Is Post-Op Breast Asymmetry a Sign of a Bad Surgeon?

During consultations, I hear from some women that they are concerned about having asymmetry after breast surgery. Many of my breast augmentation patients felt anxious as they searched for a Los Angeles or Santa Monica plastic surgeon. They want to feel confident in their choice and, most of all, want to enjoy “perfect” results from their surgery.

A few years ago, a study of breast asymmetry found that after breast augmentation, 88% of patients had some degree of asymmetry and 65% of the women had more than one type of asymmetry. These numbers may seem very high, but before we start questioning the skills of plastic surgeons, we should consider the issue from every angle.

While a beautiful result is always the goal, some asymmetry is simply a result of each patient’s unique physiology. For instance, asymmetry following breast augmentation may be the result of slight pre-op asymmetry that has been magnified by the increase in breast size. However, skilled surgeons can minimize asymmetry by:

• Performing a thorough chest wall evaluation before surgery to determine your individual needs
• Carefully choosing your implant size, profile and placement based on your physiology
• Using an areolar (around the nipple) incision to ensure areolar symmetry (if necessary)
• Performing a breast lift in conjunction with augmentation
• Considering inframammary fold position before surgery to help prevent the implants settling in different positions.

Choosing a surgeon who is highly qualified can help prevent some of these issues, but keep in mind that asymmetry is a natural occurrence. Discussing your concerns with your surgeon is a great way to ease your anxiety and find out what he or she can do to help improve your symmetry after surgery.

Tags: santa monica plastic surgeon, breast augmentation in los angeles

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 at 10:19 pm and is filed under Breast augmentation,Plastic Surgeon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.