Breast reduction is a common procedure through which we are able to modify the breasts to a more appropriate size and shape for a woman’s physical frame. Breasts that are too large present physical and psychological challenges that seem difficult to overcome. Every woman deserves to feel confident in her appearance. Breast reduction can help with this. It can also resolve the issue of pain in the neck, shoulders, and back that develop from the forward pull of excess breast tissue.
If having smaller, more comfortable breasts has sounded like a dream to you, there is no time like the present to consider breast reduction. Dr. Bryn Mawr plastic surgeon has all the details, and you can learn more about this procedure in a consultation with our friendly staff. Read on to discover more about what comes after the breast reduction procedure.
Maximizing Recovery from Breast Reduction
Breast reduction surgery is a straightforward procedure through which excess tissue is carefully removed and, if necessary, skin tightened over the breasts. The simple fact that there are incisions and excision means you want to plan well for recovery. Some tips for healing include:
- Don’t rely on over-the-counter medication at first. The level of post-surgical discomfort that a patient experiences is difficult to determine. Everyone has a certain pain tolerance. Rather than wait to see where yours is, we recommend taking the prescription medication provided to you by your plastic surgeon. Typically, the need for prescription strength medication lasts only a few days.
- One of the prime ways to maintain comfort is to minimize disruption to the surgical site. This is achieved with a surgical bra. Sports bras may be your new best friend a few weeks after your procedure. Initially, though, it is the surgical garment that should be worn at all times.
- Showering? Don’t worry if you skip this grooming habit for a few days! Skin sensitivity and tissue soreness may prevent you from wanting to stand under warm water, or any water. This should pass in a day or two, and you will be back to your squeaky clean self.
- An interesting question that many breast surgery patients have is “when can I work out?” This question is asked even more than when one can go back to work. First and foremost, we tell our patients not to rush their physical activity after breast reduction. Give it 3 weeks. At that, many patients do not return to work for 2 to 4 weeks.
Recovery is one of the crucial elements to cosmetic surgery, and we are here to see you through it. For more information on breast reduction, call 610-527-4833.
This time of year piles more on our plate that we may know what to do with. While we busy ourselves with all the holiday hoopla, we also want to know that we will feel our best when the time comes to revel in the holiday cheer with friends and family. If what you see in the mirror only reminds you of the sleep you’re not getting, or the number of birthday candles that were on your last cake, come see the team at Claytor Noone Plastic Surgery. Many of the treatments that are so popular today provide you with immediate or fast results, giving you the confidence you deserve this holiday season.
Wrinkle Reduction
Of course we do not want our wrinkles to show up in all those holiday photos! Using neuromodulators such as Botox, we can help you revitalize the appearance of your eyes. These products have been used extensively for the reduction of crow’s feet, frown lines, and even for non-surgical brow lifting. Just remember, it takes about a week for the full extent of results to show up, so schedule your visit to our Bryn Mawr office accordingly.
Fat-Reduction
Results from fat reduction start to become noticeable after 2 to 3 weeks, and continue to improve over months. If there is a certain LBD you want to wear for New Years Eve, consider an early-holiday fat-reducing treatment. Because each of these procedures is completely non-invasive, very little time is needed for your office visit – and there’s no downtime.
Volumizing Facial Treatments
Flat cheeks, deflated lips, and creases around the nose and mouth make us appear older, sometimes much older than we feel. The holidays are a time of child-like wonder, so we want our inner youthfulness to be reflected in our appearance. Claytor Noone Plastic Surgery offers a number of options for filler products. During your consultation, we can discuss which approach may be best for your concerns and expectations. Fillers achieve an immediate, beautiful change in your skin, so you can schedule treatment up until a few days before your big event.
Schedule a consultation
Let’s get Holiday Ready! Call 610-527-4833. Claytor Noone Plastic Surgery serves Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr, Main Line PA and surrounding areas.
A large majority of the women who visit our Philadelphia plastic surgery practice for breast augmentation share an interest in staying physically fit. Their reasons for wanting to enhance the size and shape of their breasts may differ, but the ultimate goal is usually to bring better harmony to their proportions. Shapely breasts complement the curves of the hips and shoulders, and have a way of balancing the body out. Because physical fitness is an important aspect of wellness for many women, the prospect of recovery after breast augmentation is a crucial point of conversation. Let’s look at what to do – and what not to do – to maximize the surgical experience.
