In my earlier article I shared the statistics of the ASPS 2014 for the most common plastic/ aesthetic surgery procedures. Breast Augmentation was ranked on number 1.
To enlarge or correct a lack of volume or an asymmetry of the breast, one needs to insert breast implants. The vast majorities of implants consists of a silicone shell and are filled with silicone gel. Although there are still the saline filled ones in the market, they are not been used that often anymore.
In terms of shape one has to distinguish between the anatomical and round shape. The anatomical shape imitates the shape of a natural breast with more volume in the lower part and less in the upper, whereas the round implant is shaped like a dome. I will not go any deeper in the science of shape and dimension of the base, the gel cohesiveness and shell texture in this article.

My focus today is on the difference between round and anatomical implants. It is an interesting fact that depending on the region of the world you live in the ratio between anatomical and round implants used in breast augmentation differs immensely.
For instance, in Europe much more anatomical implants are used, than in USA or the Middle East. The reason for this may be, that European women prefer a more natural look of the breast, thus preferring the anatomical implants, whereas in the USA and Middle East tendency is more towards a fuller upper pole by using round implants.
Another reason is that surgeons prefer round implants because they think using anatomical ones is more complicated and bears the risk of implant rotation.

 
From my personal experience in using routinely both anatomical and round implants, I can firmly say, that using anatomical implants is as safe and practical as round ones. Only the breast condition of the patient should dictate which implant to choose. I still see too many slim patients with round implants resulting in a fake or “done” looks, whereas they would have been served much better with the anatomical ones. I am confident that over time and with constant education of the health professionals we will see less and less of this artificial looking breasts.

Please find below an interesting article about the most common plastic/ cosmetic surgery procedures in the US.

In my next blog I will talk about the most common procedure, which is breast augmentation and the different types of Implants.

 

The top five cosmetic surgery procedures of 2014, according to newly published plastic surgery statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Source: Top 5 Cosmetic Surgery Procedures 2014 | ASPS

I’ve been often asked how it is even possible for a prospect patient to choose the right Plastic Surgeon.

Well, obviously most people feel confident in following referrals through friends and relatives, which usually is quite helpful. However, make sure that the surgeon you’ve been referred to, has done the same procedure on the referrer that you seek. To put it straight, only because he or she did a fabulous job on the liposuction with your friend, does not mean that the face lift you are looking for, will be done at the same level.

You should spend some time in searching the internet and have a fair idea of the education and experience of your doctor. If a fancy website does not provide much information about these important facts, what does it mean? Would a professional who has undergone a decent education not mention it on the website? Definitely she or he would.

Once you decided to visit your chosen doctor, make sure to have prepared some questions that you would like to ask. One of them would be: “What is your experience with this kind of surgery?” or “How many procedures have you done personally?”.

Listen carefully to the answer, not so much to the figures the doctor puts forward, but much more to the tone and confidence in the answer. Last but not least ask for some before and after pictures of similar cases the doctor has done personally.

At the end you will have to decide based on these facts and your gut feeling.

Have a beautiful day.