Surgery

Anesthesia

General anesthesia is almost always used with breast augmentation surgery, especially for placements under the muscle. This allows the patient to sleep through the ordeal. Local anesthesia with sedation may be used for an over the muscle placement.

Location

Surgery can be performed at a surgical setting or an office facility, or a hospital outpatient facility. Occasionally, a patient will check into the hospital and stay a day or two.

Procedure

After the patient is put under anesthesia, she will be cleaned up and marked with a surgical marker. These lines, dashes, and circles are a guide for the surgeon. Finally, the area is sterilized. During the procedure, the surgeon will lift the breast tissue to create a pocket for the implant. This pocket could be either above or below the pectoral muscle. If it is below the muscle, the muscle must be separated or dissected from the chest wall. An endoscope may be used with the axillary or transumbilical methods. The empty implant is positioned, and then first pumped with air to help open and stretch the tissue and the pocket. Next, the surgeon molds and positions the implant manually until satisfied. The air is suctioned out and then filled with saline to the predetermined volume. At this point the patient may be sat upright to check for symmetry and levelness. If all is satisfactory, the fill tube is removed and the valve is sealed. Drainage tubes may be placed to facilitate removal of blood and other fluids that amass during surgery. Finally, the incision is sutured or glued closed and the patient may be wrapped in special bras and bandages.

The surgery takes between one and three hours depending on the placement of the implant and the skill and experience of the surgeon.