What is The Cost of a Breast Augmentation?
Breast augments start from $11,999, depending on the type of breast implant selected and whether or not existing implants need to be removed. The price also depends on whether or not the breast pocket must be corrected.
Cohesive gel breast implants are much more expensive for the surgeon to purchase from the manufacturer than saline breast implants, which accounts for the higher cost. Keep in mind, however, that these implants are warrantied for life.
With their incomparable attention to detail, experience, and technological support, Dr. Dr. Bell select the breast implant that is just right for your unique proportions.
What Is The Recovery Period Following a Breast Augmentation?
The initial discomfort after breast enlargement surgery generally subsides after 48 hours. After 2-3 weeks, the breast implants drop down into the pocket, resulting in a more natural appearance.
Breast augmentation surgery takes on average 2 hours. Patients are usually able to return home two hours after their procedure. Time spent in the recovery room will depend on factors such as local or general anesthesia and the extent of your procedure.
What is a Breast Augmentation
Breast enhancement is a plastic surgery procedure that uses high-tech prosthetic devices approved by Health Canada to increase the breasts’ volume, proportion, and shape.
With the use of VECTRA® 3-D pre-op breast imaging, patients can choose the implant whose size and shape best suits their body, resulting in “no guesswork” proportion enhancement.
Dr. Bell is one of Canada’s most experienced cosmetic breast augmentation physicians and have successfully performed over 5,000 cosmetic breast procedures.
Am I a Good Candidate for Breast Augmentation?
If you have realistic expectations and understand the advantages of having breast implants to create volume, shape, proportion, and figure enhancements, you’re a good candidate for breast augmentation surgery.
Breast Augmentation Benefits
Even Out Naturally Uneven Breasts
While all women have some breast asymmetry, some feel uncomfortable with their uneven shape – making it challenging to shop for bras and bathing suits.
Rebuild Breasts After a Mastectomy
While mastectomies can save a life, breast augmentation can help cancer patients and survivors feel like themselves again.
Post-pregnancy
Pregnancy takes a toll on women’s bodies in a number of ways. Breast augmentation is an excellent way to revive lost volume, making your breasts appear more youthful.
Improve self-confidence
Boost your confidence and be proud of your body with the shape and curves you’ve always wanted.
Breast Augmentation Risks & Complications
Like all procedures, breast augmentation comes with the risk of potential complications. The best thing to do is select a trusted, experienced breast augmentation surgeon to minimize the likelihood of complications. Dr. Bell has been performing breast augmentations for over 25 years. Significant complications are uncommon and, in the rare event they occur, are expertly managed.
- Small skin infections: Can be easily treated by an antibiotic prescribed by our team.
- Smaller breast implant than hoped: Our Vectra 3D breast imaging system ensures you select the correct size and projection.
- Hardening of tissue around a breast implant (capsular contracture): Easily managed with a revision breast procedure to remove the hardened tissue.
- Softening/enlargement of the breast implant pocket (pocket expansion): Easily managed with an enhancement breast procedure.
Why The Toronto Plastic Surgeons?
The Toronto Plastic Surgeons facility is state-of-the-art. We have an excellent surgical team that expertly manage your breast augmentation surgery. From pre-consultation to post-op care, we have you covered.
In addition to being a highly sought-after surgeon, Dr. Bell has also served in leadership roles as the head of the University of Toronto Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Training program for over 15 years and was the president of the Canadian Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
Different Types of Breast Augmentation
Silicone Breast Implants
Known for its natural appearance and feel, the silicone breast implant, also called the “gummy bear” breast implant is the most popular option on the market today. These implants are commonly inserted through the under-the-breast incisional approach as they are prefilled.
Saline Breast Implants
Saline breast implants are filled with sterile salt water (saline) solution. The implant can be filled with the solution once they have been placed, making incisions much smaller. Saline breast implants can also be inserted through the armpit or through the areola for minimal visible scarring.
