Breast augmentation, more commonly known as breast aesthetic surgery, is usually performed to improve the appearance of your breasts and give them a perkier look. This procedure uses breast implants, and the appearance of your breasts can be improved. The outcome of your breast aesthetic surgery depends on whether you want natural-looking or artificial breasts and on the various breast implant options you choose before the operation.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Breast Augmentation?
If you have lost a significant amount of weight or have had multiple pregnancies, and as a result your breasts have come to look saggy, breast aesthetic surgery is a procedure worth considering. Breast augmentation can also be performed if you naturally have small, asymmetrical or tubular breasts and are extremely bothered by their appearance.
Whatever the reason, breast augmentation can improve your physical appearance. You will no longer need to worry about how your breasts look in certain clothes. After breast aesthetic surgery (breast augmentation), you may feel more comfortable in different styles of clothing.
Well-performed breast aesthetic surgery gives your breasts a well-shaped, perkier and rounder appearance without looking artificial. In fact, if it is done properly with the scars well hidden, no one will be able to tell whether they are your natural breasts or implants. This is the greatest advantage of breast aesthetic surgery (breast augmentation), as long as it is performed by a highly skilled, specialist plastic surgeon.
Types of Breast Implants
When deciding between breast implants, you need to look at each type of breast implant and the specific features of each implant. Researching this can be quite tiring, so we have summarised the implant types and their benefits for you.
Breast Implants by Filling:
1-Saline Breast Implants
Saline breast implants are sturdy implants with a silicone shell and a saline (salt water) filling. These implants can be placed in your breasts empty and filled during the operation, so only a small incision is needed. And if these implants rupture, their contents can easily be absorbed by the body without any harmful side effects. However, a rupture causes the breast to deflate considerably and look saggy and empty. These implants are not widely preferred.
2-Silicone Breast Implants
Silicone breast implants are smoothly contoured breast implants filled with a special silicone material. These implants look more natural than saline breast implants and even feel more natural. Not only that, the shape of the breasts is less affected if a silicone breast implant ruptures. However, in the event of a rupture, the silicone gel and the shell will still need to be removed from your breast implant pocket.
Breast Implants by Shape:
1-Round Breast Implants
Round breast implants: as the name suggests, because of their round structure, implant rotation and breast deformity are not potential problems with round breast implants. These implants also give the breasts a higher profile, which essentially means the breasts look perkier than with other implant types. They give a fuller appearance to the upper part of the breast.
2-Anatomical (Teardrop) Breast Implants
Teardrop or anatomically shaped implants have the shape of a natural breast. Round or anatomical implants are chosen according to the patient's breast structure. If the patient has no breast tissue at all, an anatomical implant can be placed; however, if there is breast tissue but no upper breast fullness, a round implant is a more ideal option.
You should discuss with your surgeon the size and type of breast implant that best suits your body type.
Characteristics of Natural Breasts
Natural-looking breast implants are important for breast aesthetic surgery (breast augmentation) to be considered successful. There are many features and aspects that a breast implant needs in order to resemble natural breasts; all of them are listed below:
- The breast implant is in proportion to the rest of your body and should not stand out as too small or too large.
- The implant fits the breast pocket well and hangs naturally under the effect of gravity.
- The breast implant should be firm and soft enough to match the texture and feel of natural breast tissue. When choosing a breast implant, you should choose the implant that suits you best together with your doctor.
- There is no visible scar that simply shouts that you have had breast aesthetic surgery. You should make sure that your surgeon hides all the incisions in the natural contours and folds of your breasts when performing the procedure.
- The skin covering your breast does not ripple or stretch excessively over the implant. It should lie smoothly over the implant, just as skin lies over breast tissue.
- The breasts and the space between them should be natural, and you should have realistic cleavage.
The shape of the breasts is not the only factor taken into account when assessing how authentic your breasts look.
