Breast Augmentation Surgery
Scottsdale AZ & Gilbert AZ
Breast Augmentation Specialist
to Boost Your Body Image
Dealing with saggy breasts? Not happy with its shape? Dr. Rochlin offers personalized breast augmentation surgery in Scottsdale and Gilbert AZ. She uses the most advanced surgical techniques and equipment to ensure long-lasting results. Boost your body image and self-confidence with Dr. Rochlin’s breast augmentation procedures. Whether you are naturally thin or have lost breast volume after pregnancy, Dr. Rochlin’s breast procedures can reshape your breasts and your figure.
Whether you’re still in the frantically reading and researching phase, or ready to take the plunge and looking for the right Scottsdale cosmetic surgeon to meet your needs, we’re here to help.
The more you know upfront, the more valuable your consultation with a doctor will be. You’ll have put some thought into which parts of the procedure make you nervous and have a better idea of how you’d like your final results to look—Other than completely amazing!
The first two things women generally consider are how large and how round (or not) they want their breasts to be after their breast enhancement. Which leads directly into the question of saline implants versus silicone. These days, a lot of us have friends who’ve gotten implants, so you may have already heard that the new cohesive silicone gel implants don’t carry the same risks as the ones you remember from the past. We’ll dive into the details of implant types in a moment. First, let’s talk size.
Most women think of what they want in terms of cup size because that’s how we buy our bras. You’ll most likely come in for your consultation with an idea of where you’d like to end up. This is great information for us to start with! But we’ll quickly move on to what type of proportion, cleavage, and profile you’re looking for. In addition to your desired results, here are a few factors we’ll consider when choosing the best implant for your body.
- Your frame and ribcage size
- How much natural breast tissue you have
- Height
- Weight
- Skin
- Fitness habits
- Personality
During your consultation you’ll use our special sizing bra and a variety of sample implants with varying cc levels. Most women like to bring a few different styles of clothing to try on with the sizers— a t-shirt, professional wear, and often something sexy like a cocktail dress.
Once we’ve used the sizers to select the breast implant size that makes you feel comfortable in your own skin, we’ll know that we’re on the same page in regards to the desired look. From here, my surgeon’s expertise takes over in the operating room. I always go into surgery with a couple of implant options based on our conversations.
The beauty of today’s modern techniques is that after meticulously creating the breast pocket which will support the implant, I can insert it and carefully evaluate at how it fits into your body to ensure it will achieve the desired outcome that we’ve discussed. Every woman has a unique anatomical makeup and obviously implants don’t sit in the body they way they do in a sizing bra. Flexibility during surgery allows us to select implants that provide the balance, proportion, and fullness that you want.
First of all, you don’t have to know what type of implant you want. We’re here to guide you through the process. We’ll talk about the results you’re after, the body you were born with, and any concerns you have when determining the most appropriate option for you.
But you have to start somewhere, right?
I’m a bit of a straight shooter. Of course, I use both saline and silicone based on the needs and desires of my patients…
But for the most natural looking and feeling breasts, I usually recommend today’s modern cohesive silicone gel implants. 95% of the breast augmentations I perform are with this type of implant. And for good reason.
Silicone gel implants very closely mimic the look and feel of natural breast tissue, which is the primary goal of many women. There is minimal risk of rippling and they come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, accommodating the body types and personal preferences of most women. Ultimately, the best size is one that meets your preferences and matches the aesthetics of your body type.
I especially recommend silicone gel breast implants for women who are slight, small-breasted, or have thin skin on the chest. We also advise a submuscular placement to achieve the most natural look for a petite patient.
One drawback of choosing silicone is the cost. They run approximately 20% more than their saline counterparts, including the cost of the revolutionary Keller Funnel. However, our office has an amazing financing program and when considering the additional cost spread out over the years, most women choose their implants based on their overall happiness with the outcome.