Silicone vs. Saline Breast Implants
Breast augmentation surgery took a great leap forward with the development of semi-solid silicone gel breast implants, sometimes referred to as “gummy bear” breast implants. Silicone breast implants are more “breast-like” in feel and texture than saline implants. And silicone implants rarely ripple or have visible irregularities; they do not leak, and they have a lifetime warranty provided by the manufacturer.
Saltwater saline breast implants have been in use for 30 – 40 years and have the most extended history. Saline breast implants can be problematic: they lack viscosity, and in certain positions, particularly when bending over, you can often see a collapse of the breast implant shell with ripples or visible rib-like structures under the skin. Also, saline breast implants have a risk of rupturing and leaking. Eventually, the saline breast implant can rupture and need replacing.
There is a probability you will have to replace and re-do your saline breast augmentation surgery every ten years.
The cohesive silicone gel breast implant comes in various shapes, textures, heights, widths, and projections. They come with a lifetime warranty that there will be no structural integrity faults within the breast implant. Any fatigue or failure of the structural integrity results in a complementary procedure on the compromised side.
The modern, cohesive silicone gel implant has a smooth, non-textured surface to the shell and is “responsive” in nature, meaning that the breast implant changes its shape to match your position in space and with gravity. When you are standing, the gel implant shifts downward, adopting a more tear-dropped shape, while when lying down the shape of the implant is more rounded.
Breast augmentation patients will meet with Dr. Bell during their consultation. Based on their many years of experience performing breast augmentation surgery, the doctors will use your specific anatomy to recommend the potential sizes, styles, and shapes that would meet your stated aesthetic goals and expectations.
Your surgeon will use the VECTRA® 3-D imaging machine to show you imaging of your figure, shape, and form and select a breast implant that best matches your sense of proportion, shape, and beauty before your breast augmentation.
Breast Augmentation Alternatives
Fat grafting to the breasts is a surgical alternative to implants. The fat is harvested through liposuction from unwanted collections and transferred to the breasts to add volume and projection.
Breast augmentation is a very safe outpatient procedure, usually performed in approximately 60 minutes.
The breast augmentation procedure can be broken down into the selection of an incision, a pocket, and an implant.
The armpit, periareolar or belly button can be chosen for the incision point when saline breast implants are selected as the shell can be rolled up and implanted through a small telescope. Once inserted, the implant is inflated with saline when the breast implant is in the pocket.
A small, cohesive gel “gummy bear” implant can also be placed through a trans-axillary incision.
Generally, for any moderate-to-large-sized silicone implant, the under-the-breast, inframammary incision is optimal.
Preparing for a Breast Augmentation
Like all surgical procedures, breast augmentation patients must take simple steps to ensure the surgery goes as smoothly as possible.
- In the two weeks leading up to breast augmentation surgery, stop drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and refrain from taking aspirin and ibuprofen.
- To prepare for your post-procedure recovery, stock up on ready-made meals and loose-fitting clothes that open with buttons at the front.
- The day before the surgery, wash with antibacterial soap, take any medication prescribed, and don’t eat or drink anything for eight hours before your surgery.
What to Expect Post Breast Augmentation Surgery
During the first 2-3 days after breast augmentation, there will be some pain and discomfort. By the third or fourth day, you may begin to gently massage your breasts to soften the implant pockets and reduce the frequency of wrinkling and the risk of capsule formation. In the first two to three weeks, the implants generally tend to appear swollen and ride a little too high. Then they will drop down into the pocket and assume a more natural appearance.
You will go home wearing an elastic breast band or soft, supportive bra. The band or bra helps keep the breasts in the correct position. Initial discomfort is controlled with oral medication. There may be some sutures that need to be removed.
You can resume light activities almost immediately. Aerobic exercises and upper body strength training can be resumed within six weeks.
It is recommended that you perform a gentle massage on a daily basis to keep the capsular collagen tissue soft and mobile.
The cohesive gel implants used are warrantied for life. They should never have to be replaced in patients with relatively normal activities of daily living, including golf, sleeping on your stomach, normal intimacy, and high impact sports.
Breast Augmentation Recovery
All patients are different, but by following the pre and post-procedure steps given to you by your surgeon, you can expedite the breast augmentation recovery period.
