Every person is different with how their breasts change with pregnancy. Some barely look different, some go up 3 cup sizes.

Breastfeeding adds another layer of change. Are you a producer? Do you favor one side? How big do you get? How long do you breastfeed for?  If you had surgery with an incision at the nipple areola, your milk production may be affected.  I have many blogs on breast milk production after breast surgery.

Each pregnancy is different. As for the droop, it depends on your skin tone, how many pregnancies, how old you are, what your size changes are, and the above.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Advice?
1. SUPPORT SUPPORT SUPPORT. Sleep in a bra. Wear it 24 hours a day.  Wear a good one which looks like Fort Knox.
2. When breastfeeding, alternate (don’t favor one side).  See other tips on my blog.
3. If you see any kind of infection, mastitis, rash, etc, JUMP ON IT EARLY.  Most implants are submuscular, so there is a nice muscle between your implant and the breast.  Most implants have formed a capsule, which protects your implant from your breast.  What you don’t want though is an issue with your breast causing a breast implant infection.  It is rare… but if you are worried about any breast redness, tenderness, or discharge, see a doctor sooner as opposed to later.

And remember to focus on the big picture! CONGRATULATIONS!  Most implants do just fine with pregnancy.

Any surgery to the breast will affect the breast.  This seems obvious, but it is something I always discuss with patients, particularly if they have not had children yet. 

If someone comes to me in their mid 30s and wants to have kids, I will counsel them to wait to have surgery until they are done having kids.  Your breasts get larger when you are pregnant and breastfeeding anyway.  Your breast changes with pregnancy and breastfeeding–after you are done with kids most women end up smaller in volume, so the size they would choose would change. (Some women do end up larger in breast size after kids, but don’t hold your breath for that one- it isn’t as common.)

So. Back to the title of this blog- if you have a breast augmentation, does it affect your future ability to lactate (ie breastfeed)?

Yes.

A study came out in Breast Journal, Jan-Feb 2007 out of the UK.  I have a few issues with the study, particularly one of their opening lines which I think is really untrue, “It does not occur to most women to consider the possible effects of breast augmentation surgery may have on their future ability to exclusively breastfeed their baby.”  Maybe it is because I live in the hypereducated Silicon Valley Palo Alto area, but I think all of my patients consider the effect of any breast surgery on their future ability to breastfeed, and it is part of my usual discussion, particularly with regards to incision site. 

But back to the study, which I am citing because it did bring out some interesting facts. 

• Women who have breast augmentation surgery have a greater   lactation insufficiency.  NOTE: This does not mean they do not produce milk, but they may not be able to exclusively feed their child by breast milk alone to meet their parameters of weight gain.
• Factors related to surgery include impairment/loss of nerves to the nipple areola complex, which lead to reduced sensation and loss of the suckling reflex resulting in decreased milk production.
• complications in surgery (hematoma, need for additional surgery, capsular contracture, etc) can lead to impairment.

Their conclusion? “With good surgical technique and proper postoperative management, most of the complications associated with surgery that may result in insufficient milk production can be minimized but not always avoided.”

So what does this mean? This study would not change my general advice to women, which is:

• If you are in your early 20s and have a good decade before having kids, in the pros/cons of deciding to do breast surgery, you need to factor in potential decrease in your ability to breastfeed.
• I have had many patients who have successfully breastfed after breast augmentation.  This study shows a decreased amount of milk production, and it varied due to multiple factors.  Their final statement was that good technique and proper postop management you can minimize the impairment.
• IF YOU ARE WITHIN A YEAR OR TWO OF HAVING A BABY, WAIT.  I counsel women to do this all the time. I get that having larger breasts will make your wedding dress fit better, but if your plan is to get married and then start a family right after, wait to do the surgery.
• IF BREASTFEEDING IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE and you would be upset to supplement with formula if needed, WAIT.  I know this is controversial in my plastic surgery world where many doctors have become salesmen for procedures, but you have to look at your life big picture when looking at these things.

Remember also, some women can’t breastfeed for whatever reason who have never had breast surgery.  There are no guarantees.

I do a ton of breast surgery.  I have 3 kids.  I am a huge fan of breastfeeding.  How can I advise my patients about breast surgery and the relationship to breastfeeding?   I know a lot from being in practice for over a decade, and I read a lot of studies.  Every piece of information helps in the decision making.

There are women who are going to have a hard time breastfeeding.  Some of these women have had breast surgery, others did not.  Is there some way to predict who is whom?  Who will have a harder time?

A study came out in Birth, Sept 1990 looking at the influence of different factors on your ability to breastfeed a baby.  The study followed 319 women who were pregnant with their first baby who intended to breastfeed.  These women were evaluated in their last trimester for their initial measurements.  They looked at:

• surgical incisions
• size
• symmetry
• nipple protuberance (do you have inverted nipples?)
• and the woman’s estimate of their breast increase during the pregnancy

At two visits after the first 2 weeks postpartum (all were term babies), the infants were weighed and the moms estimated how big their breasts got when their milk came in.  Breastfeeding was evaluated and help was given when there were problems, looking particularly at how to maximize the amount of milk made.

“Sufficient” milk production related to an average weight gain daily of 28.5g between visits.  If they had to supplement with formula this was noted as well. 

What was related?                                                              

• 85% of mothers had sufficient lactation
• 15% had insufficient lactation, despite intervention
• 7% had some kind of breast surgery prior to their first pregnancy.  If a periareolar incision was used, these women had a 5x rate of lactation insufficiency compared to those without any surgery.
• Insufficient lactation was significantly associated with minimal prenatal breast enlargement
• Insufficient lactation was significantly associated with minimal postpartum breast enlargement when the milk came in
• Inverted nipples were more likely to have lactation insufficiency (not statistically significant)

So. How can you anticipate?  If you have inverted nipples, or prior breast surgery with an incision in the periareolar area, you may have decreased milk production.  15% of women in this study had insufficient milk production, and many did not have any prior surgery or inverted nipples.  If your breasts get much larger with pregnancy and when your milk comes in, signs are good you will produce enough milk. 

