What is it Like to Have No-Scar Breast Implant Surgery-Part 3

Here you are out of surgery and in the recovery room, waking up. Will you be in pain? Odds are, you’ll wake up smiling. Most patients ask, “Are we done yet?” You shouldn’t experience any pain. Typically, you will have a slight feeling of the weight of the new implants. You will probably also feel a sensation of tightness. With the light sedation, you’ll probably need only 20-30 minutes before you are fully awake and ready for your ride home.

Your local anesthetic (remember that the local was given internally?) will last for your ride home so that you can settle in and get comfortable. On the evening after surgery, the local anesthetic will wear off. At this point, you can have some pressure and discomfort in the chest area, and perhaps some in the abdomen (from the belly button incision and tubes). You will have pain medication to take for relief from any soreness. Everyone has a different pain threshold, but the pain medication should offer plenty of relief. You might also experience some feelings of nausea for a couple of days as a side effect of anesthesia. If your surgery was performed under the light sedation, this is less likely.

As recommended by Dr. Yoho, you will be resting in the recovery area that you prepared in your home ahead of time. Your recovery area might be in your bed or in a recliner with several fluffy pillows to support and keep you elevated. You will also have bottled water, your post-op medications, your mobile phone, remote controls, books, a laptop, and some light food. All of the items that you need are within easy reach—possibly even a bell to call any friends or family members who are helping you to recover at home.

You will need to be patient for a while, because for a few days you will not be able to bend over, raise your arms, or get out of bed with ease. Dr. Yoho has also instructed you not to lift anything for the first few weeks. Many TUBA patients feel okay within a day, and others within a few days. But everyone is different and you should listen to your body. Your recovery should go smoothly if you follow Dr. Yoho’s instructions for post-operative patients. Since your consultation, you know that the best breast augmentation surgery recovery happens for patients who take good care of themselves and follow their surgeon’s instructions.

The day after surgery, you will return to Dr. Yoho’s office. Your dressings will be removed in this follow-up appointment. After that, Dr. Yoho will still be available to answer any questions or address concerns, and his office will follow up with you. During the healing phase over the next few weeks, you will experience many changes. Don’t panic. Common experiences include: an increase, decrease, or loss of sensitivity; hot or cold sensations; pins and needles; or you might even hear crackling under the skin. Less commonly, you might see bruising of the breasts, your breasts might appear pointed, asymmetrical (different sizes), flat, too big, too small, too high or too low. These conditions might be normal for your surgery. You will need to be patient with these changes, but if you feel concerned, call Dr. Yoho’s office.

If you had sub pectoral implants (under-the-muscle), your recovery might be a bit longer or more intense, but should result in a smoother appearance of your breasts. With under-the-muscle breast implants, you might have more soreness, muscle tension, or spasms in the upper back, and the pressure of the muscles might cause the breasts to look constricted. These recovery symptoms will not last long, but the muscles will need to heal from the trauma of surgery before they heal to a normal look and feel. Again, you can call Dr. Yoho or his staff at any time. After recovery, you will get used to your breasts and they will continue to improve in look and feel.

What it is Like to Have No-Scar Breast Implant Surgery, Part 2

When we left off, you were in the middle of your transumbilical breast augmentation surgery. You had been sedated, had an incision made in your navel, and an instrument had tunneled up to each breast. This allowed for the balloon-expander to create the space for your new implants. When this is removed, the space is then checked for bleeding. Remember that the pressure of the balloon expander has probably stopped any bleeding so far. Then the new pocket is irrigated with a sterile saline solution containing an antibiotic. Antibiotic solution sterilizes the implant pocket to prevent infections. Dr. Yoho is batting 1000 on this record—he can gratefully say that he has not seen a single infection from this procedure. In addition to dangerous infections, minor infections are thought to contribute to the danger of a complication called capsular contracture, or hardening of the breast around the implant. So the antibiotic solution might help to prevent this complication as well.

Next, Dr. Yoho puts a long-acting local anesthetic right inside the implant pocket. Having a local inside the breast has a painkiller effect in the area for up to 8 hours after surgery. This is important so that the patient has plenty of time to take her pain pill after waking up. This keeps the post-op pain to a bare minimum.

Now, it is time to place the actual implants. The tiny incision does not allow for a filled implant to be pushed through the belly button. So the empty implant is placed through the small tunnels under the skin while it is rolled up (like a taquito, as Dr. Yoho describes it). These are threaded up to the breasts using a “no-touch” technique. This technique doesn’t mean that Dr. Yoho operates with a “Look ma, no hands!” kind of recklessness. It means that, although he does use hands, the implant and the patient are both wetted down with the antibiotic saline solution so that all surfaces are sanitized as the surgeon is working. After the implants are in place, they are then filled with sterile saline.

Once the implants are placed and filled, Dr. Yoho sits the patient up. This is to check the evenness of the breasts and the appearance (because we don’t look the same sitting or standing as we do lying down). Although, just like natural breasts, implants are rarely if ever perfectly even, Dr. Yoho checks and adjusts the saline levels to make sure they are as symmetrical as possible. Once the desired levels are reached, Dr. Yoho tugs out the fill tubes. The implants have a valve that self-seals once these tubes come out.

