Breast reduction surgery, or reduction mammaplasty, is a life changing procedure for women whose breasts are too large and heavy for their frames, whose breasts are uneven in size, and for those whose breasts sag or droop due to age or breastfeeding. In addition to improving self-esteem and improving physical activity, many women seek breast reduction surgery to get relief from neck, shoulder and back pain.

The Mayo Clinic advises women considering breast reduction surgery to discuss all facets of the surgery with several board certified plastic surgeons. The surgeons will assess their candidacy for surgery and determine whether reduction mammaplasty is appropriate for them. Women should ask questions regarding the procedure and post-operative care to establish appropriate expectations.

In fact, obtaining this information prior to the appointment will allow a patient to form more specific questions about the breast reduction. A frank discussion with the surgeon should alleviate fears and provide the patient with a realistic expectation of the outcome. She and her physician will decide together the most beneficial amount of reduction and the best time for her to have it performed.

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery warns women of child bearing age that mammaplasty may hinder their ability to breast feed. They further warn that pregnancy, childbirth, and breast feeding, if the woman is able to do so after breast reduction surgery, could change the shape of her breasts. They stress discussing future pregnancies with the performing physician.

Reduction mammaplasty is performed under general anesthesia in a surgical facility and may require an overnight stay. If the patient is released the day of the surgery, she must have a ride home and should have a caregiver for at least the first night she is home. Driving is usually prohibited for six weeks.

Recognizing the disabling effects of larger breasts, many insurance policies cover at least a portion of the cost. A diagnosis of female breast hypertrophy with its attendant consequences and disabilities or reconstructive breast surgery which results in breast reduction is usually compensable. Breast reduction for strictly cosmetic reasons is seldom covered.

There are many variables in surgical technique including how the incisions are placed and the maximum amount of reduction advised, so a prospective patient might consult more than one plastic surgeon before making her final decision. Each consultation will be educational and help the woman decide whether or not this procedure will benefit her.

Benefits of reduction mammaplasty range from relief of physical pain formerly associated with the strain and weight of the breasts to finally getting a full night’s rest. The ability to buy lacy or pretty bras for the first time in years delights most patients. Shopping for bras and tops in a regular store instead of by catalog or at larger sized stores makes shopping fun again for most.

A world of activities opens up to women after breast reduction surgery. Some play tennis or racquetball for the first time. Others join a bowling league or gym, no longer embarrassed or hampered by their super-sized breasts. For all, the absence of those extra pounds of breast flesh seems to be a huge relief.

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Breast lift surgery can help return confidence and self-esteem to any woman who is self-conscious about her breasts. Please visit the Newport Beach breast lift website for more information about this and other plastic surgery procedures.

by Erich Shrefler

Breast sizers allow the individual to get an exact idea and feel for the varying breast sizes before actually committing to a surgery. Breast sizers can take the guesswork out of the infinite possibilities of shapes and sizes. Furthermore, this will cut down on interminable surgeries that often occur as a result of being disappointed, but usually by this time, it is too late and more surgery appears to be the only feasible option.

There are numerous reasons why sizers are infinitely important before engaging in breast enhancement:

1. Breast sizes and shapes should be look at in an experimental or exploration stage. Using breast sizers you will be able to test variability. You may find that the breasts are too big or too small, thus requiring more expensive surgery.
2. Although breast surgery these days is very safe, it is still surgery, which means putting your body under stress numerous times, when using a sizer to prevent numerous surgeries.
3. Sizers allow the infinite experience of having varying sizes, whether larger, rounder, smaller, more separated etc. A sizer allows you to play with different alternatives. Another important factor to consider is that on certain women large breasts may be attractive; however, those breasts that looked amazing on this woman may have a less desirable effect on you. Therefore, bypass those countless surgeries and explore the many options first.
4. The varying sizes should be examined in multiple situations and with different outfits. You may have a dress that you look beautiful in, and perhaps when you put the sizers in, you immediately noticed that the dress was now less flattering. To make the situation more complex, maybe those same size breasts look good in one of your favorite blouses. At least with the sizers, you will have the ability to weigh these decisions before undergoing the knife.
5. Woman’s body changes throughout the month, thus subjecting her to varying degrees and shapes. Perhaps throughout most of the month, smaller breasts look good, but on a rare few days maybe large breasts appear to look best; then utilizing the sizers can accurately show the fluctuations, and allow you to make an appropriate decision relating to these changes.
6. Women most of the time like to get larger breasts after the initial surgery. So many women are afraid to go large at first, but after falling in love with them, they often seek out another surgery. This seems to be the case more often than not.