Making the Most of Breast Augmentation Recovery
There are general guidelines for breast augmentation patients for a reason. This surgery has been around long enough for physicians to know what works and what doesn’t. Yes, every patient is different, but recovery is recovery; that is a simple point to remember. Maximum impact from post-surgical healing comes from:
- Following instructions. We know your case, and are careful to dole out instructions for post-surgical care according to your needs. Where exercise is involved, the primary suggestion is to wait. Wait several weeks if you must. As we follow up with you after your procedure, we will discuss appropriate forms of exercise for your current state of recovery.
- Listening. Of course, we recommend that our patients listen to our instruction – and follow it. But there’s more. Listening to your body is also one of the primary ways to ensure injury does not occur when you get back into the gym, or on the road or treadmill. Every form of exercise could work muscles you don’t think about. If your body tells you to slow down or stop, do it.
- Resting a little more for a little longer. Strength trainers usually schedule in a rest day in between heavy sessions or big muscle groups. This is especially useful after breast augmentation, regardless of the type of exercise you are accustomed to. Schedule an extra rest day as needed. Remember, in a few short months you can be back to your old routine.
Schedule a consultation
Learn more about breast augmentation with implants or fat transfer when you call 610-527-4833.
Using diet and exercise, we can do the body a lot of good. Exercise helps us feel more energetic, and may even help us live longer. But to the important question at hand: can exercise be used to lift the breasts? If you look around online, you would think so. You may commit to a gym membership so you can hit the weights for bench presses and fly’s. You may do a gazillion pushups every week, or spend multiple hours each month moving from plank to downward dog to work the pectoral muscles. If you have been doing this and not seeing results, there is a reason why – and it certainly isn’t your commitment!
The fact of the matter is that there is rarely a woman who can say wholeheartedly that exercise and healthy eating have led to higher-positioned breasts. It’s just not likely, and here’s why: the pectoral muscles sit beneath breast tissue. In this location, the pecs do not – and cannot – act in much of a supportive role in terms of where the breasts fall on the chest wall. Toning up the pectoral muscles may have a bit of a positive impact on overall physique, but there’s more going on here, and exercise alone cannot address it.
Why Breasts Change over Time
You know the normal culprits of breast sagging; pregnancy, nursing, aging, weight loss. Each of these experiences causes and expansion and subsequent deflation of breast tissue. When the breasts enlarge during pregnancy and breastfeeding, the overlying skin stretches. Often, it does not fully bounce back. And even if it does, it has lost some of its resiliency, so when aging depletes skin-supporting collagen from every part of the body, the fragile skin on the breasts gives in to gravity.
Get Help for Sagging Breasts
More women are turning to breast lift surgery to regain the good feelings they once had about their body. This procedure is performed with the intent of taking what is there and restructuring the natural tissues so they sit higher and present a curvier profile.
Schedule A Consultation
You don’t have to accept changes in your body as a new norm. Learn how breast lift surgery can give you back the curves you love. Call our Bryn Mawr office at 610-527-4833. Dr. Claytor serves Main Line, Bryn Mawr, Philadelphia and surrounding areas.
This is a great reason to use Zwivel for a getting information before you go in for a consultation. At the consultation in our office you first watch a video which answers many of your questions and goes over all of the basic information. Then you will meet with me, the plastic surgeon. I go over your medical history and medication as well as any prior surgery.
Then we get into the specifics of the operation and I go over all aspects of analysis and types of implant and location of incisions.
Then we proceed to the physical exam portion of the consultation. My assistant I and go over a detailed exam with measurements of the anatomic landmarks of your breasts. The sternal notch to nipple distance, the thickness of the skin over the breast and the base diameter of the breast. These measurements of breast size provide a basic guidelines for size of implant selection. Then imaging software called Crisalix takes a 3-D image of your breast. Crisalix program allows for “trying on” implants of different sizes. The software allows for 3-D visualizing your breast with implants in place. 
There is much debate over the optimal location for breast implants in regard to the pectoralis muscle, when used to augment small breasts. Most plastic surgeons recommend placing the implants under the muscle for the following reasons:
1) Less incidence of capsular contracture
2) More natural look with a better transition from upper chest to breast. Less “fake” augmented look. Many people equate implants on top of the muscle has the Pam Anderson fake look.
3) Radiologists prefer visualizing the breast tissue with the implant behind the muscle.
However, there are some patients who are better suited for placement in FRONT of the muscle. These include but are not limited to very muscular and body builder type patients. For them the animation of their breasts with implants under the muscle would not be acceptable. The other category of patients are women who have constricted breasts or tuberous deformities. These patients need to have the breast tissue radially scored and recontoured to achieve a more aesthetic shape.