What I have seen in my plastic surgery practice here in Palo Alto, where there is positive peer pressure to breastfeed, is prior surgery does not mean you can’t breastfeed.  What I found in practice and these studies is your milk production may be lower.  But any breast milk is good for you, your baby, and your bond.

Let me start first with an email I received from a patient,  ”I just want let you know that I have had no problem breastfeeding.  I am grateful that nothing was damaged during my breast lift surgery.  Nice job to you!!  We had a beautiful girl.  I was worried about breastfeeding but it is going great.  I have a ton of milk supply on both breasts.   I just wanted to let you know. “

All breast surgery affects the breast.  Seems like a simple concept, but we forget it sometimes.  A 20 year old woman who wants a breast reduction may be more focused on getting her breasts smaller and somewhere above her waist, not the bonding and nutrition she may give with breastfeeding 10 years down the road when she decides to have kids. 

So I discuss it. 

Any woman who has not had children and wants to do any surgery of the breast needs to consider the effect surgery will have on the breast and your ability to breastfeed.  Thankfully, for most women, they are able to make milk.  The studies show there may be a decreased amount of milk, but I have had many patients who have had breast augmentation or breast reductions and lifts who have successfully gone on to breastfeed.

If you are a decade away from thinking about kids or you have a lot of issues with your breasts (backpain, droop, asymmetry, etc), then know there are techniques which help maximize your future ability to breastfeed.  If you are on the verge of having kids, wait to do the surgery.   It will totally preserve your ability to breastfeed among other advantages:

Perfect candidate for breast surgery! Sign her up?!

Not quite.  She should consider waiting.

Why?  She is in her mid thirties. She wants to have kids.  Even when she said, “I won’t breastfeed because I want to minimize changes in the breast” (which I don’t recommend due to the overwhelming evidence of the benefit of breastfeeding, but those are topics for other blogs), your breasts still change.  She is not a 20 year old who has a good decade before having children.  She is in her mid 30s and will have them in the next year or two.  I could make her breasts perfect- exactly what she wants- and pregnancy and/or breastfeeding will change them. 

What do we see?

• Loss of volume (Rarely increase in volume)
• Skin laxity/droop
• Stretch marks
• Sensory change
• Shape change

Other thoughts…

Pregnancy is tough.  It is hard to work on making your body look good for decades and then lose control of it in pregnancy.  I don’t want you to ever regret or have negative feelings about having a child and breastfeeding because it is doing “damage” to your breast.  If you are in my office you are not adverse to doing surgery to improve things.  Great! So time your surgery well.  If you are on the cusp of your babymaking years, go have that baby. Breastfeed.  Enjoy it.  When you are done with all your kids, your issues with your breast will have changed.  Your breasts will be different.  Let’s address it then.

If you live in Northern California as I do, women breastfeed.  I would even venture to say there is peer pressure to breastfeed.  When I had my first child I went to a mommy and me gathering for new moms at Stanford.  All these moms from Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, and Woodside gathered in a circle to discuss their babies.   A mom took out a bottle to feed her child. As people looked, there was almost a hush in the room.  I could feel her discomfort- she wasn’t breastfeeding her baby.  My girlfriend advice (I’m putting on my girlfriend hat, not my doctor hat) is to see how you feel when you have your baby, perhaps even try breastfeeding, before you decide you will or will not do it.

Now if you are 20, flat chested, and self conscious about your breasts, I would advise differently.  For you  it makes a lot more sense.  You could easily have a decade until you even think about babies.  And I have women who understand everything I mentioned above but still want the breast augmentation now.  That is fine. 

I believe in choice.  I am here to educate you and to help you understand the issues.  I will support you (and be honored to be your surgeon) regardless of your choice.

I have a friend who lives in LA who just had a tummy tuck and breast augmentation.  She is on her first day after surgery.  She is a tough cookie, and her words to me today were, “This really hurts!!”

One of the most common mommy makeover surgeries is breast augmentation and tummy tuck.   These by themselves are the two most painful surgeries we do as plastic surgeons.  These surgeries hurt because of the muscle.  For tummy tucks, I like to put in a pain pump which drips numbing medication internally to help.  In addition we give you pain medication and some of us use muscle relaxants as well.  Even with all of this, it still hurts.

For planning how to deal with your family life (as you are a mom, hence the mommy makeover):

• the first 2-3 days you are OUT. You will be on medication round the clock.  Someone else should care for your kids.  And you. 
• The first one to two weeks you will be very sore.  No driving until you are off pain medication.  As for when you will feel normal again and be doing your daily life things, people vary.  Every person is different as to when they get over the “hump” and feel better. 
• No heavy lifting (yes, this includes your adorable children) until much farther out.  Exactly when you can lift something over 5-10 pounds is not a hard rule.  Some of it depends on you and your tissue.  Your doctor will know what that means.  Here plastic surgeons differ on their recommendations for activity level, so defer to your doctor.  Tensile strength of your wound (how strong your repair is) is weakest at three weeks out from surgery.  Usually you can’t do any exercise until at least 6 weeks out.  For core body exercise (pilates, crunches, that favorite daily method place in menlo park, etc) I extend that until 3 months.

Give yourself time.  It took you 9 months (and for those of you with multiple kids, multiply that time) to get into this mess, it will take you a while until you feel normal again.  This is normal.

But she has been reading my blog (Go Bay Area blog reading mommies!) and said, “I know I should wait for 2-3 years until I do surgery, but I don’t want to wait.”   I realized I have not been clear.  It is true, the most common time I see women after babies is about 2-3 years out.  I think that timing is good- you have gotten out of the fog of babydom and given yourself a chance to get back into shape and see what comes back … and what doesn’t.  So the flip of that…

When is the soonest? Should you wait?