As a board-certified surgeon with thousands of breast augmentation surgeries under my belt, I can resoundingly say that yes, silicone implants are safe. I wouldn’t use them if they weren’t. That said, I am extremely particular about which implants I use. I’ve chosen to exclusively use Mentor implants because of their long track record of safety, excellent long-term product warranty for my patients, and strict manufacturing guidelines, producing all of their implants in the US.
And unlike the liquid silicone of old implants, because the silicone gel is cohesive, it does not migrate, if the shell were to be damaged, as in the case of a car accident or bodily trauma. The video below shows how stable the gel is, even when the strong, flexible silicone shell is cut in half with scissors.
Mentor has on-going clinical studies to evaluate the long-term safety and effectiveness of their MENTOR ® MemoryGel ® Breast Implants. They currently have seven silicone gel breast implant clinical studies in progress.
Over 200,000 women have participated in Mentor’s studies in order to provide a significant body of clinical evidence demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of silicone-filled breast implants.
Mentor remains committed to providing objective, clinical information about breast implant safety resulting in beautiful benefits:
•MENTOR ® MemoryGel ® Breast Implants are FDA approved
•MENTOR ® MemoryGel ® Breast Implants are made in the USA.
•Each implant is filled with Mentor’s proprietary cohesive gel
•The gel filler holds together uniformly and looks and feels like natural breast tissue
•The implants have a set fill volume for predictable results
•MENTOR ® MemoryGel ® Breast Implants come in four projection options: Moderate, Moderate Plus, High Profile and Ultra High Profile to give you the look you want
•They come in two shell surface options: smooth and textured (MENTOR ® SILTEX ® Texture)
MENTOR ® MemoryGel ® Breast Implants are covered by Mentor’s Premier Advantage Warranty and Lifetime Replacement Policy: The Mentor Promise Protection Plan
For more information, check out Mentor’s MemoryShape Clinical Data
For a variety of reasons, some women prefer to go with saline breast implants, which can also provide a beautiful silhouette, when performed by a skilled surgeon with excellent aesthetic judgement.
Saline breast implants have a silicone-based soft shell filled with a sterile saltwater solution similar to the fluid that makes up most of the human body. They are the most affordable option, customizable in sizing, and have a long track record of safety.
Saline implants are considered very safe due to the fact that, in the unlikely case of rupture, your body simply absorbs the salt water. It’s very obvious if this occurs, meaning that the problem can be addressed quickly and easily.
One of the key advantages to saline implants is that they are inserted without fluid. This allows for a smaller incision and provides options on the incision’s location. Upon placement, they are filled to the size that we’ve agreed upon. Most importantly, it gives me the flexibility to use my surgeon’s judgement and artistic eye to adjust the volume based on your final goal and to balance the breasts, working with the amount of natural tissue. Once I am satisfied that you will be pleased with the results, the revolutionary self-sealing valve creates a permanent and sterile seal.
Of course, no implant is perfect. The primary drawback to saline implants is that they tend to look and feel less natural than silicone implants do, and can be prone to rippling. Submuscular placement minimizes potential rippling and provides support for the implant.
Saline implants tend to make the breasts look rounder and feel firmer than silicone, whose consistency is closer to natural breast tissue. Although this is the only downside, for many women this is one of the most important aspects of breast augmentation and is worth considering. On the other hand, some women prefer the firmness and volume that saline implants provide.
I exclusively use Mentor’s smooth saline implants; the only saline implant manufactured right here in the US. Their long track record of safety and lifetime warranty allows me to provide the best care to my patients.
While we’re on the topic of implant types, let’s clear up a few things.
Implants come in two shapes: round and anatomical, sometimes referred to as teardrop. Both saline and memory gel silicone implants are round. I use smooth implants in both of these cases, as they are a bit softer and more natural feeling than their textured counterparts. They are also less likely to ripple than textured round implants.