Women should actively try varying sizers in day to day situations: Going to the mall, perhaps running errands, or spending time with a friend, may give you the accurate feedback pertaining to which size works best.

Breast Augmentation is selective surgery. Most women seeking this form of surgery are unhappy with the appearance, size or even shape of their breast. A woman’s breast is the focal point of a man’s eye. Men have certain areas of a female’s anatomy that draws their attention. One area is the breast. Men seem to be obsessed with the size of a woman’s breast.

Even though a woman may be extremely beautiful, if they do not have large breast, they tend to feel as though they are less appealing to men. And in some instances it can be so. When a woman is in the company of other females, they tend to compare themselves. If they see more anatomy on the other females, their confidence takes a blow. Let’s face it, in this world of ours, rarely is one drawn to another based on knowledge. The major enticement is physical attractiveness.

Humans are quite superficial. We look twice, three or even four times at a persons features if there is appeal. If the breasts are large and well rounded, a woman gets her fair share of attention.

Most women in Hollywood have had their body enhanced. Generally, the very first part an actor will work to change are the breast. They will pay nicely to have their breast enhanced. A nice body gets them the job one way or another.

If you are looking to have your breast enhanced, please remember to make sure, you have done your homework. Never have the work performed by a surgeon you have not checked out thoroughly. For the sake of money, some will do anything.

A few years ago, Donde West died after having breast surgery. Ms West was not having her breast enlarged; she was having a breast reduction. However, the facts are, there are still questions as to the certification and reliability of the physician who performed her surgery. Prior to her procedure, the surgeon had been arrested several times for driving under the influence.

The reason I mention this is because, it is imperative that the credentials of a surgeon are investigated completely prior to signing documents or prior to calling for an appointment.

Not all physicians are the same. Their qualifications can vary from the grade C student to the grade A student physician. You never want a surgeon who was not at the top of his class operating on you.

By checking the surgeon out completely, preparing yourself mentally, assuring you have had the best physical checkup prior to the surgery, you should come out of the procedure with a very nice change in your breast.

Things to Do Before Deciding To Have Breast Surgery

• Choose A Surgeon – Check with the American Medical Association to obtain information regarding surgeons in your area.
• Research – Know what the risk and advantages are.
• Decide – There are several types of breast implants available. Make sure you know the advantages and disadvantages of each.
• Corrective Procedures – Anything can happen. Discuss with your surgeon corrective procedures

Remember, before having any surgical procedure performed, always check with your family physician. No cosmetic surgery is worth your life.

Have you ever known someone who has had repeated breast augmentations just to change her breast implant size? You probably do. It is the leading cause of patient dissatisfaction and the primary reason women go back for a subsequent surgery. So how can you make sure you get it done right the first time? How can you avoid the expenses and risks of changing your breast implant size? The first step is to take the decision seriously and to go beyond stuffing your bra with a rice bag while struggling with the decision.

It is surprising how patients have made this critical judgment in the past. One woman I know said she made the decision as she was going under anesthetic– “Just make them a C cup”, she told the doctor. With a decision this important, do you really want to make the decision anything less than completely sober? After all, you are going to be living with your breast size for a long time to come!

Unless, of course, you go back for another operation.

Consider the importance of the breast implant size decision–you are changing the shape of your body through surgery. If you were buying a new car, you would certainly take it serious enough to at least take a test drive, wouldn’t you? My guess is you would not even buy a new pair of shoes without trying them out first.

In recent months the industry has given rise to breast implant sizing systems. Getting it right means investing a breast implant sizers and wearing it for a few days or even weeks in your normal daily activities. The best way to choose your breast implant size is to experience what it is like to have larger breasts before you make the decision.

Like a larger, padded bra, a breast implant sizing system allows you to develop a real sense of how you will feel about your body after receiving breast implants. Some of the sizers are designed just for standing in front of a mirror, while others are designed to live with and wear for a while. By spending a few days out wearing various breast sizes, you will begin to know what breast implant size is right for you.

