Options when revising a breast augmentation are better than ever

There are a number of reasons patients might decide to seek a revision for their breast augmentation. Dr. Lou Bucky of Philadelphia tells us that these patients typically fit into two camps: sometimes patients are unhappy with the first attempt at augmentation and, in other cases, it is simply time that brings patients back into his office.

By: Louis P. Bucky, MD
and Chris Knisley
The Plastic Surgery Channel

Reasons For Revision

Though the science of plastic surgery grows every day, the human variable persists. Each body is unique and so comes with its own unique challenges, seen and unseen. It is the charge of the surgeon to recognize these challenges and account for them accordingly. Even then, the effectiveness of a surgeon’s preparation and execution might not be apparent until the body’s response to surgery is played out.

In some cases, surgery does not produce the expected result. The result might not fit the expectations of the patient or the surgeon, or either! In such instances, the possibility for revision breast augmentation is brought forth quickly. The patient will seek to revise what at first did not turn out. They may return to the original surgeon or they may look for another. Unless the circumstance is beyond reparation, a return to the original surgeon is recommended, as they will be the one with the most intimate knowledge of the surgery and its possible failures.

However, some patients will elect to find another surgeon. This is a choice that should not be made lightly. The new surgeon will be a new face in an old scene. Be sure, as always, that any surgeon of choice is fully capable and competent in the procedure or procedures that will accomplish what is necessary. Seeing if a surgeon often performs revisionary procedures is a good start.

The other type of patient, initially satisfied with their result, returns only to adjust an augmentation as their body has adjusted over time. Patients of this kind are often seen a decade or more after the original surgery. These patients should be relieved to be re-entering the surgical discussion at a time when surgeons are at their most equipped, scientifically and methodologically.

Work that was done ten years ago is not done the same way today.

The New Revision

Many patients fitted with heavy saline implants are returning a decade later to find lighter silicone implants that come in a much greater variety of sizes than their saline counterparts. In this way, surgeons are equipped to immediately improve upon an older augmentation.

Also available to surgeons is a technique called Simultaneous Implant Exchange for Fat (SIEF). In this scenario, a revision can see the use of implants altogether replaced with the use of a patient’s own fat cells, granted that patient has an excess of fat to offer.

Whether faced with an undesirable result or an emerging situation of bodily growth and transformation, board certified plastic surgeons are well-equipped to revise. Due to the advances in surgical technique, implant technology and alternatives, much can be done to assist patients in getting desirable results. Patients and surgeons now, more than ever, have access to a range of options great enough to serve the unique circumstances of so many unique bodies.