• Normal blood level.  You lose a fair amount of blood after birth.  You need 3 months to rebuild your blood store.
• Nutrition.  Your baby has spent the last 10 months preferentially getting your nutrients.  You need time to restore. 
• Sleep.  Surgery is a stress on the body.  I liken it to running a marathon.  If you are sleep deprived you won’t have the reserve to help you heal well.
• Breastfeeding.  Breastfeeding continues to take calories, energy, and nutrition for your newborn.  I am a HUGE breastfeeding fan.  The benefits to you and your child are immense.  If doing breast surgery, you need the breasts to be empty of milk, which takes about 3-6 months after you stop breastfeeding.  If doing other surgery, you can’t breastfeed at the same time- it would be too tough on your body to devote energy to healing and to your baby, and the medications needed for surgery and healing would get in your milk.  Also, see the nutrition point- breastfeeding can deplete you, so you need time after you stop to rebuild your internal stores.

My two to three year window is for women in the dreaded grey zone.  The grey zone? Those women who’s breasts and bellies aren’t like they were before babies, but they aren’t so bad.  In the right time of day, right angle, or if you stand up straight (posture girls!) you look okay.  Those are the women who should wait. 

But some women have things time will not help.  Particularly for the abdomen, horrible stretch marks, a wide diastasis (separation of the muscles), hernias, and hanging skin won’t go away with time and exercise.  Two years will not make these better.

So see your doctor.  Every patient and situation is different.  I get timing is tricky.  Many of you work, have multiple kids, and husbands schedules and other things you juggle.  But this is elective surgery.  And I know, from the title of this blog, you have an incredible responsibility- you are a mom. 

Elective surgery needs to be safe. 

There is a time and place for everything. Talk to your doctor.

I do not go into this starry eyed.  I know there is a cosmetic hit we breast feeding moms take (it is a lot of what I fix doing my mommy makeover work.)  But if you aren’t going to do it for your child’s health (less infections, etc), or for your health (lowers the rate of diabetes and heart risk), then do it for your country.

Medical costs are soaring.  The government is becoming increasingly involved in medicine.  I saw a recent study published in the news about how breastfeeding for six months could save 13 billion dollars. (!!)  You mean I can make a dent in America’s staggering spending by breastfeeding my baby?

Yes.

This is not new news.  In March 2001, a study of “The Economic Benefits of Breastfeeding: A Review and Analysis” was published for the USDA  (Food Assistance and Nutrition Report (FANRR13):

“A minimum of $3.6 billion would be saved if breastfeeding were increased from current levels (64 percent in-hospital, 29 percent at 6 months) to those recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General (75 and 50 percent). This figure is likely an underestimation of the total savings because it represents cost savings from the treatment of only three childhood illnesses: otitis media, gastroenteritis, and necrotizing enterocolitis. This report reviews breastfeeding trends and previous studies that assessed the economic benefits of breastfeeding”

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/FANRR13/

The recent numbers are an extension of the original study, which only looked at three major illnesses, and wasn’t corrected for today’s economics. 

So.  Breastfeed- For your baby, for your health, and for your country.

Give yourself a break.

I know it is tough.  We see magazine articles of “how famous so and so actress lost her baby weight in three months!”  And there will be some lovely article about broiled chicken and fish and salad and yoga.  Or better yet, “I lost the weight just chasing after my kids.” Oh how lovely.  Here in the Bay Area there are many uber athletic thin women.  Some women I know look smaller when they are 9 months pregnant than the average American woman is non pregnant. 

Give yourself a break.

There are those genetically blessed women who “pop” right back into form quickly.  Yes, it isn’t all genes.  Keeping in shape while you are pregnant, not gaining more than the baby weight, not using pregnancy as carte blanche to try all the flavors of Ben and Jerrys … these all are important. 

But at six months out with a new baby, particularly if you have other children, and are breastfeeding/ working/ making dinners/ laundry/ cleaning up/ making lunches/ bathtimes/ buying diapers/ afterschool activities/ playgroups/ clean the house again…

There is a time and place for everything.  Sometime not so far away, your baby won’t be a baby.  He will be sleeping through the night.  YOU will be sleeping through the night.  I see the majority of my mommy makeover patients 2-3 years after their last child.  I think that timing is good.  It gives you time…. time to enjoy being a mother.  Time to breastfeed.  Time to give your body a chance to get back to normal.   Then you can work out.  Diet.  Exercise hard.  See where you can get to on your own.   

So give yourself a break.  Your baby won’t be a baby for long.  Savor every moment while you can.

Mommy makeover is a combined surgery of breast and body.  Her question was when to do surgery after you stop nursing (I would wait 3-6 months, and be close to your ideal weight if possible).  The bigger issue I saw was her travel from New York (place with many great doctors) to Florida for surgery.

There are short surgeries with easy recoveries, and there are long surgeries with long recoveries.

Mommy makeovers are usually two surgeries done at one sitting.  In most healthy women, it is safe.  But combined surgeries have higher risk of bleeding, anesthesia complications, DVT, infection, and other issues.  You are at higher risk for a DVT for 3-4 weeks after surgery, making airline travel riskier.  If you do a tummy tuck, you will have a drain.  In heavier women, that drain can stay in for 3-5 weeks after surgery.

If you have a complication, it will be difficult to get to your doctor.  A local doctor will be hesitant to treat you.

Find someone close to where you live.  If you live in a small town, then go to a nearby larger town.  For a qualified surgeon near you, find someone board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  Meet a few doctors.  You’ll know the right one when you meet them and see their photo books.

(I do have patients travel to have me do surgery.  Usually though they have family or friends near me, and I require they stay around for 2-3 weeks depending on the scope of surgery.  It is not ideal.)

Things have changed.

Now almost none of my reductions can get covered. It is frustrating for me and my patients, as I see many large breasted women who can’t get covered.  What changed?

First, I now do a short scar breast reduction technique, called a vertical breast reduction.  I “cut out” less breast tissue with this technique.  Why did I change?  First and foremost: much shorter scar.  Also, I find this breast reduction better at shaping, with a longer lasting result.  I love it.  But with this technique I do liposuction of the lateral breast in the armpit area.  Insurance won’t include this fat as part of my “breast tissue removed” total.

