These breast implants are not approved for use in the United States and I have never used them in my practice. The concern is only relevant for patients who have had breast augmentation outside the United States.

The only gel breast implants approved for use in the United States are manufactured by American companies and adhere to strict quality and manufacturing requirements.

The FDA requires extensive bio-compatibility testing on all its breast implants as described in their administration’s Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data. These guidelines have resulted in silicone shells that have been tested and shown to possess excellent strength, resilience and elasticity.

If you have any concerns or questions about what is going on in France please do not hesitate to contact our office. If you had breast augmentation surgery outside the U.S. and would like to remove or replace your gel breast implants just please let us know.

So why switch to silicone breast implants?

A silicone gel implant is softer than saline, mushier and generally more natural looking. A gel implant softens the transition from the chest wall to the upper portion of the breast.

So who might make the switch?

- If you wanted silicone in the first place but had your breast augmentation surgery back when silicone was not available in Maryland.

- If you are very slender with little breast tissue and wish to look more natural.

- If you have rippling from a saline implant that bothers you. Silicone gel implants can ripple too but they ripple the least.

- If you’re saline breast implants are old and you’ve been considering an exchange anyway.

- If you’ve thought about changing your size.

To find out if switching to silicone is right for you and learn more details just contact us through my web site or e-mail my assistant Pei@washingtonplastics.com for a complimentary consultation at one of my three locations in Annapolis or Rockville, Maryland or in McLean, Virginia.

If you are interested in correction of inverted nipples, breast augmentation, reduction or another type of breast surgery procedure in Maryland or Virginia; contact my practice today to schedule a consultation.

Unfortunately, the body does not always do as good of a job restoring itself. Following child-birth skin loses elasticity and breasts often lose even more volume than they started with before pregnancy. The combination of loose skin and diminished volume can leave the breasts deflated and saggy. The abdominal wall can remain loose despite exercise, and weight can be unbearably difficult to lose. These affects are often discouraging for many women.

After pregnancy, and in general, I always encourage my patients to be healthy and attain a comfortable weight. This doesn’t imply stick thin and certainly does not involve crash dieting. It simply means a realistic weight that can be reasonably maintained.

Unfortunately, sometimes doing the right things such as eating an appropriate diet and exercising are not always enough. That is where I come in. The first part of my involvement is a consultation and physical examination to see if a patient would be healthy enough to undergo a Mommy Makeover and which procedures such as tummy tuck, breast lift, breast augmentation, liposuction, labioplasty and or another type of procedure they would benefit from. Safety must always come first and surgical treatments can only proceed after a clean bill of health is ascertained.

Here are the most common procedures or treatments I offer my postpartum patients in the area of Maryland and Virginia.

Breast Augmentation
Breast lift
Breast lift and augmentation
Tummy Tuck mini or full
Liposuction
Labioplasty

This is certainly not a complete list of the procedures that I perform in the postpartum patient, but these measures are in many ways the most gratifying. These are the options that many people initially explore with trepidation and ultimately regret not pursuing sooner.

If you are interested in learning more about the mommy makeover, contact Pei at our practice today to learn about special pricing for procedures booked in August. We have three convenient locations, Rockville, Maryland; Annapolis, Maryland; and McLean, Virginia.

What to ask during your consultation for breast augmentation:

1. What are your credentials?

*The only board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties in the field of plastic surgery is the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Your plastic surgeon should be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery as this will ensure he has undergone extensive training and met all standards as deemed by the Board.

2. What plastic surgery societies are you a member of?

*Certain societies such as the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons only accept applicants after they have received certain certification, training and met their society’s standards.

3. What hospitals are you affiliated with?

*Breast augmentation is an outpatient procedure and can be performed in an accredited surgical facility. However, some individuals prefer to have breast augmentation in a hospital. Additionally, in the unlikely hood of an unforeseen event, it is important to know which hospitals in your plastic surgeon has privileges to operate at.

4. If you have not already done so, ask to view before and after photos of breast augmentation patients.

5. What breast augmentation techniques do you perform and how many have you performed for each technique?

6. What techniques do you provide to improve healing if any?

7. Do you offer techniques that utilize instruments that will provide less trauma to the breasts?

8. What does the recovery process entail following breast implants?

9. What medications or technology do you provide to reduce swelling, inflammation, and speed up recovery if any?

10. I am allergic to ______? Will this have an effect on which breast implant I am able to have and or could I have a reaction due to this allergy?

