On one hand, women considering breast augmentations today have never had it better. There are more breast implant options than ever in terms of size, shape and materials.
On the other hand, are there too many?
Too Many Implant Choices Today?
Houston-based board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Camille Cash is torn on that question. “Sometimes I think we do but I really think that we have so many choices and so many tools in the toolbox,” Dr. Cash says. “Sometimes I think some of the implants may be redundant. But there is an opportunity for every product on the market, because you have women of different sizes, their chests are different, their chest walls are different.”
A good point considering there are a variety of breast surgeries that also require an implant, not just cosmetic augmentation – women facing reconstruction following mastectomy for example. “[Patients are] having cosmetic surgery. They’re having reconstructive surgery. And so to have a gamut of implants customized to the dimensions of the patient’s body, is very exciting and it’s about using all the tools you can and making the correct selection for the patient,” Dr. Cash adds.
Today’s Implant Variety
Technology pushes the envelope in every arena, including plastic surgery and breast implants! “You have so many different types of implants available now – from the amount of fill in the shell of the implant. So many different profiles,” explain Dr. Ashley Gordon, a board certified plastic surgeon in Austin. “Five or six profiles of implants and so there really is, I think, the perfect implant for every patient. I think it’s up to the surgeon to really figure out what is the look they’re going for. How much volume do they want? And taking those measurements to figure out which implant is going to fit their frame will also give them the look that they want.”
With Variety Comes Bigger Decision
For many, many years, there were only a few options to be had, which made the decision making process fairly straight-forward for both patient and surgeon alike. Now, with the largest array of options in breast augmentation’s history, the decision making process is more nuanced, with great surgeons spending more time consulting with patients than the actual length of the procedure.
The communication during the consult process is incredibly important, and can really define the look not just immediately post-op, but over the next year, 10 years, or even 20 years. Bodies and minds change over the course of decades.
“I felt like a year ago women were leaning toward smaller sizes because in years past I think their friends would say ‘you should go bigger, I wish I had gone bigger.’ So women were going a lot larger for awhile,” says Dr. Gordon. “And then last year in my practice I felt there was a subset of women who felt I know my friends and all of their implants are too big for them. It’s making them look top heavy. They’re starting to look a little chubby. And so there was a trend for just downsizing a little bit I think.”
For women who received implants prior to the explosion of options, downsizing and/or revising their breast augmentation just got that much more exciting. After all, these new implants aren’t just for first-time patients, but also those looking to revisit their augmentation and make a new change for a new place in life.