Second, the amounts they require have gotten higher.  Not a good combo with my short scar technique where the amounts I directly cut out went down anyway.

The Schnur scale came out of a study in the plastic surgery literature.  They did the study to prove breast reductions objectively, medically IMPROVE symptoms. During the 1980s plastic surgeons started to see insurance companies refusing to pay for breast reductions, calling them “cosmetic.”  So multiple studies followed, documenting scientifically that back pain, neck pain, and breast pain had about an 80% improvement after surgery.  (And patient satisfaction was around 90%.  Pretty fantastic, particularly given those were the days of the longer anchor scar.)

The Schnur study came up with a scale used to show the volume which needed to be removed for breast reductions done for medical reasons only.  The issue is the Schnur study had a mean height of patients being 5’4″, 163 pounds, and a mean total amount of breast tissue being removed was 1515g. (That is over 3 pounds per breast.)

Ug.  When I started my practice, if a woman was going down about 2 cup sizes, they would get covered.  I used to have to remove about 300g for insurance coverage.  Now it is adjusted to the body surface area, and the required amounts have gone up.  With current recommendations, a 5′6″ woman who weighs 140 pounds needs a reduction of 370-400 grams per breast to be covered.  If she weighs 160, she would need about 450 grams per breast.  Liposuctioned fat cannot be applied to this total.  In my office I can show you visually what “volume” (using an implant sizer) this would be.  Many times the amount looks like the total of the entire breast, essentially being a mastectomy.

You don’t need to convince me a breast reduction and lift is a good idea. Insurance is another story though.

BODY SURFACE AREA CALCULATOR at http://www.bcbst.com/providers/calculator.asp

SCHNUR SLIDING SCALE at http://www.bcbst.com/mpmanual/The_Schnur_Sliding_Scale_chart.htm

I love breastfeeding.  We always knew it was good for your heart to snuggle and be close to your baby (awwwww.)  But now science supports it as well.  I know breast feeding doesn’t make the breasts look prettier long term (in the short term it can do wonders though).  I know as a plastic surgeon many of you think we only care about how pretty your breasts are.  And I do care what they look like, but the breasts have a purpose other than looking good in a bikini.

A new study came out in Diabetes  (and was presented by Gunderson’s team on June 6 in New Orleans at the American Diabetes Association’s 69th annual Scientific Sessions meeting).  It was a long term prospective study of 1400 patients.  In it, they looked at the benefit to mom (not babe) of breastfeeding, specifically looking at the “metabolic syndrome” of risk factors which cluster and increase your heart risk.

What increases your risk of heart disease and diabetes?

• Abdominal obesity (the apple body shape, not pear, especially when the fat is “intraabdominal” behind your belly muscles)
• high blood pressure
• cholesterol (low HDL the good one, and high LDL, the bad one)
• high triglycerides
•  insulin resistance
• inflammatory markers
• a tendency to clot.

They found of these 1400 women, 50% had kids.  They followed them at 7, 10, 15, and 20  years. They found the risk of the “metabolic syndrome” was reduced in women who breastfed.  This risk was reduced further the longer you breastfed.  For those who breastfed over 9 months, the risk went down 56% in those with no gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant, a marker for those at risk for diabetes later in life) and 86% for those with gestational diabetes.

Yay.

They don’t know why. ? Does it increase your good HDL cholesterol?  Lower the abdominal body fat? Or help with the metabolism of blood sugar and lower your insulin levels?  We don’t know. But it was nice to see these results.

So let’s hear it for the girls.

Don’t worry- if they look bad when you are done, I can help you. But a healthy heart- that looks good on everyone.

http://bizymoms.com/palo-alto/surgery/mommy-makeover-palo-alto.php

The breast is not a muscle.  Doing pectoral muscle exercises will not lift the breast.  You can be as toned as possible in your underlying muscle, but it won’t lift the breast tissue, firm the ligaments, or tighten the skin. (or make your breasts larger. sigh.)

Skin tone is like a bathing suit.  When your skin is new, it has great elasticity.  It bounces back well, and doesn’t stretch out, wrinkle, or sag.  As we age, our swimsuit ages as well; and the tone isn’t as good.  We all have different qualities of skin tone based on our age, ethnicity, sun damage, smoking, what we have put it through (major weight changes, pregnancy, etc) and genetics.

Once your skin is stretched out, it is stretched.  There is no proven skin cream, exercise, or laser to improve it.  Many products will claim they firm and lift.  But I think these products prey on our dreams- none of them really work.  I always ask them to show me the science.  Show me the improved skin biopsy; show me the photos of the lift.

Watch out for trickery.  Many cosmetic lasers will show only photos at 1-2 months out.  This is misleading. When you have a little bit of swelling, the skin looks prettier, plumper, and more youthful.  What does it look like at 6 months? A year?  Some of the lasers will take the first photo without flash (always shows more wrinkles and aging) and the second photo with flash.  Or they will take the photos from different angles.  Watch out for this.  I love marketing.  I had a woman who was going to do a “laser bra” in which the laser lifted the breast.  Trust me, I have breastfed three kids.  If there were a simple laser treatment which firmed and lifted, I would be the first to sign up.

So, alas, I am here to tell you there is no magic answer, no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The only way to really lift and reshape the breast is with a surgery.

When you choose to do a breast augmentation, we must get the breast implant inside. (Unfortuantely, it is not magic.)  This is the scar you will see when you are done.  There are pros and cons to each incision.

There are three basic common incisions:

• Armpit (also known as axilla)
• Periareolar (at the bottom of the areola, the colored portion of the breast skin)
• Inframammary fold (also called IMF, the under part of your breast where an underwire goes)

There are other incisions  you hear about such as through the umbilicus (TUBA), through an abdominoplasty incision, and through the base of the  nipple. These are not as common (for real reasons).