It is important to disclose your full medical history at time of consultation so your plastic surgeon is able to give you the best advice possible based off your needs.

If you are considering breast enhancement surgery, consult with board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Adam Tattelbaum, contact his office today.

What I do in breast augmentation is attempt to find the best balance of all these opposing forces. Saline breast implants offer some flexibility because I can change the volume. I will often adjust the size of saline implants intra operatively to find the best overall balance of shape versus volume.  When you change the volume of a saline you change its shape.  If the dominant pectoral muscle is thicker than the non dominant I may back off the volume slightly.  If a patient is droopy I may keep the volume to give lift and projection even if the upper pole is fuller.  In some situations I will use a lager breast implant on one side.  The larger implant will have a greater diameter, but may keep a better shape rather than just over filling the same size implant which would make it pointier.  In cases of extreme asymmetry I may use a high profile implant on one side and moderate or low on the other. 

If one breast is higher than the other I may have to drop the fold of the higher breast down so that the upper portion of the implants will be symmetric.  This is a balance and trade off as well.  Often the higher breast will have a higher nipple.  Dropping the fold can make the higher nipple even higher—again a trade off for the goal of overall symmetry.

Silicone gel breast implants look and feel more natural.  The smooth round implants which I prefer are technically not tear drops but when upright they take on a teardrop shape.   To me they are the preferred implant in very slender patients with little breast tissue to cover over the implant.   In patients with droop a saline implant may be preferable. While technically less natural saline implants are fuller in the upper portion and give more breast elevation in the patient with droop.

Each patient, each case is different and augmentation is about finding the best balance. Contact my office today to schedule a consultation to meet with me. Together we can determine the best implant size and type that will meet your needs.

The best way to treat the bigger disease is prevention. In my cosmetic surgery practice I have a few rules of thumb when considering breast augmentation.

1.) We talk about the bigger disease from the get go so patients can incorporate it into their breast implant size decision making. If the patient is agonizing between two implant sizes I will generally urge on the side of slightly fuller because implants tend to look smaller inside the body than they do in sizing bra’s.

2.) We size implants extensively at the initial consult (I think trying on actual implants is the best method), and we have pretty much an open door policy encouraging women to try on breast implant sizers as many times as they like before the surgery. It is best to be confident of your decision before the day of surgery. Each of my offices is stocked with high, moderate and low profile sizers for your breast.

3.) Bring a friend, relative or significant other to your sizing session along with a work blouse, casual blouse or sweater and even exercise clothes. It’s good to have a second opinion from a friend or loved one. Making sure that you are comfortable in work and play clothing is important as well.

If you’re considering breast enhancement contact my office today to schedule a consultation. I look forward to helping you achieve a sense of balance through breast augmentation.

While the breast certainly plays an important part, to me the key is a sense of balance when I look at the entire person and especially the hips.

Prospective Breast implant patients are taken to an implant sizing room in my office where we keep implants to try on in all sizes. Before I walk into the consultation, the breast augmentation patient has often already chosen and is trying on the smallest breast implant in our sample drawer.

I think the conventional wisdom is that “smaller” will always be more natural. I try to instill in my breast implant patients that “balance” is more natural.

Small breast implants tend to be narrow which may be just fine for a very narrow chested breast implant patient. But in the average breast augmentation patient a breast implant that is too narrow for the breast will tend to look like a torpedo. A breast implant that is too wide will make the patient look “top Heavy”.

Breast augmentation patients’ Height makes a huge difference as well. Tall people will look very different than shorter people even with the same implant.

During my breast implant sizing sessions we first find the breast implant diameter that fills the chest appropriately and has enough diameter to balance with the curve of the hips. Once we like the diameter I can then change the size of the breast by looking at high, moderate or low profile breast implants in that same diameter.

If you look at the breast augmentation photographs on my web page I always try to include the hips so patients can see the overall balance. Breast implant photos that only show a “Box of breasts” tells only a small part of the story.

I encourage all my breast enlargement patients to come to the sizing room as many times as needed to try real breast implants on their frame. Many come with friends or spouses. Many breast augmentation patients will bring different blouses or sweaters with them.

Breast augmentation is an important and long term decision. If it’s something you have been considering I encourage you to come in and search for a sense of proportion as well.