Scar Free Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation remains as one of the top cosmetic plastic surgery procedures in the country. The use of a breast implant is a very successful and rapid method of getting breast enlargement due to the immediate placement of the implant device. Getting the implant in place, however, requires an incision somewhere to introduce the implant through into the breast pocket.

indianapolis

Scar free breast augmentation refers to using an incisional approach off of the breast. This is most easily done through the axillary (armpit) region. There are natural skin creases in the armpit (scars always are less conspicuous and heal better when placed along a skin crease) which make placing an incision easy. Also the armpit lies immediately beneath the outer edge of the pectoralis muscle where is where you want to be for breast implant placement anyway.

INDIANAPOLIS

A very small one inch (2.5cm) incision cam be made immediately below the edge of the muscle in a skin crease. Because of this small size, saline breast implants must be used as they are inserted deflated. Meaning they are rolled up like a burrito, inserted through the incision and under the muscle, and inflated after being in position through a long detachable tube. Because of this small incision size, it is not possible to use silicone gel implants because they are bigger being prefilled from the manufacturer. (it is possible to place silicone implants through this incision but it must be made much bigger...as pectoral implants are placed through this same incision)

While there is another non-breast incisional approach to use, the belly button or umbilicus, this requires dissection up through the abdominal tissues which creates pain at two sites rather than just one. I see no advantage to the transumbilical approach over the transaxillary approach.

Scar free breast augmentation has been possible for some time using an axillary incision. Dissolveable sutures are used to close the incision and there is no wound care afterwards. One can shave and use deodorants one week after surgery. The armpit scar heals so well that it is virtually impossible to detect in most patients within months after breast augmentation surgery.

Scar Free Breast Augmentation

Dr Barry Eppley is a board-certified premiere plastic surgeon in in Indianapolis, Indiana where he practices at his Ology Spa locations in Clarian North Medical Center in Carmel Indiana and Clarian West Medical Center in Avon, Indiana. (http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com) He writes a daily blog on plastic surgery, spa therapies, and medical skin care at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com. Dr. Eppley may be heard weekly on his radio show, Doc Chat, on WXNT 1430 Indianapolis on Saturday afternoons.

INDIANAPOLIS

Reconstruction of Breast Lumpectomy Defects With Fat and Stem Cell Injections

Lumpectomies for the treatment of breast cancer is an increasing method of therapy that spares much of the breast. With earlier detection of breast cancer today, less invasive and better breast conservation is now commonplace. Lumpectomies, however, leave indentations and crater-like dents after the cancerous tissue has been removed. Because of the size and location of lumpectomy defects, the traditional use of breast implants for reconstruction may not always result in a satisfactory solution. Other autologous methods of breast reconstruction such as muscle and skin-fat flaps may be too big of an operation for the problem with donor scars that are undesired.

indianapolis 500 evolution

Recent work around the world has led to a new and less invasive method of breast reconstruction for lumpectomy defects. Provided adequate breast skin is present, filling the space where the breast tissue was removed can restore areas of indentations and collapse. Using cosmetic liposuction techniques, fat cells are harvested , stem cells extracted from the fat, and a combination of stem cells and purified fat is injected into the breast defect.

INDIANAPOLIS

This innovative, but not completely proven, treatment is based on the awareness that subcutaneous fat is a rich source of stem cells. Stems cells are pluripotent cells that can be theoretically stimulated to turn into new fat cells. (perhaps this is what happens from crash dieting and then rebound weight gain?) Fat is suctioned, usually from the abdomen or hips, and the stem cells are then isolated through a centrifugation method. The extracted stem cells are then mixed in with the remaining fat and injected it into the breast lumpectomy defect.site. The hope is that the use of stem cells will help keep the transplanted fat alive...or become fat cells themselves. Either way, the volume of injected material remains because it becomes living tissue.

The American Society of Plastic Surgery has issued a specific position paper on the use of injected fat into the breast. In summary, they state the its use and the final results are affected by a lot of different factors, particularly the technique used to harvest, concentrate, mix, and ultimately inject into the breast. The procedure is highly operator dependent. It use in the breast is lacking sufficient scientific studies to determine long-term effectiveness. The decision to use fat injections in the breast is one to be decided between patient and their plastic surgeon.

The use of fat injections, with or without stem cells, has a lot of use and recent history for facial and buttock augmentation. In my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice, my experience with stem cell concentrates is limited but I have often used platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with fat to enhance survival. The combination of cleaned and purified fat, stem cells, and PRP would be the ultimate therapeutic cocktail. This may be a bit of an alchemist's approach, but all the components are autologous and would cause no harm. The goal is how to optimize fat graft survival and maintain volume. I am confident that both PRP and stem cell additions are useful but the question is which one of the two is better. At present, this is unknown. I am beginning a clinical trial in the near future to look at these very issues and how this approach works for breast lumpectomy defects.