After the tubes come out, your surgery is basically finished. Your breasts will immediately be wrapped with a light elastic bandage to help prevent swelling. A sports bra is placed over this, and an elastic band is placed above the breasts. You will also have a small dressing covering the little belly button incision.

By the time this is completed, you will be awake. Your family or friends can then come in and see you in recovery.

Part 3 will cover the surgical recovery.

What Is it Like to Have No-Scar Breast Implant Surgery: Part 1

Do you know what TUBA is? No, not the musical instrument. It’s actually a kind of cosmetic surgery. TUBA stands for Trans-Umbilical Breast Augmentation. This surgery actually puts in the breast implants through an incision in the belly button (also called the umbilicus). This way, there is no scar in and around the breast after the breast augmentation surgery. This surgery is favored by Dr. Yoho for its safety, speed, accuracy, and for the no-scar results. Well, to be specific, there is a scar, but it’s inside the belly button-not an area that most patients worry about. Dr. Yoho has successfully performed TUBA method surgery thousands of times.

Transumbilical breast augmentation has many advantages over standard approaches for the right patient. Patients experience less downtime and need less post-operative care. So who is the right patient? Good candidates desire larger breast or need breast reconstruction. Good candidates for TUBA also do not want or need a breast lift in addition to breast augmentation, and have good skin elasticity (relatively tight skin). Finally, as with other surgeries, candidates should be in good physical and mental condition (no active diseases, disorders, or mental instabilities).

So, how can breast implants be placed through the navel?

If you were to have TUBA surgery, you would probably be on the operating table for less than an hour. In fact, typical transumbilical breast augmentation takes as little as 20 to 30 minutes. You could have either general anesthetic (which knocks you out), or local anesthesia with IV sedation. Dr. Yoho has long used this special light sedation method to reduce patient side effects from anesthesia. Although the patient is awake during surgery, they are given relaxation medicine and usually don’t remember anything.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The first step would be a consultation to evaluate you as a candidate. Then you would decide on the size of your implants. You will try on some different outfits with bra implants to see how you feel with different sizes. Dr. Yoho will also help you to evaluate sizes in terms of your body frame and current breast shape and size. When you go in on the day of surgery, you will once again talk to Dr. Yoho about the implant sizing, and he will mark your body in preparation for the surgery. The lines that cosmetic surgeons draw on patients’ bodies are like a diagram for the operation, partly because bodies look different lying down than standing up. In the case of TUBA, the lines show where the tunnels will go from your belly button to your breasts. You will then be taken to the operating room.

You will be sedated and prepped for surgery. You will receive local anesthetic around the breasts and around your belly button area that will help reduce soreness in post-op and reduce bleeding during surgery. Then, the actual incision is made in your navel. Dr. Yoho carefully separates the tissues around the navel, which helps to prevent the formation of scar tissue. Dr. Yoho thinks that this is one of the advantages of his extensive experience: doctors with less experience might not do this.

Next, a device is threaded inside the incision that creates a tunnel between the navel and each breast. These tunnels are done with a blunt device and not with a knife. In other words, there is no cutting or slicing of tissue in the tunneling procedure. Pockets are also created in the breast area to hold the implant. Dr. Yoho will consult with you before the procedure about his placement (under or over the muscle) of your breast implants.

Next, a tube is run up to the breast with a balloon-expander device. This is inflated until the tissue is taught so that the pressure slows or stops the bleeding, and also finishes the space inside so that the implant will rest easily and naturally after surgery.

Next week: part 2.

Discount on Injectable Fillers

Now, with a Gilt City deal, you can get a voucher worth $100 toward a 1 mL treatment with Restylane or a related product for $49. Limit 3. Or for $149, you can purchase a $300-off voucher toward a 2mL treatment. Los Angeles cosmetic surgeon Dr. Robert Yoho is participating in this Gilt City deal. His full service surgical center in Pasadena also houses a medical spa with highly trained and experienced technicians. The offer must be used by the end of September (see terms and restrictions on the Gilt City page), so make your appointment now.

Restylane is a kind of filler that is made of hyaluronic acid. If that sounds scary, don’t worry—hyaluronic acid mimics a natural bodily chemical. It is also mixed with a small amount of a local anesthetic called lidocaine. The injections are usually easily tolerable—some people report a virtually painless experience. After the injection, there is very little in the way of downtime or recovery. You might see a little redness, but you should be able to resume normal activities very quickly. This treatment is very well-tolerated.

Another advantage is the soft, natural appearance of the fillers. Restylane stays soft under the skin, so that the injectable doesn’t result in lumps or stiffness. It is also longer-lasting than older fillers. Restylane can last a year or longer. Dr. Yoho and his staff have found that, by using a little extra filler, the effect can last for up to two years.

These fillers are used to plump up moderate to severe folds and wrinkles. They are commonly used around the mouth, but are also sometimes used to plump up the cheeks or even to fill in brow wrinkles. Dr. Yoho and his staff have obtained excellent results with these fillers. If you are worrying about facial lines making you look older, call our Pasadena office for your appointment and get your discount voucher.