Day 2: You must rest to help the body heal and follow any instructions given by the surgeon.
Week 1: There is a notable reduction in swelling and bruising, and you can likely return to a non-strenuous job as well as resume light workouts. Any activity that involves the pectoral muscles should be avoided for at least 4-6 weeks.
Week 4: Most swelling has subsided, and the implants will have dropped down into the pocket for a more natural look.
Week 6: All normal activities can be resumed, including those that involve the use of your pectoral muscles.
Breast Augmentation FAQ
Is Getting a Breast Augmentation Painful?
All patients experience and interpret pain in different ways. Breast augmentation often involves dissection under the pectoralis major muscle, and there can be significant pain and discomfort for the first 2-3 days and thereafter, the pain becomes more of a “bruised sensation.”
Does a Breast Augmentation Leave Scars?
The surgeon will place the scar in the least visible location, close the opening expertly, and use high-tech strategies to limit the scar length. The under-the-breast incision can be elevated high up under the breast, creating a new fold, which is attached to the underlying tissue.
Not only is the “new crease” placement for the scar difficult to see in the standing or lying position without lifting the breast, its attachment to the underlying tissue minimizes descent or drooping of the implant over time, like built-in underwire support. The actual length of the incision is shortened by using a high-tech insertion device called the “Keller funnel” which is a soft, silicone lined sterile insertion that significantly minimizes the length of the scar, insertion trauma, and potential contamination of the breast implant.
How Long do Breast Implants Last?
The results of a breast augmentation, performed with a cohesive gel silicone breast implant, are designed to last the rest of your life. If your breast augmentation was performed with fat transplantation, there’s a natural loss of fat substance and volume as women age, and there may be a loss of breast shape and size over the 5-10 years following the fat grafting to the breasts.
How do I know if my Breasts Have Stopped Growing?
Breast augmentation should only be considered if your breasts are fully developed. While this is typically around the age of 18, it can vary from patient to patient.
What if my Breasts Are Two Different Shapes or Sizes?
Having two different-sized breasts is very common. Most of the patients who visit The Toronto Plastic Surgeons for breast augmentation surgery have a certain level of breast asymmetry. Breast augmentation can adjust the difference by simply using two different sized breast implants. Your implants may vary according to their volume, projection, or both to make your breasts even and symmetrical.
Will I Be Able to Breastfeed After Surgery?
While breastfeeding is a possibility for those who have undergone breast enhancement surgery, breast implants may affect a mother’s ability to produce milk. A mother will have a sufficient or only a partial milk supply depending on:
- The type of breast augmentation surgery involved and the amount of harm to the nerves or breast tissue
- Whether there is scarring on the milk ducts
- How much working milk-making (glandular) tissue is present before and after the procedure
Should I Combine a Breast Lift with a Breast Augmentation?
The purpose of the Mastopexy Surgery is to lift the breast for a more feminine and youthful appearance. The surgery itself does not increase the size of your chest like breast augmentation; however, patients may request for implants if they wish to increase the volume of their bust.
What Is the Most Common Size Breast Implant?
Women tend to want very different things from their breast implants. Some want to go as big as they possibly can while others prefer a more moderate or natural look. Ultimately, it’s up to you, your preferences, lifestyle, and personal desires!
The most popular implant size is between 350 and 400 cc. In most patients, this translates to a C cup of varying sizes. It’s also worth noting that the top five most popular breast implant sizes all fall between 350 and 500 cc. But again, it’s up to you–you have no obligation to follow in anyone else’s footsteps.
Do Breast Implants Feel Natural to the Touch?
Many breast implant patients are able to go forth into the world without anyone knowing they’ve undergone breast implant surgery. Generally the feel and look of silicone implants is more natural than that of saline. But how much natural breast tissue you have is also a factor. If someone has a lot of their own breast tissue, then the feel of saline versus silicone is not as key because the material is not felt as much as the natural breast tissue that covers it. For patients with very little breast tissue, silicone will certainly feel much more natural than saline.
Can I Transfer Fat to My Breasts?