IMF: This is the most common incision used.  The scar can go in the crease of the underwire or just above the crease on the bottom curve of the breast.  PROS: On the breast, so only someone seeing you naked will see it.  Preserves ability to breastfeed.  Can use as an open door- when you need a revision surgery due to deflation or capsular contracture, you can fix it through the old scar.  CONS: If you wear a bikini which doesn’t hug your underwire, you may see the scar.  For patients who don’t scar well (read: hyperpigment, keloid, hypertrophic scar) you can see the scar.

AXILLA: Scar goes into the armpit.  PROS: Preserves ability to breastfeed.  No scar on the breast.  CONS:  Scar in a place visible when you wear tank tops or bathing suits.  Usually more of the pocket is done by blunt dissection, so may get more bruise.  More difficult pocket dissection, may lead to implant malposition and upward migration of implant.  Difficult to place gel implants.  Usually need to make a second incision when you need revision surgery for implant replacement.  For patients who don’t scar well (read: hyperpigment, keloid, hypertrophic scar) you can see the scar.

PERIAREOLAR: Scar is at the transition between the areola and the breast skin.  It does NOT go all the way around the areola.  It is at the bottom of the semicircle.  If you see a scar going 360 around the areola, then a breast lift was done.  PROS: I find this incision hides the scar the best, particularly in my patients with darker skin tones: Asian, Phillipino,  Latina,  and Black.  If your scar turns darker / brown, then it tends to blend with the areola.  It is an open door- you can reuse the old scar for any revision surgery.  It does NOT interfere with sensation. (Will go into sensation details below.) The scar is on the breast, so only someone seeing you naked will see it.  It gives the best access to making an accurate pocket dissection, important for smaller implant sizes, which is important for my natural aesthetic in my Bay Area patients.  It allows access to have meticulous bleeding control, important to limit bruising and potentially capsular contracture.  This is my favorite incision as I find the scar fades in most patients to nothingness.  I like it particularly for women who are done with pregnancy and breastfeeding, women with constricted or tubular breasts, and women who may need a lift down the road, so you limit future scars.  CONS: It does cut through some of the breast ducts, so for women who have not had children yet and want to breastfeed, it may impair breastfeeding.

The biggest issue women bring up when discussing breast augmentation incisions, tends to be sensation.  Will my breast sensation change? What affects it?  There is a common perception that cutting at the areola will cause more sensory change.  This is not true.  Funny.  It seems like if you cut at the areola then the nipple sensation should change more than if you cut at the armpit, eh?  A study published in our white journal (the plastic and reconstructive surgery journal- a big deal in my world) showed there was no difference in sensation based on where you cut, but there was a difference based on how big you go.  The sensory nerves come up from the sides.  As you stretch the skin the nerves stretch.  This is what causes the sensory change.  Think about how your breasts feel when you are pregnant- or better yet -when your milk comes in.  That tingly, numb, or hypersensitive-don’t-touch-my-breasts sensation.  Many women report right after augmentation feeling like they did when their milk came in.  This feeling goes away, though your final sensation may be the same, less, or more than prior to surgery. I tend to find sensory change is less for women after having kids, and my thought is they have essentially “prestretched” their breast skin.

SO. Bottom line on sensation? The bigger you go, particularly if you are stretching the skin, the more sensory change you will get.

For photos, check out my gallery.  Most of the incisions you see are periareolar, and most photos are 6 weeks out.

I guess I am an old fashioned girl. I like honest and real.  I don’t try to sell my patients a rainbow.  I don’t try to lure them into my office with promises of scarless surgeries, only to tell them it isn’t possible for them.  (Kind of reminds me of those teaser car lease rates.  In the fine fine print you’ll see only one is available at the special advertised rate, and oh yes, we forgot to mention the thousands of dollars down for registration and drive off…)

Anyhow, I recently saw an article by two young plastic surgeons advocating a single incision, single scar mommy makeover. (Forgetting all tummy tucks have two scars, so the name is misleading from the start…) But love it. Sign me up! What is it?

It basically is for women who need

1. Breast augmentation, in front of the muscle.
2. Tummy tuck.

Now I have many patients who benefit from a tummy tuck and breast augmentation.  It is a common combination for mommy makeover.  I find these dual surgeries safe in most of my Bay Area healthy patients. Most of my Palo Alto moms don’t have time to do two surgeries, the cost is lower, and it is one recovery. And I am all for reducing the number of scars.  Plastic surgery is about innovation.  What I do today is not what I did a decade ago.  And with new advances and refinements, I expect what I do in the future will be different as well.

My issue is with this procedure is it  has been tried before, with some poor results.  It is tough to position the implant well when going from the abdomen.  You create an opening which connects the breast pocket with the abdominal pocket.  There are many many issues with placing the implant in front of the muscle, particularly in thin women.  (Please see my page on breast augmentation for more information.)  And with implants my greatest concern is always what happens down the road.  Does it move? infection? hardening? And if you put it through the abdominal incision how are these addressed?

This is being spearheaded by two young guys just out of residency.  I don’t know how many they have done, what they look like (no photos were shown in the article, or on their website), or what the technique really is.

But it is a great marketing play.  It has gotten them an article written about them which I read, and I am sure it will attract patients to their new practice.  They have many sayings which could apply here: Buyer beware.  If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.  Show me, don’t tell me.

Until then, I will continue to keep my breast implants separate from my abdominal incision.  The breast augmentation scar at the areola on most of my patients fades to nothingness, I like the submuscular placement of the implant, and I like knowing I did everything I could to insure they have a beautiful, natural, soft result.  Unfortunately for me, good solid plastic surgery technique isn’t catchy.  Alas, no splashy article about me today.

As I said earlier, there is a price you pay for plastic surgery.  The price is scar, time off work and exercise, healing, getting someone to watch your kids for a week so you can do this, and the risks of surgery.  What price are you willing to pay? How much are you bothered? How easy is it to fix?

