Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Articles

When you’re considering a breast augmentation, it’s natural for your mind to drift to one place: size. How large should I go? And while the size of your breast implants is, of course, a significant consideration, it shouldn’t be your only consideration. Here are a few others that’ll help ensure that your breast augmentation results in natural-looking (or striking) breasts that complement your body shape.

Fullness

Breast implant sizes aren’t the same as bra cup sizes, which can be a little disorienting. It’s important to know how they’re measured in order to have a good reference point.  Breast implants are measured by volume, usually in cubic centimeters or milliliters. The higher that number, the larger the implant and the more it will project outward.

An implant’s diameter—its width at its widest point—is also going to affect its projection. Two implants with the same volume but different diameters will project differently. The one with the wider diameter is going to be a bit flatter and project outward less than the narrower implant.

Shape

Not all breast implants are the same shape, either. They can be round or teardrop-shaped. Round implants basically have the same level of fullness all the way around, whereas the teardrop variety is fuller below the nipple, mimicking a breast’s natural contour.

Profile

Profile also plays a role in the fullness of your breast implants. Think of it this way: High-profile implants sit higher on your chest and appear more rounded, while moderate-profile implants look comparatively subtle. The latter tends to be favored by women seeking a natural-looking upgrade, while the former is preferred by those with a more dramatic flair.

Your own inherent qualities

Much as you may be dreaming of much larger breasts, it’s not quite as simple as just picking the right type of implant. Your body shape and frame are going to dictate, to a certain extent, the magnitude of your augmentation. If, for example, you have a narrow chest or a small frame, you’ll be limited in the size of the implants you can wear safely and comfortably. But you could still opt for high-profile implants, which will help them appear even larger than they actually are.

You’ll also want to consider the entirety of your lifestyle. Tempting as it may be to picture yourself flirting with your significant other in a new, low-cut black dress, ignoring your HIIT Saturday-morning workouts and that adventure-seeking other side of yourself could eventually make your high-profile breast implants feel like more of a hindrance than a step up.

Your plastic surgeon will have all of this in mind when you sit down for your consultation. But having at least a basic familiarity with these nuances should go a long way toward shaping breasts that you’ll love for years to come.

For more on breast augmentation and how to select the right breast implant, tune into Dr. Steven Davis’s podcast, The Plastic Surgery Revolution.

We’re seeing new med spas pop up all the time, but what are they, exactly? The reality is they run the gamut from glorified nail salon to state-of-the-art skincare clinic.

Med spa (short for medical spa) is actually more of an umbrella term than a precise descriptor. It encompasses everything from a treatment room within a plastic surgeon’s office to a storefront in a strip mall where you can get a mani-pedi with a side of Botox.

A big reason for the discrepancy is that med spas are pretty loosely regulated. A med spa, for example, can be affiliated with a doctor, but even that can mean anything from having a board-certified plastic surgeon on site, supervising every procedure, to a doctor who doesn’t even specialize in skincare merely lending his or her name to the establishment (for a cut of the profits, naturally).

Which, then, begs the question: Why take the risk, even for a procedure in which the risk of complication is relatively slight?

So, beyond the extent of the treatments, the differences between most med spas and a board-certified plastic surgeon’s practice basically come down to mission and expertise.

If you like that, you’ll love this

A med spa, in a nutshell, provides treatments that target cosmetic concerns. But its aim is to capitalize on those treatments, yes, by luring you back for additional treatments but also by selling you products that supposedly complement your treatment.

Back in the day, when department stores were a thing, you’d step up to the glass skincare display and ask for a particular facial moisturizer. But it was never that simple because the woman behind the display was compelled to show you serums and oils and other creams from the same collection, all of them meant to function as a whole, not in pieces, she’d say.

Most med spas are kind of like the modern-day department store skincare counter. You may come in for a particular treatment, but you shouldn’t expect to leave without being bombarded with multiple sales pitches.

What’s really going on here?

Now, if you anticipate it, there’s not necessarily anything wrong with that—unless you interpret it as a truly comprehensive approach to your skincare and wellbeing. The treatments at a med spa are provided by an aesthetician, not a board-certified plastic surgeon, which means that no diagnosis is being made. Nor is the treatment taking into consideration anything other than your immediate concern.

An aesthetician specializes in skincare from a purely cosmetic perspective, not a medical one. You could walk into a plastic surgeon’s office and ask for the same treatment, but that doctor’s going to take a much different approach, a more clinical one. He or she understands the nuance of the anatomy and aging, so they’ll consider your medical history, skin type, and sensitivities that influence the use certain products and procedures.

It’s a more meticulous approach to your concern. The surgeon is not only treating it but also trying to pinpoint the underlying reason for it. So, where a med spa may send you home with an armful of products and the promise of a better tomorrow, the surgeon is the only one actively working toward that end.