Before & After Gallery
Dr. Brannon Claytor uses advanced techniques to provide natural-looking outcomes. See the results for yourself in our patient gallery.
Breast size is a very personal and intimate decision. First it is important to have a good understanding about what size you “truly” are. Many bra companies confuse women with the non-standard bra sizing system. Getting sized by your plastic surgeon gives you a better idea of what cup size you are starting with. It is not uncommon for women to come in for a consultation thinking they are a “B” cup when in fact they are a AA. In this case there is a mismatch right from the start which can lead to dissatisfaction after surgery.
While it is not always correct due to variations in patient size and body frame, a benchmark for sizing is that each 100 to 200 cc of implant volume translates into increasing by 1 cup size.
The other very important variable is the base diameter of your breast. This measurement helps apply mathematics to the art of breast augmentation. The base diameter dictates the maximum size of the width of the implant. Based on these variables a trial size implant can be selected and “tried on” digitally thru a 3-D imaging software. We use Crisalix software which involves taking a 3-D image and digitally adding any size breast implant to see wha the post operative result would look like.
While this is a “Pixar” like visual appearance it does give the patient a very good idea of what she would look like.
Before & After Gallery
Dr. Brannon Claytor uses advanced techniques to provide natural-looking outcomes. See the results for yourself in our patient gallery.
Facial aging has become a hot topic in the past few decades. Men and women wanting to look younger no longer have to sneak off to rendezvous with their plastic surgeon. No. Today, we just schedule an office visit for some injectables and we’re on our way! Non-surgical treatments have taken on a life of their own in the aesthetic world, and they have blown up the whole idea of aging gracefully. Tune in to just a few minutes of a Real Housewives show (pick one, any one!) and you will see that we pretty much aren’t aging. At all. We just keep looking plump and radiant as far as our skin is concerned.
Taking care of your skin
You may have taken great care of your facial skin by wearing sunscreen and applying the right moisturizing products. Botox and dermal fillers may be on your calendar every six months or so. And yet, you’re feeling the tug of age. Where could it be coming from? Your neck, that’s where!
What causes our neck to age?
Aging neck skin could be even more telling than facial aging. This area of the body is small and localized, and yet it can develop several problems, all in a few inches of space. The skin here is ultra-thin, just like the skin around your eyes. This sets the stage for crepiness to creep in overnight. One day you’re fine, then next, there is the telltale looseness front and center. While the lack of collagen is letting your skin fall, the platysmal band that runs horizontally across the neck is simultaneously unraveling, also falling downward. All this falling lets the fat cells beneath the chin let loose, giving you a lovely double chin which no turtleneck can hide.
It’s a Revival for your Neck!
If your neck is not in line with what your face is saying, you will look older than you’d like. When it is time to put effort into your neck (and when isn’t it), we can help you. Patients of our Bryn Mawr plastic surgery practice may be well served by our non-surgical laser neck tightening treatment, Precision TxTM. Depending on the desired outcome, neck lift surgery may be the ideal solution.
Schedule a consultation
Revive your appearance by focusing on the area just below your face. Call Claytor Noone Plastic Surgery for your consultation.
There are 3 kinds of tummy tucks and each type is indicated for a different body type.
A patient who has excess skin and even stretch marks from pregnancy with excess fat on her abdomen will do very well with a full tummy tuck.
A patient who has only a small amount of excess loose skin below her belly button with a flat abdomen above her belly button will do very well with a mini-tummy tuck.
Patients who have loose skin above and below their belly button with and a minimal amount of fat to remove and who are highly motivated to have their incisions very low to be fully hidden from sight when wearing a low bikini are better served with a modified float tummy tuck. This procedure requires releasing the belly button from the abdominal wall and floating in inferiorly. This means that unlike a full tummy tuck where the belly button stays attached to the original location and a scar is made at the site where the belly button is re-inserted, in the modified float tummy tuck there is NO belly button scar. This is very desirable for patients who do not want anyone to know they had surgery. The scar can be placed VERY low and be hidden even with a very skimpy bathing suit bikini. Make sure you ask for a plastic surgeon who has experience with the kind of procedure to at least hear all of your options.
The recovery from all of the procedures is about the same. By one month you should be able to perform most activities
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Actually most women are asymmetric at some level with regard to their breast size and shape. The common refrain at national meetings by the plastic surgeons lecturing on the topic is that breast are sisters and not twins. This however does not mean that minor differences seen in the early post operative period will not resolve with breast massage and tincture of time. So continue to follow up with you plastic surgeon and massage as directed.