Some people scar well.  For these women, when they have a scar, it will start as a red scar, then turn purple, and then fade away into nothingness.  I have seen some of my patients come back, and I can’t find their scar.  I know where it is, but it faded away.  They pay a lower price than someone who may hyperpigment  (fancy way of saying scar turns darker, black, or brown) or keloid (fancy term for a condition where you form an elevated, itchy, ropey scar).

Some surgeries have small scars and potentially large changes.  Breast augmentation, eyelifts, and liposuction tend to have big changes with small scars.   Small price.  But now let’s say you come in, you were a 34D prior to kids and now you are more like a B, and your breasts droop.  Hmmmm. Tougher choice.  Breast lift with an implant is a bigger surgery, more scar, more potential for sensory change, etc etc.  What price are you willing to pay?  Would you rather have a small scar and the ideal sized breast implant for you, but still be a little droopy? Would you rather go to a larger volume breast implant if it meant you could be perkier and avoid doing a lift? How much larger? If you think, “no way! If I am going to go through surgery and get a breast implant, I want them to look perky and fantastic. I need the breasts up!”, then you might need a breast augmentation with a lift, with the larger length of surgery, recovery, and scar it entails.

Most of my photos I show are women 6 to 8 weeks after surgery.  I am reprimanded for it a lot.  Why do you show red scars? Why don’t you show scars when they are farther out? Why don’t you put underwear on your tummy tuck patients so we don’t see the scar?

I have photos of patients a year out with beautiful scars.  Most have beautiful scars. I don’t think that is helpful. You will see the scar the photos hide under the underwear. Anyone can look at a photo of a wrinkled, strech marked, hanging belly and think “of course they should do a tummy tuck.”  But you, the patient, will need to do the surgery.   You will feel the changes. You will see the scar while you heal.

So, find an honest surgeon.  I don’t candy coat.  I show my large surgery scars on purpose when they are new. Red. Raw. Visible.  New.  I discuss the risks and complications in detail.  When you do surgery there are elements we can’t control as plastic surgeons.  How will you heal? How will you scar?  When we say there is a 1% chance of something, will you be that person?  Education can be scary.  When choosing to do elective cosmetic surgery, you need to know what you are choosing.  I do hundreds of surgeries a year.  For these women, the “price” of surgery was worth it.  Only you can make the decision of what is right for you.

When you get done having your beautiful babies, you wait a bit.  I strongly recommend you wait a bit.  What will your post baby body be like? Will your breasts stay full or will they deflate? Will they be anywhere near your neck or will they touch your waist? Will your belly look like you are permanently 4 months pregnant or will it get back into an okay territory?  How bad does it look when you sit down? And most importantly, does it bother you?

We all have these thoughts.  No woman goes through labor and gets done and doesn’t think UGGH when they see their belly skin flop over when they lie on their side that first day. Thank heavens we are ramped up on adrenaline looking at the beautiful new baby next to us, and then sleep deprived and can’t see straight for the next few months.  When women show up in my office, they have thought about doing surgery for months, sometimes years.  They are not happy.  On a frequent basis some thought haunts them.  “I can’t buy a bathing suit.”  “I was dancing and my bra padding migrated down my dress.”  “I look like a boy.”  “I look four months pregnant all the time.”  “I can’t do sit ups.”  “I have to always take in my jeans at the waist, because when I buy pants to fit my thighs the waist is too big.”  “I look like I hopped out of National Geographic.”

If you are happy with your body, don’t do anything.

Seeking advice from a plastic surgeon is the next step.  You have thought about it, talked to your friends perhaps, and read too much on the internet.  You need a doctor to evaluate you.  Please here take my advice:

• See a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.  Anyone can call themselves a plastic surgeon.  True plastic surgeons are trained as general surgeons first.  We are well trained to do all breast and body surgery.  I keep seeing women who have the wrong surgery done (especially liposuction when they needed a tummy tuck) because the doctor is not a real plastic surgeon.
• See more than one doctor.  I joke if you see three plastic surgeons, you’ll get at least two different answers on how to do something.  Many patients fall into what I call a grey area: no surgery is perfect, but all will improve the situation.  An example:  You have lost breast volume and are mildly droopy.  Do you do a breast implant alone? Do you do an implant with a lift?  Do you just do a breast lift? Every woman is unique in what they look like and what they want to look like.  My Palo Alto patients are smart women.  They know their body, they know what amount of scar is okay, they know what look is okay.  I educate them, so they can make the right choice for them.

So, getting back to my original point, you pay a price for surgery. The price is not actual money (though yes, you do need to pay actual money too).  There are some procedures where the “price” is low: the surgery is easy, short, fast recovery, little downtime, small scar, scars heal well.  There are other surgeries where the price is higher: longer, bigger surgery, longer recovery, larger scar, higher chance of other things.

You will see doctors put breast implants in front of the muscle OR behind the muscle.  The muscle we are talking about is your pectoralis major muscle.  It is the one you do push ups with (or for you moms out there, the one you use to hold your baby while you try to cook dinner).  The muscle inserts along your sternum (the middle part) and along where your underwire goes (the inferior part).

The traditional teaching is putting the implant in front of the muscle gives more lift.  So when you have kids, breastfed, etc etc and your breasts appear deflated, you will get more lift and perkiness from the implant if you go in front of the muscle.  There is also less pain (bonus), and your breast implant won’t sometimes do a funny jump when you use your muscle (great!).  The issue I find with putting breast implants in front of the muscle is rippling and wrinkling in the upper part of the breast and cleavage area.  This is icky and tough to fix.  It tends to happen slowly over time, as your tissue thins. 

You are looking on this site because you don’t have much breast tissue, hence your need for implants. 

Nothing substitutes for soft tissue coverage over the implant to get a good result.

That soft tissue is skin, breast tissue (you don’t have much), and fat (again, you likely don’t have much of that either).  The only other cover is muscle.  I like going under the muscle for many reasons. 

1. Lower rate of capsular contracture / turning hard. 

2. More tissue covering your implant in the cleavage and upper area.  So when you wear a low cut dress or strapless top, you don’t worry about wrinkles, ripples, or implant edges.

