What Are Your Long Term Breast Enhancement Options?

Breast enhancement procedures are typically referred to as being “effectively permanent.” That’s because these procedures will permanently change your body in ways that, left to their own devices, would not be reversible. But that doesn’t mean the effects of those procedures are equally permanent.

Your Long Term Breast Enhancement Options

The other reason that the term “effectively permanent” is deployed is simple: results from breast enhancement procedures are designed to last for decades. And, for most people, that’s permanent enough.

That’s only one of the reasons why patients want to know what their long term options are. In some cases, patients want to know whether certain procedures are reversible or can be altered at a later date. That may be possible for some breast enhancement options, but it depends on the procedure itself. The results of breast augmentation may be reversible in a sense. But the results of a breast reduction would not be reversible in the same fashion. In most cases, your decision about which breast enhancement option to undergo will be governed by your desired final results. But it’s nice to know how long you can expect those breast enhancement results to last.

Breast Lift and Breast Reduction Results

The results of a breast lift or breast reduction will likely last several decades, but there are several factors that may complicate that timeline. In many cases, breast reduction and breast lit procedures are performed to reverse specific signs of aging (those signs of aging may be accelerated by life events, such as pregnancy).

• Breast Lift results will be effectively permanent and lasts for many years, in most cases. However, the factors that lead to a change in breast orientation (gravity and a loss of elasticity in the skin) will continue to impact you. But, having reset your “starting point,” you’ll have many years to enjoy perkier, more youthful looking breasts.
• Breast Reduction is used when a patient wants to eliminate excess tissue from the breasts. This excess tissue can develop due to genetics, weight loss, weight gain, or any number of factors. So it’s possible that if those underlying issues do not change, breast tissue can again accumulate. But usually that takes time–a lot of time, giving patients years to enjoy their results.

Both breast lift and breast reduction are permanent plastic surgery procedures that will make lasting changes to your body. It’s entirely possible that, should you undergo one of these procedures, you would never have to worry about excess or sagging breast tissue again.

Breast Augmentation

In order to perform a breast augmentation procedure, an implant of some kind is required. In the vast majority of cases, a silicone breast implant is used to achieve the desired final results (silicone implants offer a range of benefits, including a more natural look and feel). Breast augmentation is an effectively permanent plastic surgery procedure, but the look of the results can be (more or less) reversed by removing or replacing the implant.

This is accomplished in one of two ways:

• Breast Implant Revision Surgery: In some cases, patients want to remove and replace their breast implants. This can occur for a wide variety of reasons. Some patients may simply want to move to a smaller implant size (to better reflect changes in their personality, for example). In other cases, the implant might be approaching its shelf life and be recommended for replacement. When an implant revision procedure is performed, the old implant is removed and a new replaces it.
• Breast Explant Surgery: In some cases, it might be appropriate to remove a breast implant that is no longer wanted. That’s when a procedure called “breast explant surgery” is usually used. During a breast explant, implants are removed and the breasts are allowed to return to their original size. This option is often employed by patients who no longer feel their implants reflect who they are as a person–so they get them removed! There are a wide variety of motivations that make breast explant a tempting option for patients–each one depends on the individual involved.

How long your breast enhancement results last will depend significantly on which procedure you undergo and how well you follow through on self care items. However, all of these procedures will make permanent changes to your body. For most patients, the goal of any plastic surgery procedure is to enjoy those results for as long as possible–no matter which breast enhancement procedure you’re looking into.

Every patient is different, so if you want personalized information on how long your breast enhancement procedure will last, schedule a consultation with Dr. Charles Polsen, a plastic surgeon serving the Clear Lake and Houston areas.