Breasts Are All Different, So You May Need a Special Procedure To Make Yours Look Better

Mt Rainier February 2012-by Dr. Yoho

By: Robert Yoho, M.D.

Putting an implant in your breast is not always the answer to give you a better breast look. Implants work beautifully for breasts that are generally formed well, but in some cases shouldn’t be used at all, and in other cases should be used after a primary surgery to get the breasts in a shape that can accept an implant and stretch out over the implant properly and produce a normal-looking, round, pleasing breast. 

Note that many of our patients like different looks in their breasts. Some patients like rather large breasts and they don’t mind having a bit of a demarcation in the upper pole of the breasts. Others don’t like this look at all and want a much more sloping look. Different effects can occur based on whether you have a lot of breast tissue or very little breast tissue and whether the implant is placed above or below the muscle. 

Other people have breasts which are different than the average, such as long, narrow breasts, which are called “tubular” breasts, and these need special treatment. The general pattern is to do a special reconstruction surgery or lift and then four to six months later use an implant if needed to create a larger volume breast. A little bit of volume can be added with fat transplant, but this is nowhere near the volume which is possible with implants.

The practice of putting an implant in along with a breast reconstruction at the same time adds so many variables that very few surgeons can do this with any degree of predictability. Indeed, one of the most famous breast surgeons in the country wrote an article saying that this should never be done and that all breast reconstruction should be done prior to implant placement, which should be delayed at least four to five months. He showed pictures of his own cases where the whole nipple areolar complex had died during the process of attempting to put the implant in and reconstructing the breast at the same operation on the same day.

So we need to evaluate you individually. Your breasts are a certain kind of project; it may be a complex project or it may be an easy project, but please come in for your own complimentary consultation and we’ll tell you exactly what to expect. Note that every breast operation has the risk of imperfection in its results, but things can almost always be improved by a secondary procedure or even a third procedure. We have performed breast reconstructions where we haven’t “gotten it right” until the third procedure, and the patients have been very good about letting us continue to operate at intervals of four months. In many of these cases, the patients end up with a very satisfactory result and breasts that look fantastic compared to their breasts preoperatively.


Breast wishes,

Robert Yoho, M.D.