How can you avoid the biggest mistake in breast augmentation? Take the decision seriously, but have fun with it at the same time. Wear a breast implant sizing system to get results with which you will be satisfied.
By: Ned T James

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The most recent innovation in breast implant sizer technology is the Purlz Breast Sizing System. For women considering breast augmentation, Purlz are a welcome aide in choosing their breast implant sizes. Unlike other systems, Purlz look natural when worn within a bra. You can wear virtually any type of clothing when using Purlz and no one will know the difference except for your great new look!

Commercially made breast implants were first available in the US in 1958, and over 200 different implant types and designs have been made since then. Experts estimate that 60% of these were silicone gel filled implants with the exception of 1992-2006, when the FDA moratorium was in place. During this time, saline filled implants dominated the market. Dow Corning dominated the implant market for the first 30 years, but over 15 other companies made breast implants during the 1980s. Although Congress gave the FDA authority to regulate medical devices in 1976, breast implants had been “grandfathered in”, and few of the products underwent rigorous testing in clinical trials prior to sale on the open market. Regulation of breast implants did not occur until 1991, when the FDA asked companies to submit premarket approval applications. As a result, the implant industry was caught “blind sided” when the FDA demanded comprehensive data with a 90-day deadline for completion of all safety studies. With the simultaneous onslaught of thousands of lawsuits, the implant manufacturers were caught in a vice between the new demands of the FDA, the chorus of “expert witnesses” claiming silicone-immune links, and the tidal wave of litigation. Without good data to defend silicone implant safety, the industry collapsed in less than three years. In 1992, the FDA banned the use of silicone gel filled implants outside of an FDA-approved research protocol due to concerns of safety. During the 1990s, all but two of the breast implant manufacturers went out of business or stopped making implants as a result of the breast implant litigation. In 1996, the courts appointed a National Science Panel that reviewed over 2,000 medical documents and heard testimony from legal, medical, and scientific experts. The panel released their findings in 1998, concluding that there are no identifiable associations between the use of silicone implants and disease. In 1999, the National Academy Institute of Medicine issued a 455-page report that concluded that connective tissue diseases, cancer, neurological diseases, or other systemic complications are no more common in women with breast implants than in women without implants. In 2006, the FDA lifted the moratorium on silicone gel filled implants, with the condition that the two remaining manufacturers did large post approval studies involving 81,260 patients over a 10-year period starting November 17, 2006.

Today most patients in the US are choosing silicone gel implants for both cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery again, but the capsular contracture (breast hardening) rates are no better today than they were in the 1960s when these implants were first developed. In retrospect, capsular contracture was the major complication with the first attempt at augmentation in 1890 and is still the major complication with breast augmentation in 2009. Despite this well known fact, the majority of the attention given to implants over the 119-year period has focused on implant rupture and unsubstantiated claims that implants cause systemic human disease.

Current silicone gel filled implants in the US are what many call “4th generation” implants, which have much stricter manufacturing standards and testing standards. “5th generation” implants have already been in use in Europe for ten years and in Canada for five years, but are still not approved by the FDA. These “5th generation” implants are cohesive gel implants commonly referred to as “gummy bear” implants. The advantages of these implants include less rippling and the lack of gel extrusion/leak if the silicone elastomer shell breaks. There are also hopes that these implants would have a lower capsular contracture rate, but preliminary evidence suggests that contracture is still a major problem as with all previous generations of implants.

We must learn from the history of silicone gel implants and not repeat history again. Good scientific research must precede commerce and marketing. The cost of bringing a new implant to market has exponentially increased as a result of FDA requirements and legal risk. Now most new implants are first being tested in Europe or South America and often are approved decades there before approval in the US. Many clinical trials are being done worldwide on existing implants and on new implants before US market approval is obtained. Long term studies still need to be done on implant rupture rates. Innovations need to be made to reduce the most common complication, capsular contracture, which still occurs today after 119 years of history.

By: Mai Brooks

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Dr. Mai Brooks is a surgical oncologist/general surgeon, with expertise in early detection and prevention of cancer. More at www.drbrooksmd.com, thecancerexperience.wordpress.com and progressreportoncancer.wordpress.com.