Characteristics of Artificial Breasts
Artificial-looking breasts are the result of unsuccessful plastic surgery and can be a cause of unhappiness. Because artificial breasts are often very round and too hard to the touch, they look as if two circular rocks have been placed inside your breasts instead of breast implants. They also look as if you are constantly wearing a push-up bra. This is the most common way of telling whether someone has had breast aesthetic surgery (breast augmentation).
Artificial breasts are also often set quite far apart, which is never the case with natural breasts. Fake-looking breasts have such unrealistic height and spacing that the cleavage becomes excessively prominent and looks extremely artificial. In addition, they are often very large and do not fit the body's proportions at all, which clearly reveals that they are fake.
When going for a breast augmentation operation, you should take certain factors into account to make sure you do not end up with breasts that look overly fake.
However, some women want their breasts to look as fake as possible. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Karadağ prefers to place only implants of a realistic size and shape.
How can you achieve natural-looking breasts?
To make sure you end up with natural-looking breasts, you need to keep the following points in mind when choosing your breast augmentation procedure.
“My surgical technique and my choice of implant, in terms of projection, size and round or teardrop shape, will vary depending on whether patients want a natural or a fake look. Placing the breast implants above or below the chest muscles will also affect the final result,” says Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Karadağ.
Choose the Right Implant Size
The size of your implant determines how natural it can actually look. Although most people think the bigger the better, this is far from the truth. The size of the implant should suit not an unrealistic beauty standard but your upper body type.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Karadağ will in fact recommend the best implant size for you based on your body type and expectations.
Choose the Right Implant Shape
Breast implants generally come in only two shapes: round and teardrop. Choosing the right shape is very important to get the best results from your breast augmentation. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Karadağ will assess your breast tissue, breast skin and body proportions before recommending the best implant shape for you.
When choosing either shape, you should keep in mind the effects of gravity on your breasts. Whether you choose a teardrop or a round shape, there is a chance they will hang lower, and if you opt for an implant that is very large or has a greater projection, the effects of gravity on your breasts may be exaggerated. This gives your breasts an unnatural appearance, and you may want to have revision surgery.
Choose the Right Implant Type
The right implant type is the one that makes your breasts look perky, firm and completely natural. If it makes your breasts protrude in an odd, extremely fake way, that implant type is not the best choice for you and you should consider a different implant type.
Before deciding on a single implant type, you should always follow Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Karadağ’s advice, read about the pros and cons of your implant type and look at before and after pictures of that specific implant type, because this decision will carry over into your future decisions too. For around twenty years of your life…
Choose the Right Implant Spacing and Placement
In general, you are more likely to pay attention to the size, shape and type of the implant. However, you will probably forget that these are not the only factors that determine the results of your breast augmentation operation. One of the biggest mistakes made when getting breast implants is not paying attention to the space between your breasts. People can often tell that someone has had breast aesthetic surgery (breast augmentation) by looking at the breasts and noticing a wide, unnatural gap between them.
Another important aspect of breast augmentation is where, or in which area, the implant will be placed. This can be above or below the muscle. However, if your implant has been placed below the muscle, it will take quite a long time for it to look natural and for the patient to return to social life. And if this happens, it is very obvious that your breasts are not natural and are fake.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Karadağ says: “I mostly place my breast implants above the muscle, beneath the muscle fascia, because I believe the long-term results are much better and more natural than with placement below the muscle; of course, I make this decision by looking at the skin structure and tissue of the breast and the patient's body structure.”
Always Choose a Specialist Surgeon
Even if you do everything right and choose the best type, size and shape of implant, if you do not have a skilled, specialist plastic surgeon to perform the procedure, your breast aesthetic surgery may still result in poorly shaped, asymmetrical breasts. Choosing the right surgeon for your procedure can increase your chances of achieving the results you want.
You can assess a surgeon's skill by reading online reviews and testimonials about the doctor. Looking at the before and after pictures (or videos) on your surgeon's social media account can also help you better recognise your surgeon's skills and abilities.
You may also be interested in Hürriyet newspaper's articles on breast implants (in Turkish).
