Breast Augmentation in Houston, Pearland & Clear Lake, TX
Breast size, shape, and projection all influence your overall appearance. To feel your best, you may want to correct some aspects of your breasts. Whether that is to refine shape through reduction, restore a perky shape via breast lift surgery, or enhance the volume of your breasts with augmentation, you need an accomplished plastic surgeon in your corner.
Are you tirelessly searching for the best doctor to get Breast Augmentation Surgery in Houston? Dr. Kimberly Carpin is a well-known plastic surgeon who offers her highest standard of care to each and every patient. She is dedicated to overdelivering and wow-ing her patients with beautiful, natural-looking surgical outcomes. Dr. Kimberly Carpin has helped countless patients get results well beyond their expectations.
Breast Augmentation (also known as Augmentation Mammoplasty) by Dr. Kimberly Carpin serving Houston, League City and Clear Lake, TX, can enhance breast size, fullness, and projection, or can improve breast asymmetry. Many patients benefit from a boost in self-confidence and improved body image. We want you to make an informed decision about your breast augmentation and be satisfied with your results. Dr. Carpin will provide you with a fully customized breast evaluation to help you select your perfect breast implants.
What is Breast Augmentation?
Breast augmentation is a well-known plastic surgery procedure that is sought by women who want to enlarge their breasts. Beyond this basic description, there is much more to breast augmentation than simple enlargement. When you consult with Dr. Carpin, you can expect to discuss the many factors that influence the appearance of your breasts. Size is only one factor. Additionally, she will observe the height of your breasts on the chest wall, the projection of your breasts and potential breast implants, and also overall shape. Getting breast augmentation means considering how much cleavage you want to have, where the fullness of the breasts will sit (upper or lower pole), the size and location of your nipples and areolas, and more. Because there are so many tiny details that lead to your surgical outcome, planning your breast augmentation with a skilled plastic surgeon like Dr. Carpin can be incredibly exciting!
What Will My Breasts Look Like After Breast Implants?
When you undergo the breast augmentation procedure with a board-certified plastic surgeon who has extensive training and experience, you will be given a very good idea of what to expect in terms of results. During your consultation, it is perfectly acceptable to ask all of the questions that come to mind, especially those that pertain to your cosmetic outcome. For example, you may want to ask how much your cleavage may improve after getting breast implants (this depends on the distance between your breasts at the time of surgery). You may want to ask what shape to expect based on your skin and your implant choice.
In a broad sense, the appearance of your breasts after getting breast implants should look very natural. While your preferences are certainly an important factor, your plastic surgeon will also consider how your breast size and shape will fit into your overall body frame. If you are very slender with little body fat, having extremely large implants may look unnatural. When considering breast implant size and profile, the doctor will observe details of your body like your shoulder width and hip width. With precise measurements, you can receive the ideal breast implants for your shape, resulting in breasts that look harmonious with the rest of your body.
How Long After Breast Augmentation Do You See Results?
You can expect to see an increase in breast size as soon as you wake up from surgery. You will be wearing a compression garment at that time, so your chest will be somewhat bound, but not so much that you cannot see some of the change that has taken place. When you return to the office for your initial follow-up soon after surgery, your breasts will look tight and swollen. They will not be a good indication of your final outcome from surgery. It can take a few months for the tissue around your new breast implants to completely relax, allowing the breasts to settle into their natural position. Even during the healing process when the breasts are high and tight, most of our patients are extremely happy with their new shape!
What Makes Someone a Good Candidate for Breast Augmentation?
Most women who are interested in enhancing their breasts through enlargement can be good candidates for treatment. During your consultation, Dr. Carpin will ask about your cosmetic goals and expectations. To be happy with the outcome of breast augmentation, it is essential that you understand her anticipated results and that they are in line with what you want to achieve. You must be in good physical health and cannot smoke around the time of your surgery. Provided that you are generally healthy and do not have a condition that could significantly increase your surgical or post-operative risks, you should be a fine candidate for breast augmentation.
Types Of Breast Implants Available
FDA approved breast implants include silicone gel and saline-filled breast implants. Breast implants come in natural (teardrop) and round shapes, which can have a different appearance depending on your body habitus. Implant selection will be based on your body type and overall desired look.
Silicone gel implants are safe and are now made with a cohesive gel, which does not “leak” like the earlier generation implants.
