Top Breast Augmentation Side Effects

Breast Augmentation Side Effects: Many women are dissatisfied with the appearance of their breasts, which is why breast augmentation is one of the country’s most popular cosmetic procedures.

Breast augmentation aims to enlarge the breasts or make them symmetrical. This surgery can be done with silicone or saline breast implants or liposuction combined with fat injection into the breasts.

Candidates for  breast augmentation usually want to increase their cup size. But some women also may want the procedure because they lost breast volume from weight loss, pregnancy, or breastfeeding.

Also, some patients may want to even out their body proportions with breast augmentation. For instance, a woman with small breasts and wide hips may want to make the breasts bigger.

Breast augmentation is safe when performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon. But it’s essential to weigh the risks of this procedure before deciding to have surgery.

Breast Augmentation Procedure

The procedure for breast augmentation depends on whether the surgeon uses implants or fat transfer.

With implants, the plastic surgeon usually makes an incision in the breast crease, then creates a pocket in the breast tissue for the implant. The implant can be placed above or below the chest muscle, depending on your anatomy and other factors.

You can choose saline or silicone implants and various shapes and sizes. Note that breast augmentation with implants won’t make them perkier; you need a breast lift to make them sit higher.

If you have breast augmentation with fat transfer, the surgeon will use liposuction to remove fat from a body part with extra fat. Popular choices are the abdomen, flanks, legs, and arms.

The fat is washed and processed, then injected slowly into the breasts. This procedure has a few advantages over breast implants.

First, fat transfer is natural, and the result is often permanent. Second, the incisions are smaller and require a shorter recovery time. Also, the size increase is subtle, which many women prefer over the apparent size increase associated with implants.

Temporary Breast Augmentation Side Effects

After breast augmentation, there will be temporary, typical side effects. For the first few days, you’ll probably notice:

• Swelling: Breast augmentation, especially with implants, will cause considerable swelling for a few weeks. Most of the swelling will subside after a month, but it can take up to six months for all swelling to go away.
• Pain: During the first two or three weeks, you will have mild or moderate pain. But this can be managed with prescription pain medication or drugs available over the counter.
• Sensitivity changes: Your breasts may be more sensitive for a few weeks.
• Breast settling: The implants will sit higher on the chest after surgery. But over one or two months, the breasts will drop to their natural position.

Long-Term Breast Augmentation Side Effects

Other breast augmentation side effects can last longer than a few months. These include:

Less Sensation

After breast augmentation with implants, some patients have less breast sensitivity, especially in the nipple and areola. This can be from nerve damage from incisions or placing the implant.

The loss of sensation may be permanent. If this concerns you, talk to your plastic surgeon about addressing the problem.

Difficult To Breastfeed

The implant placement can affect the milk ducts and make it hard to breastfeed. If you want to have children after having breast augmentation, talk to your plastic surgeon. She may alter the surgery to change how the implant is placed.

You may want to wait to have breast augmentation until you are finished having children and breastfeeding. However, some women decide to have a mommy makeover with breast augmentation after building their family.

Serious Breast Augmentation Side Effects

Some potential breast augmentation side effects are rare, but they can be dangerous. If you experience one of these complications, call your plastic surgeon immediately.

Implant Deflation Or Rupture

Silicone and saline breast implants have a small risk of rupture or deflation. This happens where there’s a puncture in the breast implant.

This can make the implant silicone or saline leak into the body. While generally not a health risk, you will need to remove and replace the implant.

Infection

Mild pain and swelling are normal after breast augmentation. But if you have severe pain and swelling that doesn’t fade, you may have an infection.

Other signs of infection are redness at the incision site and fever. Fortunately, most infections can be treated with antibiotics. But some patients need to have the implant removed to treat the infection.

After the infection clears up, your surgeon may be able to put in another implant.

Capsular Contracture

Most women’s bodies develop a scar tissue capsule around the breast implant. This is normal, but the capsule may contract around the breast implant. Capsular contracture makes the breast look uneven and out of proportion.

This complication requires the removal of the implant. If it happens again, you may need to remove the implants permanently.

Breast augmentation is usually a safe procedure, and most patients love their results. But it’s essential to consider the risks and possible side effects, so talk to your surgeon about them during your consultation.

Request A Breast Augmentation Consultation

Interested in breast augmentation side effects? Dr. Scott J Farber or Dr. Amita Shah of Hill Country Plastic Surgery can help. They will consult with you about your desire for a breast augmentation procedure.

Also, they’ll go over the options, goals, and more to determine if breast augmentation is a good fit for your needs and goals.

 

 

 

References

• Breast Augmentation Overview. (n.d.). Accessed at https://www.healthline.com/health/breast-augmentation#overview