Yes, you can, and the procedure is known as fat transfer breast augmentation. It essentially uses liposuction to take undesired fat from other parts of your body and inject it into your breasts. This is a good option for women who want a relatively small increase of breast size and prefer results that look and feel natural. Fat transfer breast augmentation can increase breast size by about a half to a full bra cup size. If you would prefer to undergo a breast augmentation without implants and don’t want a huge increase, breast augmentation with fat transfer may be right for you.
What Triggers Breast Growth?
Breast growth is triggered for different reasons at various life stages. Puberty in girls can begin as early as 8 years old and as late as 13. When the ovaries start to produce estrogen, the breast tissue starts to gain fat, which causes your breasts to start growing larger. Additionally, the monthly menstrual cycle causes changes in breast size due to hormones. Breasts can become larger and sore during your period, only to return to normal afterwards. Similarly, during pregnancy, in preparation for lactation, many women experience a temporary growth or swelling of the breasts.
Can I Damage My Breast Implants?
Breast implant damage is rare in instances where healing has gone well, however, with time, the risk of rupture increases. While a saline implant can spring a leak, quickly causing a deflated look, gel leaks out more slowly with a silicone implant, so it may not be immediately noticeable.
Rarely, a rupture can cause capsular contracture (the formation of scar tissue which distorts the shape of your breast). While implants are designed to stay put, they can also shift. If a rupture or shifting occurs, revision surgery will be required to remedy the problem. Whatever the issue, simply schedule a consultation–we’ve got you!
How Long Does It Take for Breast Implants to Soften?
Upon waking up from breast implant surgery, your new breasts are likely to be sitting high up on your chest and feel hard to the touch due to swelling. This is totally normal, so not to panic. Even after the swelling subsides, your breasts may feel hard because the breast pocket has not yet stretched to accommodate your breast implants. Your new breasts will gradually soften and settle as the breast pocket stretches, usually within a 6-month period. Keep in mind that every woman is different, so it may take more or less time than it took for your friend!
How Long Until You Can Drive After a Breast Augmentation?
Breast augmentation is generally performed under general anesthesia, which means you will be groggy for several hours and need someone to drive you home. Post-op, it’s best not to drive until you’re no longer taking pain medications, as they can slow down your reaction time and impair coordination. The majority of patients are off their pain meds after 1 or 2 weeks. Typically, you are safe to drive once you’re pain-free and comfortable turning your head and shoulders. We encourage you to have someone accompany you when you first start driving again, and to avoid very long drives at first.
How Long Do Breast Implants Last?
While breast implants don’t have an expiration date, they aren’t guaranteed for life. The average saline or silicone implant can last anywhere from 10-20 years. However, up to 20% of people have their implants removed or replaced within 8 to 10 years due to complications or aesthetic concerns. Some people develop capsular contracture (hardened scar tissue) around one or both implants, while others have implants that rupture or ripple (develop wrinkles). Others will see their implants shift positions. Weight fluctuations might further change the way your breasts look. Any of these issues might lead to additional surgery.
To learn more about your implant removal and replacement options, schedule a consultation!
What’s the Safest Breast Implant?
Both saline and silicone breast implants are considered safe. While the Food and Drug Administration recommends routine monitoring of implants via MRI after three years, recent studies show little data to support routine screening unless you have symptoms of concern. With some implants, you do have a low risk of developing breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL). Not to be confused with breast cancer, it may require treatment with surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
Based on your anatomy and other factors, your surgeon may recommend one type of implant over another for best results and lower risk factors.
Which Type of Breast Implant Feels the Most Natural?
Silicone or “gummy bear” cohesive gel breast implants feel more like natural breast tissue than saline, as they’re designed to mimic natural breast tissue. However, positioning can help as well: breast implants are placed either above the chest muscles and just below breast tissue (subglandular), or below both breast tissue and chest muscles (submuscular).
While subglandular implants are covered with natural breast tissue, women with insufficient breast tissue may prefer to opt for submuscular implants for a more natural feel, as they are placed underneath any natural tissue. Incision placement and implant shape can also affect how natural your implants feel. Your surgeon will help you choose as wisely as possible!
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