Breast implants external shell can be smooth or textured. Textured implants tend to move less in the breast pocket, which is important for tear dropped implants to reduce rotation.
Breast augmentation Procedure
Breast augmentation is performed in the hospital, and patients are placed under a heavy sedation or general anesthesia. The procedure takes about one hour. The incision is typically concealed under the breast or around the areola. The breast implant is then placed carefully in a surgically created pocket under the chest muscle or breast gland. The incisions are closed with sutures. Numbing medication placed during surgery helps decrease the discomfort after surgery. You will be placed in a dressing after surgery, and be changed into a soft bra the next day during your first post-operative visit. The patient is free to go home shortly after the breast augmentation surgery.
What are the different options for implant placement?
When you opt for breast augmentation, beyond the implant type, you’ll also make many other decisions. One of these will be how you want the implants placed, meaning where will the incisions be made. Dr. Carpin will discuss your options with you and help you make your choice, along with the other decisions. She places implants through three incision locations: periareolar, inframammary, or transaxillary. Here’s more information on each.
- Periareolar incisions — As the name suggests, these incisions are made just outside the dark skin of the areola on the lower side. These incisions become almost invisible after healing. The implants can be placed above or below the pectoral muscle. Placing it below the muscle can limit the possibility of infection and lower the risk of capsular contracture. This incision type can limit the size of silicone implants.
- Inframammary crease incisions — This incision is made just above the crease on the underside of the breast. While this placement allows the scar to be hidden beneath a bra or bikini top, this incision type still creates the largest scar. In most cases, implants placed through this incision are placed atop the pectoral muscle; placement beneath the muscle dictates cutting the muscle. This incision can handle any size of implant.
- Transaxillary incisions — These are made with a vertical incision in the armpit. Dr. Carpin may use an endoscope for better viewing of the breast pocket with this incision. This incision leaves no scarring on the breasts, and the line in the armpit will become virtually invisible with time. Implants can easily be placed behind the chest muscle without any cutting. Plus, nipple sensation and later breastfeeding is unaffected by placement through transaxillary incisions. Recovery can be a little harder with this incision.
What are the benefits of breast augmentation?
For many women their breasts are central to their body image. Choosing to have breast augmentation isn’t just deciding to have larger breasts: it’s really a question of how you see your figure and if that affects your self-confidence.
If you’ve never been satisfied with the size or shape of your breasts, you’re constantly reminded every time you try on clothes or even when you get out of the shower in the morning. Breast augmentation can change all of that, and it can give you more self-confidence. When buying a new bathing suit or dressing for a dinner party, having larger breasts or a shapelier figure can change the way you see yourself, and that can give you a big boost in self-confidence.
Year in and year out, research conducted with women who have had breast augmentation show satisfaction levels in the high 90-percentile range. Satisfaction with this procedure is among the highest of any cosmetic procedure.
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Would I be a good candidate for breast augmentation?
The decision to have breast augmentation is a completely personal one. If you’ve never felt your breasts were proportional with your overall figure, augmentation can change that. Asymmetrical breasts can be made symmetrical and larger, should you choose. Or maybe you’d just like to have larger breasts.
If you have serious sagging, either from pregnancy and breastfeeding or from gain and loss of a good deal of weight, you should consider having Dr. Carpin perform a breast lift with augmentation. This will remove excess, sagging skin prior to adding implants.
One thing that Dr. Carpin emphasizes during consultation with her potential breast augmentation patients is that this decision needs to be for you and you alone. The decision to augment your breasts should not be made for a spouse, partner, or anyone else. This needs to be something you want…for you.
Recovery After Breast Augmentation
Patients will most commonly experience discomfort, swelling, and fatigue for a few days after the breast augmentation procedure. Medication for pain and a muscle relaxant will help control the discomfort. Breast tenderness, swelling, and sensitivity can last several weeks after surgery. If implants are placed under the muscle, you will notice the implants tend to appear higher on your chest wall. They will begin to settle into place after a few weeks.
Most patients can resume driving and return to work after one week. Light exercise can begin at 2 weeks. Patients are limited from heavy exercise for about 4-6 weeks. Early in your recovery your scar will appear to have pink hue for several months but will continue to fade and lighten over the next months.
Breast Augmentation Before and after
Breast augmentation surgery includes increased breast volume, slight breast lift, and breast implants measured to fit your chest and body proportion, giving you a naturally beautiful result.