3. Easier to do a mammogram.  Behind the muscle lets you see more of the breast on mammogram than in front of the muscle.  Very important, especially with a family history of breast cancer.

4.  I think a more natural look.

Putting a breast implant behind the muscle does not lift as much as in front of the muscle.  To get around this, many doctors do what is called a biplanar approach.  Sounds fancy.  What it means is we keep the implant under the muscle up top, and the implant is on top of the muscle on the bottom.  For women in that droopy-i-might-need-a-lift category, I like to do this technique.  I also use more release along the inferior border of the muscle for women with tubular and constricted breasts.

Personally, I never release the muscle along the sternum (the medial, cleavage area).  I hate how it looks- I think it gives a fake, round look.  Sometimes the breasts get too close or too far apart with this as well.  Overall, I tend to favor more muscle coverage.  It gives better soft tissue coverage over the implant. (Remember: soft tissue over implant=makes look pretty.)  And I think it helps keep the breast from bottoming out.

So, what should you take away from this?

I favor under the muscle.  All doctors do not do “under the muscle” the same way.  Some cut the muscle more than others. 

So how do you choose?

Look at the photos. And talk to your doctor about what technique is best for you and why.

It gets confusing when you surf the internet and see photos of websites and patients.  How do you choose?  This is a place where your surgeon really will guide you.  Every surgeon has their method of choosing an implant for a patient.  This includes size, profile (width, projection), and type of implant. 

I see many women come in confused by what implant to get.  There is so much information out there, and you cannot become an expert by reading.  You can pick a surgeon who is right for you.  I repeat myself often on this point, but the two most important decisions when you decide to do breast augmentation: find a board certified plastic surgeon (by the Board of Plastic Surgery), and like the aesthetic. 

What does “the aesthetic” mean? Look at the photos. Do they look pretty to you? Do you like the shape? Do you want to look natural or augmented?  Every doctor has what in their mind’s eye looks like a “pretty breast.”  You and your plastic surgeon should have the same eye.  At my practice in Palo Alto, and throughout the Bay Area, most patients seek what I would call a natural look.  They want it to look like nothing was done, these are the breasts they were born with.

Major categories of implants:

• fill:    gel / silicone  or saline
• profile:    low, medium, or high
• shape:  round or anatomic / shaped
• shell:   smooth or textured
• volume

Profile has to do with the width and projection for a given volume.  In general, the low profile implants are flatter and wider than the high profile implants.  I have some patients who think to have a natural result you must have a low profile implant.  This is not true.  The profile of the implant varies depending on the patient: how broad are they? how much natural breast tissue do they have?  how big are they going? If you look at my photos, you will see all three profiles of breast implant. 

In general, if you are between two profiles, the lower profile implant will give more of a salt of the earth natural look, the higher profile a little more perky look.  Width is important.  If you go with too narrow of a breast implant, you will look fake and have a wider gulley between your breasts.  If you pick too wide of an implant, you will be fuller into your armpit, a particular problem if you are a tennis player or golfer.

My general rule of thumb is to have the patient pick volume first, profile then follows.  If you are at an extreme: a very small size or very large size, then your breast implant width may not be ideal.  This is something I review with patients during their consultation.

If you have further questions, please email me through my website: http://laurengreenbergmd.com

I often hear “I want it to look natural.”  “I want to be proportional.”  “I want to be a full B / C / I don’t know.”  Great.   You have started to think about it.

My girlfriend guide to plastic surgery for breast implants (ie what I tell my girlfriends):

1. Don’t pick out a cup size.  I am amazed at how women come in wanting a letter cup size.  There is no standard to bra sizing.  What is a 34C at Victoria’s Secret, is not at La Perla, Olga, Maidenform, etc etc.  What you think is a 34C may not be what I think is one.   Focus on what you like when you see it in the mirror.  I am stunned some women go to doctors who tell them they, the doctor, will pick the size.  Given how many times I have found women totally off on what cup size they think they want, I would strongly discourage this.

2. Photos don’t work.  Seeing a photo of a woman who had 300cc implants does not tell you what you will look like.  Every woman is different.  Lovely, unique, fantastic, and different.  Even for a woman of the same height and weight, how broad are your shoulders? Do you have hips? How broad is your chest? Are you muscular? curvy? I have seen a short woman with a 400cc implant look totally proportional, and a taller woman with the same implant look like she needs a new day job.

3. Natural is not a size.  I can make a woman look natural and proportional as an A, B, C, D, or even DD cup.  Natural has to do with the shape of the breast, how it sits, how it moves.  Every surgeon has an aesthetic.  I am natural.  I have patients who, naked in front of their friends, find their friends can’t tell they have implants.  “How do you look so good after 3 kids?”

So, how do you pick?

Try on sizing implants.  The only way  you know what you like is to SEE it on you.  I make all my patients try on sizers with their clothing in the office.  Bring in tons of tight tops, particularly high necked ones (nothing makes you as busty as those form fitting turtlenecks).  If you work out a lot, or swim, bring in those too.  You need to feel comfortable in all of your looks.  Most of us are multi-faceted women – we are atheletes, mothers, girls on a Saturday night, and yes, even surgeons.  You have to feel comfortable in all areas of your world.  And there is no law against wearing a push up bra after you get breast implants if you need a little extra.

The cardinal rule of implants is “you always wish you would have gone bigger.”  I never believed that rule when I first heard it.  But it is true.  One of my patients said “breast implants are like diamond rings, they shrink with time”.   They don’t really shrink (neither do the diamonds), but what shocks you at first won’t shock you after a while. I recommend you try out your new size for a while.  Stuff your bra prior to surgery.  You will get used to seeing yourself with breasts, so if you want to upsize you will do so prior to picking your final size before surgery.  Also, others will get used to seeing you with breasts, so they won’t notice the change, and you’ll see if it stirs up any good (or unwanted)attention.

Bigger is not always better.  If  you have thin skin, are an athelte (particulary the higher impact sports like running), have poor skin tone, are young  and want pregnancies/breast feeding in the future, then consider the pros and cons of size.  This is an area where your surgeon can help guide you.

