What You Need to Know About Cosmetic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery

Naturally, we all want to look good and stand out from the crowd. However, this is not always the case, as things such as aging and other factors take their toll on our bodies. For women, one of the biggest concerns has to do with the appearance of the breasts. Whether it happens due to age, pregnancy, or any other factors, your breasts will lose their natural appearance at one point. In some cases, your breasts may not develop quite as you thought, even without the impact of other factors. As such, you may try to find ways to change your breasts’ fullness, shape, or size. The good news is Matthew J. Lynch MD, a board-certified cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgeon, can help you transform the appearance of your breasts for the better. Whether you do it to improve your self-confidence or self-image or view it as a way of achieving physical relief, breast reconstruction surgery can offer a solution.

What Procedures Does Breast Surgery Include?

1. Breast Lift

As you age, your breasts may lose their firmness and shape due to various factors such as gravity, pregnancy, and nursing. As your skin becomes less elastic, your breasts may start sagging. A breast lift, or a mastopexy, is a surgical procedure that can reshape and raise your breasts, so they do not appear saggy. It can also reduce the size of the darker skin surrounding the nipples, referred to as the areola.

2. Breast Reduction

Also known as reduction mammoplasty, breast reduction surgery is mainly done for physical relief rather than cosmetic enhancements. If you have huge breasts, you may experience different medical problems stemming from excessive weight. Common issues include back pain, neck pain, skeletal deformities, breathing complications, and skin irritation. Additionally, you may feel very self-conscious due to huge breasts.

A breast reduction can help make your breasts smaller to prevent any medical issues while improving your physical appearance at the same time. However, this procedure is not recommended if you intend to breastfeed.

3. Breast Reconstruction

During breast reconstruction, you will work together with your surgeon to recreate the appearance and shape of your breasts after a mastectomy. There are two types of breast reconstruction surgeries, including implant-based reconstruction and autologous reconstruction. The implant-based reconstruction is a multistage procedure where you use a temporary implant to expand the tissue to the desired size. After this, the surgeon will fix a permanent implant made of silicone or saline. In autologous implant surgery, a surgeon will use your tissue to recreate the breast. They can extract the graft tissue from either your abdomen or back.

4. Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation (breast mammoplasty) is the use of breast implants to improve the breasts’ shape, fullness, or size or restore the bust line by one or more cup sizes. During this procedure, a surgeon will insert saline or silicone implants at the back of the muscle wall.

In summary, cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery helps improve the appearance of your breasts and prevents medical conditions associated with different breast sizes. It includes various procedures such as breast augmentation, breast reconstruction, and breast lift surgeries.