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Breast
Reshaping After Weight loss
Weight
loss following morbid obesity weight loss surgery, pregnancy,
or simply as a result of diet and exercise can lead to significant
physical changes in the appearance of women's breasts. Most
individuals following significant weight loss develop areas
of excess hanging skin and or fat causing droopy breasts.
After
weight loss women's breasts lose shape, fullness, and droop.
Natural breasts are made up fatty tissue and once the
fat is reduced or loss it dramatically affects the shape and
size of the breasts. Often there can be excess hanging skin
covering the remaining breast tissue causing an aesthetically
unattractive look.
In
general the effects of gravity and aging also contribute to
drooping breasts. Massive weight loss only adds to the
natural aging process of the breasts. As the breasts age
they change from a glandular tissue to being replaced by a
fatty tissue. This is one of the reasons why women's' breasts
are firmer and perkier when they are younger. This is also
one of the reasons why women who loose massive amounts of
weight latter in life have saggier breasts.
Because
the breast is mostly fat and when weight loss occurs it can
be dramatically seen in the breasts. Usually what is seen
is a decrease in breast size and a large skin envelope hanging
over the breast causing a droopy appearance. With major
weight loss the skin on the breast is unable to redrape itself
over the smaller breast as it does not shrink in size
like the breast.
The
major cause of excess breast skin following weight loss can
be quite simple. Like pregnancy where the muscles, skin
and other tissues of the abdominal wall expand to accommodate
the baby, a similar process happens with the fat in the breasts.
The skin adjusts to accommodate the fat under the skin and
it stretches affecting its elasticity.
With
major fat accumulation in some morbidly obese individuals
it begins during childhood or adolescence, extending the length
of time and tension of the breast skin. These patients tend
to have more saggy skin as it was damaged and stretched for
a longer period of time than a person who had weight gain
for a short period of time.
In
all areas where the body is storing large amounts of fat,
over time, these areas are affected as the skin becomes more
lax and permanently damaged. This occurs because the elastic
fibers of the skin are broken. Also the effects of gravity
combined with the skin supporting the extra fat can stretch
the skin affecting its ability to redrape itself to the new
contours of the body after weight loss. After significant
weight loss a patient may have less breast and a lot of hanging
skin. These patients are good candidates for some of the
advanced breast sculpting procedures performed by Dr. Corbin.
Some
patients may have more extra skin than others. There are
many determining factors on why some patients will have more
loose skin on their breasts and or stretch marks. In most
cases, younger patients tend to have less loose breast skin
because their skin has not been stretched out for a long as
an older patient. Younger patients may also have more collagen,
a major component of skin in the skin, to give it a more youthful
firm appearance. Another major factor contributing to excess
breast skin is the amount of weight loss. A patient who loses
150 lbs. is more likely to have excess skin than a patient
losing 50 lbs. Some of the other contributing factors to
loose skin may include, sun exposure received over a lifetime,
skin type, heredity and whether the patient is a smoker.
Patients with fair skin, usually tend to develop more loose
skin than patients with dark skin. Sun damaged skin tends
to have more tissue damage over the years and consequently
will hang more following weight loss. Lastly, smoking breaks
down collagen and the body's ability to supply oxygen to the
skin. Smokers develop more loose skin than non-smokers.
Whatever
the amount of hanging breast skin a patient has after weight
loss it can usually be removed and reshaped with plastic surgery.
There is many advanced breast sculpting techniques to remove
the extra skin and help each patient achieve a more attractive
breast or body contour. Foe added breast size many patients
chose to lift and enlarge their breasts at the same time.
Either with a breast lift or after a breast augmentation can
be performed using either saline breast implants or silicone
gel breast implants. Because most weight loss patient's breasts
are so misshapen a breast lift with implants tends to be the
most popular plastic surgery choice.
Because
surgery is personal decision we advise each patient to have
a personal consultation to be educated, and evaluated for
plastic surgery body contouring procedures.Dr. Corbin uses
minimal scarring advanced breast surgery techniques to give
his patients a prettier final result.
The
most important thing we do is improve your appearance and
self esteem. Plastic surgery is the final reward after
months and sometimes years of discipline, weight loss surgery,
dieting, exercising and a commitment to loosing weight. Loosing
major amounts of weight is a very emotional and empowering
process for many patients. It is a person's personal commitment
to themselves to be in control of their weight, lives and
health.