What will my scarring be like after breast augmentation?
Your scarring is a direct by-product of your incision choice. If you have your implants placed through incisions around the areolae, the incisions are well hidden. If you have implants placed through the transaxillary method, you will have a two-inch vertical scar in your armpit, but that becomes virtually invisible quite quickly. That method does not leave any scars on the breasts themselves. The most noticeable scarring comes with the inframammary crease incision. These incisions just above the breast crease at the base of each breast will be visible, although they are not long incisions.
how much does breast augmentation cost?
The cost for breast augmentation surgery varies, on average between $5,000-$5,900. The cost of surgery will depend on the implant type, as well as additional procedures that may be required to optimize your result. After consultation, a personalized quote will be given to you, including the surgeon, hospital and anesthesia fees.
Will my breasts look natural after augmentation?
Dr. Carpin takes pride in delivering very natural-looking results with these procedures. Yes, your breasts will be larger and more full, but she doesn’t create showy results. In the beginning, it can be a little disconcerting because your augmented breasts can seem too high on the chest. This is normal, as it takes a little time for the implants to settle down into their breast pockets. The massage discussed above helps with that process.
The goal for these procedures is to give you more shape and size to overcome issues you’ve had with your breast size or shape in the past.
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Risk of Breast Augmentation
Breast augmentation is safe and well tolerated. The most common risks after surgery are breast pain and swelling.
Patients with breast implants are at risk for breast capsular contracture, which occurs when thick scar tissue forms around the breast implant and becomes painful and hard. Additional risks will be discussed during the consultation.
Is breast augmentation painful?
It surprises many patients that recovery from breast augmentation is not difficult. We’ve had patients equate the feeling afterwards to being similar to the aching after an intense upper body workout at the gym a day or two prior. After your surgery, Dr. Carpin will have your breasts bandaged and you’ll be wearing a surgical support bra. We’ll prescribe pain medication, but many women don’t feel the need for anything more than over-the-counter options. Your incisions are not long; your pain is more tightness in your chest and aching, rather than acute pain. After one day, you’ll return to our offices and Dr. Carpin will remove the bandages and check to be sure your healing looks to be going smoothly. At this point, she will show you how to massage your breasts to relax the muscles and help the implants settle into their breast pockets. This type of postoperative massage has been proven to significantly reduce the risk of capsular contracture (where scar tissue contracts and hardens around the implant) and decrease discomfort.
Most patients can return to work approximately 3-5 days after surgery. Your sutures will be removed after one week. You’ll wear a support bra 24 hours a day for one month after your surgery so as not to place any stress on your incisions. This is very important. Normal activities can resume in 1-2 weeks, but any impact exercise will need to wait for one month. Upper body exercise, such as lifting weights, will need to wait for six weeks.
Breast Augmentation FAQs
You have several options for breast implants including gel or saline filled, smooth or textured surfaces, and round or natural (teardrop) shapes. Implants come in a variety of sizes as well. Silicone gel implants are available for women over the age of 22 years or any patient undergoing breast reconstruction.
During your consultation, Dr. Carpin will measure your body to help you choose the volume and size of breast implant needed to achieve your desired look. You will be allowed to try on different breast implants sizes to simulate the augmented look.
Yes, they are safe. There may be complications with breast implants, but rigorous scientific research has shown that they do not impair breast health. Additional scientific research by the Institute of Medicine has found no direct link between breast implants and autoimmune or other systemic diseases.
There is a very rare association between breast implants and anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
The ability to breast-feed varies from women to women, and most of the time breast augmentation will not interfere with breast-feeding. If there is any concern, it is recommended to wait until you complete your pregnancy and lactation before breast augmentation. Certain procedures can increase the risk for damage to the breast lactation glands, and this can be discussed during your consultation.
Studies published have found no evidence of leakage of silicone into breast milk and no differences of silicone levels found in milk from mothers with implants versus without.
Schedule a Breast Augmentation Consult in Webster, TX!
Please schedule a consultation with Dr. Carpin to discuss if you are a surgical candidate, and to review the risks, benefits, alternatives, and expected outcomes of the procedure. Call (281) 333-4600 or fill out the form in our contact page. Dr. Carpin offers breast augmentation for patients in Houston, League City and Clear Lake, TX and surrounding areas, including Friendswood, Pasadena, Kemah, Seabrook, Galveston, & Pearland.
575 E Medical Center Blvd –