How to Know the Risks of Breast Implant Surgery

You cannot determine whether breast augmentation is for you unless you know the risks. Follow these steps to gather the information you need.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet access
• Surgeon

1. Discuss with your surgeon both the general risk factors of surgery and those particular to breast augmentation.
2. Talk to your plastic surgeon about preexisting health conditions that might make your surgery more difficult or increase the risks.
3. Educate yourself about potential problems such as capsular contraction (when the tissue around the implant squeezes it), deflation, rippling and symastia (when implants come together over the breastbone).
4. Take care of your incision. Infection is a common risk of implant surgery. Follow your doctor’s orders on how to care for your incision and pay attention to any changes that occur during your healing process.
5. Talk to your regular physician or your surgeon about allergic reactions, another common risk of this procedure. Be sure your surgeon is aware of any allergies you have.
6. Remember that one of the risks of breast implant surgery is general dissatisfaction. With any cosmetic surgery, you run the risk of not being happy with the result.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to put a friend or family member in charge of your health decisions during your procedure. Be sure this person knows your feelings about health care should a dire situation develop.
• The Internet is a great resource for researching the risks of breast implant surgery (see Resources below).