During your initial consultation, the plastic surgeon will inquire about your medical history, prior procedures, medications, allergies, and your motivations for seeking plastic surgery. It is very important that you be thorough when providing your medical history, as this information helps to prevent complications during your care. When asked about medications, be sure to include any vitamin or herbal preparations, as these can affect your blood pressure and clotting ability. Honesty regarding your use of tobacco and alcohol is also very important, as these may have a profound impact on your recovery period and your ability to heal following your procedure.

After reviewing your medical history, your physician should discuss your concerns, priorities and motivations for pursuing plastic surgery, as well as your fears. After examining you, he or she will be able to offer advice and options to help you achieve the appearance you desire. He or she should also explain the advantages and disadvantages of the different options you have before you. You may be shown the different types of breast implants, and you may have the opportunity to “try on” different sized breast implants with a soft surgical bra. This will enable you to visualize how you will appear following your surgery and will assist you in selecting the proper size of implants to meet your expectations.

At the completion of your consultation, you likely will be given a written estimate of the cost of your procedure. At this time, you will also have the option to schedule your procedure if you so choose. The decision to undergo a procedure is a very important one, and the final decision should be given very careful consideration. At no time should you feel pressured to make a decision. You are also encouraged to bring your spouse, significant other, family member, or a friend to your consultation.

Learning everything you can about your options, risks - benefits is key to making an informed decision. See Questions to Ask Your Doctor below.

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Breast augmentation consists of making an incision, lifting breast tissue, creating a pocket in your chest area - placing an envelope containing a soft, natural feeling implant material underneath. An incision may be made in any one of the following places: crease below breast, around areola, under armpit, or, very rarely, through navel.

Breast implants can be placed either under chest muscle or directly under bust. Placement considerations include anatomy of your busts, soreness after surgery, exercise activities (upper body strength - conditioning sports such as weightlifting, tennis, volleyball etc) and interference with mammograms.

Although several breast implants are available at the present time, an implant being used for nearly all breast augmentation surgeries is made of a silicone rubber sack filled with a saline solution. Under certain conditions, such as reconstructive surgery, silicone gel implants can be used instead. Silicone gel filled implants are only offered on a limited basis, under approved studies, due to questions about silicone implants correlated to autoimmune diseases. For further information navigate to the following sites: http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/indexbip.html
MentorCorp.com - manufacture of breast implants

New to market are saline filled adjustable breast implants. These are similar to standard saline filled implants with addition of a small connector tube through which the doctor can adjust the size via injection. If you decide after Breast augmentation is performed that you want to change the size of your chest, the doctor can simply make an injection under the skin of the breast to where the end of the tube is located, and either drain saline fluid from, or increase the saline fluid in implant. This breast implant has the disadvantage of requiring a second incision (and scar) to remove the injection port in an additional surgical procedure. Not all surgeons offer this type of implant. Your doctor will discuss choices of implants, - review with you the size changes that are possible with the operation.

Most likely, anesthesia you receive will be general, although some doctors use a local anesthetic along with a sedative. Anesthesia type should be discussed with your doctor during the initial consultation.

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