Blog

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery released the results of its annual survey this week for 2009, revealing a small increase in the number of non-surgical procedures and a moderate decrease in cosmetic surgeries such as abdominoplasty, liposuction and breast augmentation.
According to the aesthetic society, overall demand for cosmetic treatments dropped only two percent [...]

This is a guest post by Michelle in Denver, who had a breast augmentation many years ago. She is now considering a revision surgery, so she did some research on the subject.
Do breast implants really need to be replaced every ten years?
Breast implants do not have an expiration date and there is no [...]

Breast implants are not designed to fail. In fact their durability is quite impressive, as the picture depicts.  They must be able to withstand years of everyday life and the occasional mammogram.  Yet they can fail. A recent study of Mentor’s breast implants placed the rupture rate for primary augmentation at 1.1%.
The leading theories for [...]

Now that Dr. Hess has so thoroughly explained considerations of breast implant size, we have another laundry list for you to read.  A 2009 study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery used patient input to formulate 6 criteria for successful breast surgery.  For patients, these are the factors that make an impact on satisfaction and [...]

I have found through my work with sites like RealSelf that patients are often left out of the decision making process or simply allow their surgeon to determine the correct implants, only to be disappointed with the outcome.  The number of questions I answer about “what size will I be after X size implants?” [...]

At the initial consultation, patients and I usually decide on the correct implant.  If there is any doubt it can usually be clarified at the preoperative appointment, one to two weeks before surgery.  Occasionally some patients, even with sizers, have difficulty visualizing the postoperative appearance of their breasts.  They’re simply not accustomed [...]

In medical school I was taught that patients only hear 35% of what you tell them.  In practice I think that’s absolutely true.  I tend to spend a lot of time, during my consultations, educating patients on all areas related to breast augmentation. I think this is a good thing because patients are either not [...]

Prior to their breast augmentation consultation, I have had patients try any number of tricks to estimate the implant size they desire:  filling zip lock bags with water, putting coffee beans or rice in baggies and  using bags of peas just to name a few.  But unfortunately these methods really aren’t very accurate.  No surprise.   But what is much [...]

Even the most well informed patients have said to me “my girlfriend has X size implants and we’re the same height and weight so I think I should get the same because they look great on her.” But the operative words here are “…on her.”  There are so many anatomical differences such as starting [...]

Both Allergan and Mentor, the only two companies permitted to sell implants in the US, make low, medium or moderate and high profile implants. As implants move from low profile to high profile, the amount of projection increases and the base diameter decreases for any given volume. For instance, a Mentor 300cc high profile silicone [...]