At
Dr. Corbin's office, we are here for weight loss patients
to help make their final body image goals a reality. We
offer a very supportive staff to assist patients every step
of the way.
Breast
Reshaping Surgery
Surgical
Solutions For Weight Loss Patients
Breast
Lifts
Breast
Lift General Information: The breast lift or mastopexy
is a procedure to reshape the breast and create or restore
a more youthful "perkier" appearance. In some
cases it can be combined with an augmentation to increase
the size of the breasts while reshaping them. In some patients
a breast lift can be done through an incision next to the
nipple-areolars only. In others it may require a combination
of incisions depending on the degree of drooping or ptosis
of the breast. Dr. Corbin performs 5 different types of
lifts: Crescent, Binelli, Vertical, Inverted T, and the Spair.
The operation and /or set of incisions that will give
you the best overall appearance will be determined at the
time of your consultation. Dr. Corbin's surgical goal is to
give his patients the prettiest breast with the least amount
of scarring. As with any surgical procedure there are potential
risks and these too will be discussed at your consultation.
Length of Surgery: 1 to 4 Hours
Location: Accredited Surgery Center or Hospital
Anesthesia: General
Recovery Time: The patient can usually return to work
in 1 week depending on the individual. Exercise and strenuous
activity may be done at one month after surgery.
Post Operative Results: Each patient heals differently; however,
following the surgery some patients may experience fatigue,
temporary pain, swelling, soreness loss of sensation in the
nipples, throbbing, tingling, dry skin and possible bruising.
The incisions will be pink at first but over time they will
flatten and fade depending on the individual. It has been
our experience that patients are very happy with their post
op results and perky new breasts.
Helpful Surgery Hints: Be in good mental and physical
health. Any herbal medications must be stopped 2 weeks prior
to surgery. Discontinue any use of Aspirin and anti- inflammatory
drugs two weeks before surgery. Maintain a healthy diet, exercise
regularly and do not smoke. Patients taking birth control
pills must stop taking the pills one month prior to surgery
and one month after surgery. Help improve healing by taking
our surgical pre and postoperative vitamins.
Breast
Augmentation
General
Information: breast augmentation or augmentation mammoplasty
is a procedure to make the breasts larger, fuller and in some
cases more youthful looking. It is accomplished by placing
a breast implant, either a silicone bag filled with salt water
or silicone gel, behind the breast and/or the pectoralis major
muscle. The breasts implants can be placed via one of
4 incisions. One along the bottom fold of the breast called
the inframammary incision, one that parallels the inferior
border of the nipple-areola complex called the peri-areola
incision, one in the arm pit or axilla called the axillary
approach and finally one through the umbilicus or belly button
called the umbilical approach or TUBA. In all cases DR.
Corbin's goal is to use that incision and implant that will
give the most natural result. As this is real surgery
there are potential complications and these will be discussed
at your consultation. Thousands of women each year choose
to enhance their breasts through augmentation mammoplasty
so this is a very popular and safe operation. If a breast
augmentation is performed with a breast lift then the scars
from the lift will be used to put the implants through. Only
patients with breasts that do not need lifts are candidates
for implants through the belly button, armpit, or under the
breasts.
***Important
fact***
Breast implants do NOT lift the breasts. They only make the
breasts bigger. The only plastic surgery procedure that will
lift the breasts is a mastopexy (Breast Lift).
Length
of Breast Surgery: 1 to 2 Hours
Location: Accredited Surgery Center or Hospital
Anesthesia: General
Recovery Time: The patient can unusually return to
work a few days following surgery depending on the individual.
Exercise and strenuous activity may be done at 3 to 4 weeks
after the operation.
Post Operative Results: Each patient heals differently: however,
most patients say the first day is the most uncomfortable.
Following the surgery, some patients experience temporary
swelling, soreness, change in nipple sensation and possible
bruising.
Helpful Hints: Be in good mental and physical health.
Do Not Smoke. Help improve healing by taking pre and postoperative
vitamins. Improve the appearance of small scars with topical
gel.
Click here for more detailed
information on Breast lift or Breast Augmentation surgery
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