On the other hand, approximately 15% of my patients choose MemoryShape silicone implants, which are the anatomical/teardrop shaped style. Teardrop shaped implants, referred to as MENTOR® MemoryShape® Breast Implants, are thinner at the top and gently slope to a fuller projection point near the implant’s bottom, mimicking the silhouette of a natural breast. They’re a form stable silicone gel, often referred to as the gummy bear style implant, due to their texture. The MemoryShape silicone implants have a subtly textured exterior to prevent any rotation once in place. This style of implant is % more expensive than the round silicone gel implants.
The Mentor collection of MemoryGel® Breast Implants and round Saline Breast Implants are offered in 4 profile levels: Classic/Moderate Profile, Moderate Plus Profile, High Profile, and Ultra High Profile.
How will you know which to choose? Don’t worry. As we chat and you express your desired results, we can recommend the appropriate profile of implant to marry the natural breast tissue and silhouette that you have with your ideal shape and size.
There are two locations for placing an implant:
- Subglandular (above the pectoral muscles)
- Submuscular (partially under the muscle).
Yes, occasionally we see patients for whom a subglandular placement is the best choice. Particularly patients who are required to do a lot of chest exercises, often prefer it. The upside to subglandular implants is a shorter recovery time.
However, depending on the amount of natural breast tissue, I believe the submuscular placement is ideal for most women. Placing the implants under the muscle provides a good deal of support for them, a natural massaging action, and a very natural appearance. It also minimizes any rippling of saline implants and may provide a clearer picture during mammograms.
The downsides of submuscular placement are a slightly longer recovery time, temporary weakening of the chest muscles following surgery, and slight distortion of the breast when flexing the pectoral muscles. We tell our patients to avoid lifting anything more than five pounds the first week and 10 pounds the second week. In the long run, most patients concur that the tradeoffs are worth it and opt for the submuscular placement.
This is a big one. There are traditionally four potential incision sites:
- Under the breast
- Around the nipple
- In the armpit
- Through the bellybutton
Under the breast is the most common incision technique, followed by around the nipple. In a small percentage of surgeries, the armpit incision is the best choice for the patient’s needs. I do not perform bellybutton incisions; it is widely considered to be an outdated method with unnecessary risks and subpar results.
Let’s take a closer look at each technique.
– Incisions placed in breast creases, when fully healed, will look like part of the crease, becoming almost invisible to the human eye.
– This incision allows immediate access to the pectoral muscle for under the muscle implant placement. We can place the breast implant either below or above the muscle creating minimal swelling and disturbance to the tissues. This results into a smoother and more comfortable recovery,
– Normal breast tissue begins above the lower breast crease incision. An incision placed here allows for the best anatomical placement of the breast implant.
– Because this incision is so close to the placement site, I have greater control and command over the breast tissue. This allows for a subtle fine-tuning of implant placement.
I use the nipple incision for women with a very distinct border between the nipple and the rest of the breast. In these patients, carefully placed incisions become almost invisible after the healing portion of the recovery is complete. Because the procedure involves surgery through the breast tissues, there is often a bit more swelling when using this technique.
Armpit incision or transaxillary incision starts high on the lateral chest wall and extends through the tissues to reach the inferior breast crease. While some patients believe that this procedure results in augmentation without scars, in reality, this incision can be quite noticeable after breast surgery. In some patients, the incisions can prevent the individual from shaving the armpit area where the incision becomes tender. Additionally, because surgery takes places through the tissues and starts so far away from the ultimate location of the breast implant, there is usually more swelling and discomfort after surgery.
Anesthesia is always provided by a board certified anesthesiologist. My patients usually return to light activity within two to three days after surgery. You can resume full activities within two or three weeks with the exception of vigorous bouncing type activities (jogging or horseback riding), which you’ll need to postpone for at least 6 weeks. Additionally, although you’ll have a good idea of the final results right after surgery, your implants will continue to settle and gently stretch the surrounding tissue for a few months. We lovingly refer to this natural integration process as the “drop and fluff.” Read more about post breast augmentation tips!
There are no bad questions. Only unanswered ones.
Make today the day you take the first step to feeling like your very best self. Call for your complimentary consultation now.