Breast Augmentation in Houston
One of the most important decisions prior to a breast augmentation procedure is the selection of the breast implant pocket. The clinical manifestations of this may not be apparent for several years since the effects of the implant on your breast tissue may occur gradually. Sagging of the breast may inexorably worsen, especially after giving birth and with aging.
Different Breast Implant Pocket Selections
Total Submuscular (behind the serratus and pectoralis muscles of the chest)
Partial Submuscular (behind the pectoralis muscle of the chest with its origin from the ribs left intact)
Subglandular (above the pectoralis muscle of the chest)
Dual Plane (partial submuscular and partial subglandular/submammary)
Subglandular (Over the Muscle)
Usually reserved for patients who have a substantial breast tissue or mild degree of ptosis (sagging of the breast.)
May be the ideal choice for patients who are avid bodybuilders.
The benefits of this position is the anatomic placement of the breast implant that is not affected by contraction of your chest wall muscles.
A more natural appearance results with the placement of the implant subglandularly.
Implant palpability may occur when the soft tissues are very thin. Thus, it is very important that the plastic surgeon assess the soft tissue of the breast before deciding to place the implant subglandularly.
Faster recovery
The cleavage is narrower with this technique.
Larger implants may be able to be placed above the muscle.
There’s a reduced tendency for the breast implant to ride high, and higher risk of seeing ripples (especially with saline breast implants.)
There's a higher risk of capsular contracture (almost 1 in 4 women.)
Partial Submuscular (Under the Muscle)
Breast animation and distortion may occur when the pectoral muscles contract.
Lower incidence of capsular contracture (approximately 13%.)
Risk of double-bubble deformity of the breast.
More painful than a subglandular breast implant placement.
Decreased risk of the palpability of the implant edges
Decreased risk of rippling
It allows for better view during mammography.
It's associated with a longer period of recovery, and more post-operative discomfort.
Dual-Plane Breast Augmentation
The breast implant is partially covered by the chest wall muscle.
It allows for a more natural appearance while keeping the benefits of having the muscle cover the implant.
The implant is less palpable and less rippling is observed.
Pectoral muscle contraction may still occur with the dual-plane placement of the implant.
There’s also a reduced tendency for the breast implant to ride high, as well as reduced tendency for the implant to lateralize.
This technique has the benefits of both the subglandular and partial submuscular breast implant placement.
The risk of capsular contracture is similar to the sub muscular placement of a breast implant (~13 percent.)
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NO TOUCH TECHNIQUE
Dr. De La Cruz employs the "no-touch-technique" breast implant placement. He utilizes the Keller funnel to introduce the breast implant into the retropectoral pocket. Employing this technique have several advantages. These advantages are:
Reduces the risk of infection
Reduces contamination of the the breast implant
Potentially reduces the risk of capsular contracture
Reduces the stress of the outer shell of the breast implant since there's less manipulation of the implant during placement. Thus, there's a possible reduction of the risk of implant rupture.
Smaller incision
INCISION SIZE
Dr. De La Cruz makes a very small incision when he performs the dual-plane breast augmentation. The incision ranges from 2.5 cm to 3.0 cm. There are several advantages of having a smaller incision:
Smaller scar
The smaller incision, the lesser risk of infection
Lesser risk of implant extrusion (lower chance of the "implant coming out of the wound.")
Lesser post-operative pain and thus, faster recovery
FASTER RECOVERY & MINIMAL DOWNTIME
The downtime after your breast augmentation with Dr. De La Cruz is very minimal. For example, if your surgery is done on a Thursday or Friday, you can potentially go back to work the following Monday.
Due to the very small incision (2.5 cm to 3.0 cm) that Dr. De La Cruz uses for your breast augmentation, the post-operative pain is very minimal. Thus, there's less usage of narcotic pain medications.
FOLLOW UP
Your follow up appointments are included in your breast augmentation package.
Dr. De La Cruz will follow your post-operative results very closely. The typical follow up appointments include 1 day after surgery, 1-2 weeks after surgery, 2 -4 weeks after surgery, 2-3 months after surgery, 6 months to 1 year after surgery, and yearly thereafter or as needed.