Size is an important aspect of breast augmentation.  Take your time to decide.  This is one area I will not choose for my patients, but I will educate you to make your best decision.

I am a plastic surgeon in Palo Alto, California.  When I started my practice, I thought most breast augmentation patients would be 25 year olds who want to look good in a bikini.

I was wrong.

I have done hundreds of breast augmentations, and my biggest patient population is women after children.  The mommy makeover. After baby tune up.  Call it what you will.   My patients are educated, assured.  They have great self esteem. They are in shape and take pride in having a healthy body. They are not being pushed by a husband.  They do not want hootchie mama breasts; in fact, they don’t want anyone to know they have done a thing.  They are surprised they are in my office.  They never thought they would do plastic surgery.  They think no one they know would do this. (Though most of my patients come from a 10 mile radius, so they likely have a friend with breast implants.)

Breast feeding and pregnancy take a larger toll on us than it did our mothers.  We tend to have our children later; we are having multiple children; and we breastfeed.  Here in Northern California support for breastfeeding is everywhere.  My mother had three kids.  She started at age 24 and was done by 28.  Her whole generation was one who thought formula and “science” was better for the baby than breastfeeding.  Her post baby breasts fared better than mine .

A typical story, ” I was fine with what I had.  I wasn’t large, but I was happy.  Then I had kids. ____(insert number) And I breastfed for ________ months. (insert number)  And now I have nothing left / my bikini rides up / I have to wear a push up bra or padding everywhere / I can’t put on a swimsuit / my breasts look like they are on the cover of National Geographic / I can’t stand to see my breasts.”

You never want to feel like you are common.  I love the uniqueness of my patients.  I love the strength of women.  But there are trends we women fall into after having kids.  Most of us are in a fog for the first couple years after children.  And you don’t really know what is going to look like what.  Most of us had more time with our pre baby bodies.  It is hard to go through pregnancy and watch your body change.  The generation of baby boomer women caused an increase in accepatance of plastic surgery.  So you get done with kids, you are 40 and vital, and you think, why do I have to accept my breasts will look like this?

I see patients usually 2 -3 years after their last baby.  It is at this point you are out of the fog, you have worked out and had time pass, and you can finally assess what your post baby body will look like.  I always feel like I should hand out those iconic flags they stuck on the moon.  This is MY body.  I am not a milk truck.  A jungle gym.  A baby carrier.  I am a woman.  I am ME.  And my patients reclaim their body and sexuality again.

Breast implants are not for everyone.  There are risks, some patients are better candidates than others, some really need a lift, you have to accept you will outlive your first pair of implants… But for the right women, an implant can reconstruct the breast.  Implants can be small or large and be made to look natural at either volume.  Every doctor has an aesthetic.  Look at photos to see if you and your doctor will click.  Look for a doctor who is a true plastic surgeon, Board Certified by the Board of Plastic Surgery.

I will have more posts later on breast implant nuance: profiles of implant, gel or saline, in front or behind the muscle, biplanar or total muscle coverage. It is too much for this post.  Please email me with questions.

www.laurengreenbergmd.com

General rules of thumb with the breasts:

As you age your breasts change.  Breasts are primarily a mix of breast tissue (a kind of fibrous substance with breast glands, ducts, and milk when you are breastfeeding) and fat.  When you are young, more of your breast is breast tissue.  This tissue tends to be dense.  Part of the reason we don’t mammogram younger women, in addition to the fact their cancer rates are low, is we can’t see much on the film due to the denseness of the breast tissue.  As you get older, your breast composition becomes fattier.  With this change in composition, the breast volume changes more with weight change.

In general I see trends in women who have breastfed.  The longer you breastfeed, the more change you have.  So a woman who has breastfed for 3 months has fewer changes than one who has fed for a year.  The more kids you have, the more change.  And again, read my breastfeeding tips on my blog, and try to feed evenly on each breast. (yes yes, I know.  Your baby likes one better, one makes more, yadda yadda.  But trust me.)

We as a generation do not look the same as our mothers.  Overall, particularly here in the Bay Area, we had our children at an older age.  Many of us had multiple children.  And here in Palo Alto there is signficant, good support to breastfeed.  Hence the larger changes to our breasts than our mother’s.

If you were small breasted to begin with, the babies may have left you with nothing.  Welcome to why breast implants are so popular.

If you were large breasted to begin with, welcome to why your breasts now touch your knees, you are short waisted (or long breasted as I like to call it), and you have to wear a bra 24 hours a day. Welcome to why breast reductions and lifts are so popular.

It is recommended you breastfeed exclusively for 6 months.  I breastfed all of my children.  Particularly with the dangers in the world of swine flu and other diseases, it is one of the best gifts you can give your child.

Breastfeeding can take a toll on your breasts.  So here are some recommendations:

1. Alternate breasts.  Everyone has one side which is easier to feed on, produces more milk, the baby likes it better, etc etc. Breasts are not symmetric.  They are different sizes and different producers.  Try to use both breasts evenly.  Use a timer and switch to the other side.  Personally, I tried to feed from both breasts with each feed.  When I have patients who exclusively breastfeed on one side, there is a marked difference between their breasts at the end.  The key to breasts is symmetry.  Whatever you do, you want your breasts to look as alike as they can.

2. Support.  Breasts are not a muscle. The infamous ”we must, we must, we must increase our bust” exercises don’t work.  The pectoral muscle lies beneath the breast tissue.  The breast itself is composed of breast tissue, ligaments, and fat.  When the tissue has stretched, there is no way to “firm” it up again with exercises, creams, or lasers.  So wear a bra.  Make sure it fits well and is really supporting you.  Sleep in the bra.  To see if the bra is giving good support, jump up and down in front of the mirror and see how well you are supported.  Everyone has seen a woman jogging who does not have enough support.  A good bra has a defined size, 2-3 rows of hooks in the back, and adjustable straps to transfer the weight of the breast to the shoulder.