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Breast plastic surgery myths about operations and real fears of patients
Everyone wants to have beautiful breasts, and some decide to have surgery for this. Three plastic surgeons from Novosibirsk clinics told what fears of the patients surprised them the most, and what really should be feared.
First fear: implants will not take root
Vadim Egorov, Doctor of Medical Sciences, plastic surgeon, full member of the Russian Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (ROPREH): “The materials from which breast implants are made are not perceived by the body as alien. Therefore, there is no rejection. In 90% of operations, the implant is placed under the muscle. The implant has no contact with the mammary gland ”.
Petr Rogazhinskas, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Assistant of the Department of Postgraduate Medical Education of the Institute of Medicine and Psychology of NSU, a plastic surgeon using Mentor implants: “Many have a fear of implant rejection, as people without medical education tell unthinkable stories on forums. It is important to understand that no one will answer your questions more competently than a professional, and it is better to spend time on consultation, and not on forums. “
Second fear: the breast will lose sensitivity after the operation
Vitaly Igumnov, Candidate of Medical Sciences, a full member of ROPREH, a certified trainer in laser liposuction of the Fotona company, a certified trainer in APTOS methods, winner of the Golden Lancet award: sensitive, but within 2-4 months everything is completely restored. “
Vadim Egorov: “Unfortunately, there are such anatomical features of the innervation of the mammary gland that after the operation the nipple may lose sensitivity. This happens quite rarely and not through the fault of the surgeon, but due to the peculiarities of the patient’s anatomy. It is impossible to predict. “
The third fear: what if it turns out that the left and right breasts are of different sizes or shapes?
Vitaly Igumnov: “This is not a myth, asymmetry and deformation of the mammary glands are quite real. I happened to correct such consequences of unsuccessful operations: I had to change the implants placed under the gland, which contoured – changed the pocket and shape of the breast ”.
Fourth fear: what if the implants are displaced?
Petr Rogazhinskas: “The most ridiculous and unexpected fear that worried the patient was when one of the most famous plastic surgeons in Novosibirsk convinced her at his consultation that with axillary (axillary) access, the implants migrate to the shoulder blades in a week. This myth was dispelled by showing the patient in the atlas of anatomy the structure of the chest and the results of his work. “
Fear number five: my new boyfriend might not like it
Vitaly Igumnov: “A girl came to the consultation who wanted to remove the implants. After the operation, about 7 years passed, the aesthetic result was good, but the new young man of the girl was against implants, one of the conditions in the relationship was their removal. The patient had to be dissuaded, since removal would lead to significant deformation of the breast and a negative aesthetic result. “
Other fears and real stories of the most difficult operations – on the next page.
Sixth fear: what if the operation provokes breast cancer?
Petr Rogazhinskas: “A lot of studies have been carried out on this topic, which prove that there is no direct connection between endoprosthetics of the mammary glands and the development of oncological diseases. On the contrary, the patients who have made their breasts are much more anxious about the annual preventive examinations. “
Vadim Egorov: “There is no scientific evidence that implants increase the risk of breast tumors. In the 80s and 90s, a large study was carried out in America on the incidence of breast tumors in women. It turned out that the incidence of breast cancer is the same in women who received implants and those who did not undergo mammoplasty. “
The seventh fear: what if the surgeon makes a mistake and nothing happens at all?
Vadim Egorov: “Fear of surgery is normal. After communicating with the surgeon, the patient should feel confident that everything will be successful. There must be trust. Most of the girls come to us, having studied the Internet, chatting on the forums, where, as a rule, a “guru” appears who gives advice to everyone without having a medical education and does not bear any responsibility for her stupid recommendations. After talking and reading, the girls fall into a panic state. They try to independently choose the size and shape of the implant, and in 99% of cases this turns out to be the wrong choice. This is very disruptive to work. We often come across situations when the authority of a virtual “guru” from the network is higher than the authority of a plastic surgeon. We have to convince by examples. It’s good that experience and authority make it possible to refuse what I disagree with and not to carry out the operation. “
Eighth fear: the operation may fail and the consequences will have to be corrected
Vadim Egorov: “We know all the complications that can occur during an operation on the mammary glands. For example, American statistics show that in 15% of cases after breast augmentation, additional corrective surgeries are performed during the first year. Every plastic surgeon faces complications. Most often this is the asymmetry of the mammary glands, an insufficiently aesthetic form. Therefore, we have to carry out additional operations both after our colleagues and after ourselves. But the main thing is that we always achieve what we want. “
Petr Rogazhinskas: “The most unpleasant complication is capsular contracture, the occurrence of which does not depend on the work of the surgeon, and it cannot be regarded as an unsuccessful operation. This is the body’s reaction to a foreign body. All surgeons can have such complications, and they have to be dealt with by surgery. Every practicing surgeon necessarily corrects the consequences of the so-called unsuccessful operations, their own or those of others. This can be both the asymmetry of the mammary glands due to the displacement of incorrectly selected implants, and the elimination of postoperative scars, and much more. “
The most complex operations from real practice
One is, the other is not
“There are no simple operations in surgery. But I remember one girl with a pathology called Poland’s syndrome. This is the absence of a mammary gland, a pectoralis major muscle on one side. Moreover, the opposite breast is of a good shape and size, – says Vadim Egorov. – It is clear that you have to use various tricks to hide a natural defect, to wear a bra with pads. Putting on a swimsuit is a very big problem, not to mention intimate relationships. I had to carry out several staged operations. We saturated the subcutaneous tissue with adipose tissue. Then the skin was stretched with a special implant. And only then were they able to install a breast prosthesis. All the operations were not so difficult for me technically, but they required a lot of painstaking work. As a result, we got a very good result ”.
From the third attempt
“I had a very difficult patient: she had a mastectomy (surgery to remove the breast), and then there were two unsuccessful attempts at implantation with an interval of 6 months – sutures diverged or there were suppurations. I undertook to help her, although it was, perhaps, the most difficult breast surgery in my practice, – said Vitaly Igumnov. – The operation was successful, to date, this observation is 2 years.