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Breast enhancement surgery, which is also called breast enlargement or breast augmentation surgery, is one of the most popular cosmetic surgical procedures for women.  Over 350,000 breast enlargement procedures were conducted in the US alone in 2008, as shown by data provided by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, which confirms the popularity of the procedure.

 Women consider breast augmentation surgery for a variety of reasons.  This type of operation may be used to address an asymmetry of the breasts, as well as to reconstruct the breasts following a mastectomy or other surgical procedure; the term “breast reconstruction surgery” is generally used in cases of this nature.  Surgery is also commonly used to deal with genetic conditions involving the breasts such as micromastia, which results in severe underdevelopment of the breasts, or other conditions involving the complete absence of one or both breasts.

 Most commonly, though, the majority of women who elect to undergo breast augmentation surgery do so simply to enhance the appearance of the breasts.  Detrimental social effects are commonly a result of misgivings about one’s looks, including the appearance of the breasts.  An appropriate way of preventing or correcting these problems, then, is to tackle their basic cause.  With this in mind, the popularity of breast enhancement is not surprising.

 There are a number of different methods in use in terms of breast enhancement surgery, each of which may be particularly well suited to the individual depending on various factors such as the amount of augmentation desired, physical characteristics, operations undergone previously, and others.  All breast enhancement procedures involve the use of implants.  Two basic types of breast implants exist: saline implants and silicone implants.

 Of these two types, saline implants are the less popular one, and are made of a silicone elastomer shell which, after initially being implanted during the surgical procedure, is filled with a a saline solution, containing water and salt.  That saline implants are filled after insertion makes them somewhat more versatile in comparison to silicone implants.  By the same token, saline implants are considered to be useful only for less drastic procedures.  They’re also slightly susceptible to wrinkling and rippling, and they are thought to be more obvious to the touch compared to silicone implants, although there is some disagreement on this point.

 Conversely, silicone implants are filled with a silicone gel, while using a silicone elastomer shell not particularly different from that of the saline implant.  Silicone implants, like saline implants, have been in use since the 1960s, but the nature of silicone implants has seen changes gradually over time.  Today’s silicone implants are significantly different in comparison to the ones used back in the 1960s; a semi-solid gel is now standard, and this all but completely eliminates the problems with leaking that first-generation implants, with their more liquid-like gel, often experienced.

 Different techniques are used for the surgical procedure itself.  The most commonly used method for breast enhancement surgery is the inframammary incision method.  This method makes use of an incision in the area just below the breast, called the inframammary area.  An implant can be inserted through this incision.  The inframammary incision method involves perhaps the least risk of complications of any kind of breast augmentation procedure, and the scars left afterward are usually well concealed below the breast afterward.

 An incision is placed around the border of the areola in the periareolar incision method.  Silicone implants cannot be used for this type of procedure, as the incision used is too small to accommodate their size.  On the other hand, this procedure does allow for the surgeon to alter the position of the breast significantly, which may be requested by the patient in some cases.

 Depending on a number of factors, the surgeon may be required to make an incision farther away from the breast; this can also be requested by patients who are adverse to scarring appearing in the vicinity of the breast.  The transumbilical incision is an incision made in the navel area, which can be performed simultaneously with a tummy tuck, while a transaxillary incision is an incision made below the armpit.  In both cases, the surgeon may use an endoscope in order to help with the correct positioning of the implant.  Both of these procedures are usually only carried out using saline implants.

 As with any type of surgery, there are some risks involved in breast enlargement surgery.  Additionally, after undergoing this kind of operation, the patient will usually be required to observe a recovery regimen lasting at least six weeks, and strenuous exercise must be avoided during this time in order to make sure that the operation is a success in the end.