Breast Augmentation (Augmentation Mammaplasty)
 One of the most frequently performed cosmetic surgery procedures in the U.S., breast augmentation can give women with small or unevenly sized breasts a fuller, firmer and perkier look through the placement of implants in the breast. It can enhance your own features or helps achieve symmetry or regain youthful breasts reduced after pregnancy or surgery. The procedure may sometimes need to be combined with a breast lift for more satisfying results.
Implants used are silicone shells filled with either saline (salt water) or silicone gel (recently approved by the FDA) and are placed behind each breast, underneath either breast tissue or the chest wall muscle. The procedure lasts one to two hours and is typically performed with general anesthesia, although local anesthesia combined with a sedative is also possible.
Implants come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and an appropriate one will be chosen for you by Dr. Sabry based on your desires, expectations and physical attributes. Incisions are made in inconspicuous places on the breast to minimize scar visibility (in the armpit, in the crease on the underside of the breast, or around the areola, the dark skin around the nipple). The breast is then lifted, creating a pocket into which the implant is inserted. Light dressing and supportive bandages are applied after surgery which are replaced by a specially designed bra after 4 to 5 days.
Most patients feel tired and sore after surgery, but this usually passes in a day or two and many patients return to work within the week. Any post-operative pain, swelling and sensitivity will diminish over the first few weeks. The breast may reach their final shape in two to three months.
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Breast Lift (Mastopexy)
 A breast lift, or Mastopexy, is performed to return youthful shape and lift to breasts that have sagged as a result of weight loss, pregnancy, and loss of the skin's natural elasticity or simply the effects of gravity. The procedure can also reduce areolar size (the dark skin surrounding the nipple), and it can be combined with breast augmentation for added breast volume and firmness.
Women planning to have children are advised to postpone surgery, since pregnancy and nursing can counteract its effects by stretching the skin. However, mastopexy, most often, should not affect your ability to breast-feed.
Breast lift is an outpatient procedure and may take between 2 to 3 hrs. There are multiple ways a breast lift can be performed, and it often is dictated by a person's size, shape and contour of the breasts: concentric ("doughnut") mastopexy, in which two concentric circular incisions are made around the areola and a doughnut-shaped swathe of skin is removed. The two circles are then sutured together for a fuller breast. A short scar mastopexy is performed with incision around the areola and a vertical incision beneath it extending to the breast fold and a classic inverted-T scar (more appropriate for large breasts) where incision extends from around the nipple to a vertical one underneath it and a third extending horizontally in the breast crease.
For droopy breasts requiring rejuvenation, an implant may be desired or necessary to achieve a more dramatic enhancement. After a thorough evaluation, Dr. Sabry will tailor the mastopexy that is just right for you.
You may experience slight pain and discomfort that should diminish in a few days. Light exercise may be begun in 10 to 14 days following surgery. More vigorous physical activities should wait for 3 to 4 weeks.
» Additional Breast Procedures
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