I am 32 and I am planning to have a breast augmentation (something discreet) and a liposculpture within the next two weeks, but also I would like to get pregnant of my second baby in about 10 months. I did not get any stretch marks at all from my first pregnancy, but I am really concerned that the breast implants or the Lipo will cause them when I get pregnant again. Any opinions?
Brenda,
Stretch marks - Unlikely to be caused by surgery, but expected after pregnancy
Stretch marks ("striae") are a common occurrence after rapid weight gain or stretching of the skin, as in puberty or pregnancy
A breast augmentation and liposuction would be very unlikely to create stretch marks, so long as the breast implants were not so large that they caused massive stretching and tearing of the dermis of the breast skin. By a "discrete" breast augmentation, I assume you are aiming for a natural, subtle result. This would be highly unlikely to create any striae.
Stretch marks result from when the skin "stretches" beyond its ability to spring back and actually tears the deeper layer of the skin. The most common circumstances are pregnancy or significant weight gain. Why some women get stretch marks and others do not is largely a product of genetics and who their parents are. Unfortunately, not much else. You can control this to some degree by limiting or controlling your base weight, but with pregnancy, there is not much you can do.
Thus, taking away tissue in procedures such as liposuction, the likelihood of stretch marks is almost zero. Breast augmentation can result in striae, but in your case a "discrete" augmentation is very unlikely to cause this, especially when pregnancy did not result in abdominal stretch marks.
The biggest question is why undergo body sculpting and breast augmentation procedures less than a year before you intend to get pregnant again? If you were my patient, I would recommend that you weight until the next pregnancy is complete to begin your "transformation."
Unfortunately, I have had patients who did not develop stretch marks during their first pregnancy, but then did with second or third child. Thus, the surgery you need today may not be the one you need next year! If you weren't pursuing another child then I would say go for it; otherwise patience can be a valuable virtue.
You are lucky that you did not have stretch marks following your first pregnancy. This may be because of your age and genetics. Hopefully, you will continue to enjoy a body free of stretch marks. However, changes occur with each and every pregnancy, and you may discover some new striae after your next pregnancy.
Question:
I feel that my implants are way too small (I got 300 cc under the muscle). I feel like my surgeon did not properly advise me on choosing a size. I wear the same bra size! Any suggestions?
Answer:
Many, many women wish they had chosen larger Breast Implants. Most often the reason is that they were "afraid they would look too big" and expressed this fear to their surgeon.
But you can always have surgery to increase the implant size, but if you just got the implants, my first advice is to wait a few months before considering a revision. The position and shape of the breasts does change in the initial postoperative period, so it is wise to allow some time for this. Also, if you have 300 cc implants in and wear the same bra size, you probably were wearing the wrong size bra either before or after the augmentation. I always tell patients we cannot guarantee a cup size because each brand of lingerie fits differently, and you can be completely different cup sizes depending on the brand. Generally speaking, 150-200 cc of added volume adds roughly a cup size, but each body shape and bra type is different so this is not a strict conversion. No surgeon should promise cup size, since there are no standards in size.
If you are not happy with your current size, exchange procedures for bigger implants are very successful and there is much less pain and discomfort than the original procedure. Most of the time, the same incision can be utilized (no new scar) and all the pain and discomfort from the original stretching and pulling does not occur with the exchange procedure. Don't go doctor shopping. Why? Your surgeon is in the business of helping you fulfill your dreams and will try hard to get you where you want to be
Doubt about proper breast size is at the top of the list. Right after the procedure I often hear that a patient may feel the implant is too big, and sometimes that the implant may be too small. As a rule these feeling diminish and patients become quite pleased.
Therefore you need to wait at least 6 months to see how you really look, then make a decision.This is because the soft tissues need to accommodate to the implants. Initially, implants are placed in a pocket behind muscle, gland, fat, and skin. If the tissues are pliable, the implant can push the tissues forward easily, If things are tight, particularly the muscle, it might take a couple of months for the tissues to stretch and loosen up so the implant can do its work. When implants are placed below the muscle, they may appear 10% to 20% smaller because of the flattening effect of the muscle. Thus, implant sizers placed in a bra can create a look that's larger than the final size.
Many times patients have said they wish to be a small "C" and will present pictures that are clearly closer to a "D" cup. There are a number of possible pitfalls when choosing the appropriate breast implant size. Usually people refer to volume but there are several other things to classify implant types . The implant width is probably the most important factor to know when determining an particular implant for an individual. The second most important thing is the profile. The profile refers to how much the implant sticks out from the chest. The higher the profile the more unnatural (stripper) the implant will look. The enlarging effect of an implant is also affected by the height, weight and chest width of the woman, so all of these factors need to be considered before surgery.
