be damaged during the surgery and then nursing and lactation would be affected. Therefore surgeons mostly choose to insert an implant through the incisions made under the fold of the breast, through the armpits or trans-umbilically (through the belly button) in order to escape possible troubles in baby nursing.

The effeciency of breast feeding

The efficiency of breast feeding depends very much upon the implant placement. Most breast implants are placed under the muscle so that the milk ducts would be not harmed during the surgery.

However, you should understand that breast augmentation is a surgical procedure, which, as any breast surgery, can affect the function of milk ducts. Studies have shown that any type of breast augmentation procedure affects lactation, independently from the incision site, type or placement of an implant. Specialists say that women, who have breast implants, are three times more likely to have insufficient milk supply.

Inadequate milk supply after breast surgery is explained due to the pressure of breast implants on the milk ducts, which then are not able to produce enough milk to nurse the baby. Another reason might be due to the surgery. During the procedure milk ducts can be damaged, especially through peri-aeroral incision, resulting in inadequate milk supply after pregnancy.

An additional problem is that women, who have breast implants , fear to nurse their babies because they somehow believe that breast implants are harmful to the babies. Some women avoid breastfeeding because they are afraid of possible complications due to breast implants. What you should know is that these fears are unreal and should be ignored. Besides, American Academy of Pediatrics state that breastfeeding is a preferred method to nurse the baby and therefore encourages women to breastfeed their babies.

In addition, please note that breast augmentation could result in certain complications, such as mastitis (infection of the milk ducts) and galactorrhea (milk production in a woman who is not pregnant). These complications are rare but you should be aware of them before having the surgery, since they could affect lactation and nursing.

Do not be afraid of breast augmentation surgery even though you still plan to have babies afterwards. Most likely breastfeeding problems are minor due to breast implants. But you should be informed and aware of them so that you can evaluate the ratio of risk and success of this particular procedure. And finally, do not forget to discuss these problems and your future breastfeeding plans with your doctor. With his/her help, you will be able to escape all possible risks and complications in the end.