Reconstruction of Breast Lumpectomy Defects With Fat and Stem Cell Injections

Dr Barry Eppley is a board-certified premiere plastic surgeon in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana at Clarian Health Systems. (http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com) He writes a daily blog on plastic surgery, spa therapies, and medical skin care at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com Dr. Eppley can be heard on his weekly radio show, Doc Chat, on WXNT 1430AM Indianapolis on Saturday afternoons.

INDIANAPOLIS

How Much Do Breast Implants Weigh?

very common question that most breast augmentation patients ask during a consultation is...how much do breast implants weigh....and which weighs more, silicone or saline breast implants? This question is one of more interest than importance as there are many more relevant issues in deciding between these two implant filler materials than their weight.

indianapolis motor speedway

By weight measurements, silicone gel implants weigh more than saline. This is somewhat obvious by having one in each hand and feeling the weight difference. Although it is a common misconception than saline implants weigh more. The fact that weight differences exist can be gleaned from a simplistic look at the periodic table of elements. Silicon occupies the 14th position

INDIANAPOLIS

and is of the metalloid category of elements. Hydrogen is the first element and oxygen is number 8. Silicone gel is a combination of silicone (14) and oxygen (8), silicone dioxide, for a total atomic weight of 30 compared to saline (water) which is a combination of hydrogen (1) and two oxygens (8 x 2 = 16) for an atomic weight of 17. Although saline also includes the elements of sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl), which would add more weight than just hydrogen and two oxygen alone, its concentration is only 0.9%. For the sake of simplicity, we will discard this minute amount elements and treat the weight as pure water. (at higher concentrations such 3% as in the Dead Sea, this would be a different matter)

But how significant are the weight differences? One cc of silicone gel weighs 0.0375 ounces. For example, a 400cc silicone gel implant would then weigh 15 ozs. (0.94 lbs) and a pair would weigh 30 ozs. or 1.875 pounds. Conversely, a cc of saline weighs 0.0325 ozs. A 400cc saline implant would then weigh 13 ounces (0.81 lbs.) and a pair would weigh 26 ounces or 1.62 lbs. The difference at 400cc would be around 0.2 pounds or about 3 ozs.

How Much Do Breast Implants Weigh?

Dr Barry Eppley is a board-certified plastic surgeon in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana at Clarian Health Systems. (http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com) He writes a daily blog on plastic surgery, spa therapies, and medical skin care at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com

INDIANAPOLIS

Rapid Recovery After Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation is both a popular and highly successful procedure that is done over 300,000 times per year in the United States alone. Some women, however, fear the procedure due to the belief that there is a lot of pain after surgery and that their return to work or normal activities may take several weeks. Breast augmentation surgery today, however, can put the patient back to a near normal schedule within days.

indianapolis 500 hats

Breast augmentation, from a simplistic standpoint, is really a big 'pulled muscle'. In this
case, the pectoralis muscle on the chest is 'pulled'. Breast augmentation, in most cases, is the lifting up of this muscle and placing an implant partially underneath it. No breast implant is completely under the muscle or it would be positioned too high and the nipple would be pointing downward. As the pocket into which a breast implant is placed controls the final shape of the breast, recovery after breast augmentation is really muscular. From a physical therapy standpoint, how do you recover from a pulled muscle? Do you not move it...or bind it up and keep it from moving? The answer is.....use it! Early moving and stretching of an injured muscle is the key to a faster recovery after breast augmentation. You can't hurt the breast implant by using your arm and chest muscles and early movement will not be responsible for an implant 'getting out of position'.

INDIANAPOLIS

In Indianapolis, the approach to a no recovery breast augmentation program begins in the operating room. A dose of steroids is given at the start of surgery and a bioelectric device, known as Actipatch, is placed over each breast before the patient leaves the operating room. This device, which is worn for 48 hours after surgery, helps control pain and swelling. I then start my breast augmentation patients on range of motion arm exercises beginning the night of surgery as well as 800mg of Ibuprofen twice a day also. The goal is to get patients off narcotics in 24 hours, if possible, and be able to get out of the house for dinner or shopping the next day. While not every patient achieves this exact timeline for a 'rapid recovery', this aggressive approach helps make a breast augmentation easier to go through than ever before.

Rapid Recovery After Breast Augmentation

Dr Barry Eppley is a board-certified plastic surgeon in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana at Clarian Health Systems. (http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com) He writes a daily blog on plastic surgery, spa therapies, and medical skin care at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com

INDIANAPOLIS