Breast augmentation

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Why it's done

By Mayo Clinic staff

Your reasons for choosing breast augmentation are highly personal. Breast augmentation may help you:

  • Enhance your breast appearance if you feel your breast size is too small
  • Adjust for a reduction in the size of your breasts after pregnancy
  • Reconstruct your breast after having breast surgery for cancer or other conditions
  • Correct a defect in the development of your breasts, such as having breasts of unequal sizes
  • Improve self-image

The best candidate for breast augmentation is a woman looking for an improvement — but not perfection — in her appearance. The outcome of the procedure may fall short of the ideal look you imagined. Discuss your goals with your surgeon so that you can develop a realistic expectation of what's to come.

References
  1. Top five surgical cosmetic procedures in 2007. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/media/statistics/index.cfm. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
  2. Breast augmentation. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/patients_consumers/procedures/AugmentationMammoplasty.cfm. Accessed Dec.2, 2008.
  3. Breast augmentation. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.surgery.org/public/procedures/breast_augmentation. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
  4. FDA breast implant consumer handbook - 2004. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/indexbip.html. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
  5. Breast implant questions and answers (2006). U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/qa2006.html. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
  6. Breast augmentation: Your surgical experience. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.surgery.org/public/procedure/breast_augmentation/3. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
  7. Breast augmentation: What should I expect during the recovery process? The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.surgery.org/public/procedure/breast_augmentation/6. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.

MY00389

Jan. 6, 2009

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