Getting the Best Results From Your Breast Augmentation

The natural, beautiful results Dr. Teitelbaum is known for are no accident—they are a direct result of the principles that have guided him since he opened his practice in 1995, and have made him one of the country’s premier breast surgeons. Here, he shares his advice for making smart decisions that will yield the best possible outcome.

It’s critical that you select an implant size and shape that fits your breasts. If an implant is too big, the breast looks round, shiny, and bulging on top in the short term. In the long term, the skin will stretch, the tissue will compress and thin, and the breast will sag. If an implant is too small, it will fail to proportionally fill out the breast. There is a narrow range of ideal sizes for each woman’s breast, and your surgeon will help you to understand what is realistic for you.

When considering the choice of incision, the resulting scar isn’t the only factor to consider. The most important thing is that your surgeon uses the incision that allows him to create a pocket into which the implant will sit in the most gentle, accurate, and consistent way. Keep an open mind, and listen to what your surgeon has to say about other relevant issues, such as pain, recovery, accuracy of placement, retention of sensation, and avoiding capsular contracture (hardening of the implants).

If you are thin and can see your breastbone and ribs, don’t expect augmentation to correct a wide gap between your breasts. Some patients and plastic surgeons have the mistaken assumption that larger implants will fill in that space: They will not. Placing an implant under the extremely thin skin close to the sternum will result in fake-looking breasts that could migrate so close together that they form what is commonly referred to as a “uniboob.” (The medical term for this is symmastia.)

All breasts are a little asymmetrical—even after augmentation. Dr. Teitelbaum will do everything he can to make sure both breasts are as even as possible, and can adjust the implant size to correct major asymmetry when necessary. But it’s important to be realistic and accept that a tiny amount of variation will always be present—and almost never be noticeable to anyone but you.

Remember that skin stretches. If your tissue is thin, the implant will be visible no matter what the size. And, just as we have all seen with natural breasts, the larger they are, the more all breasts fall with age. It should come as no surprise that the additional weight of augmented breasts will similarly cause the skin to stretch and sag over time. A good cosmetic surgeon will help you assess what implant will best fit your natural breast pocket as well as examine your skin quality.

Don’t automatically dismiss the idea of a breast lift. If your skin is thinned, sun-damaged, or already stretched, adding additional weight can often cause the breasts to sag more quickly. This seems to be especially common in women who have stretch marks on their breasts, have had babies, or lost a lot of weight. Your surgeon will take measurements of your breast skin under maximal stretch. If the measurements are greater than a certain amount, your surgeon may recommend a breast lift. Heed his or her advice—or do no surgery at all. Proceeding with an augmentation in breasts that really need a lift rarely produces the results desired, and may ultimately just postpone the inevitable and necessitate a lift down the road.

Once you’ve taken the above factors into consideration, weighed your options, and heard what your surgeon recommends, you should find yourself in an excellent position to get the best, most beautiful, and natural-looking breast augmentation results. 

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