Far too often, in the world of breast augmentation, much attention and emphasis is placed on the size of the breast implant and not its location. This issue is one that has profound yet differing long-term affects for the patient, so it is important that it is addressed.

Patients typically have two choices when it comes to implant placement: subglandular and submuscular. Subglandular implants are placed underneath the breast tissue, yet above the chest wall muscles, whereas submuscular implants are placed below the chest (pectoral) muscles. Occasionally, a third procedure option is available that allows a patient to have the implant placed partially under the muscle wall.

Frequently, when it comes to implant placement, most surgeons and patients opt for subglandular for a variety of reasons, including the relative ease (compared to submuscular placement) of the procedure on both doctor and patient. Many women are happy and are more than eligible to have their breast augmentation done in such a way.

However, submuscular implant placement presents many benefits to the patient, including:

• Lower occurrence of capsular contracture
• Lower chance of rippling
• Less interference with future mammograms
• Less visible Implant
• More natural appearance and feel to the breast
• Better results for women with small breasts

Capsular contracture is a condition where a “capsule” of scar tissue forms around the breast implants and constricts the implant in an unnatural fashion. This creates a hardened look to the breasts and is potentially painful for the patient. Treating capsular contracture requires that the implants and scar tissue be removed and the implants replaced. Capsular contracture occurs far less frequently with submuscular implants.

The other primary benefit to submuscular implantation is that more of the implant is covered by more muscle tissue, reducing the likelihood of visible implant rippling. This creates a much more natural look to a patient’s implants.

Additionally, submuscular implantation creates less interference with mammography. Because the implants are placed below the breast’s glandular tissue and muscle, and the glandular tissue is what is being examined during a mammogram, imaging is more accurate.

As always, even though submuscular breast implants have many advantages, only you and your plastic surgeon will know what is the best technique for you. Many factors, such as age, body type, implant type and intended results factor into which technique will be best for you. Always be sure to thoroughly discuss your breast augmentation with your plastic surgeon.

There are probably few things scarier than discovering an un-diagnosed but life-threatening medical condition. Being the only person in the world to ever suffer from such a condition would make most people downright petrified!

This was the case for a Florida woman — a condition so rare that it has no medical name — her heart was found to be moving around in her body. Doctors found it stuck in her rib cage under her kidney, on its side.

According to local news reports, the 35-year-old woman was born prematurely and has suffered numerous life-long complications, including an underdeveloped and diseased lung. The lung was removed when she was only 4 years old but not before the disease had spread to the remaining lung. As an adult, she’s had to endure chronic lung disease, which triggers chronic asthma, chronic bronchitis and chronic pneumonia. An onset, treatable for most adults, could easily send her to the emergency room. The empty lung cavity is what allowed her heart to shift and float in her body.

Because her doctors had never seen the condition before, they were initially at a loss to come up with a treatment. One doctor said the patient was the only person in the world with the disorder. Doctors were left to ponder the course of action for this situation. The solution? Breast implants.

“She calls herself a freak of nature because most doctors she’s seen have never seen this condition before,” according to her husband.

It required a four and one-half hour operation, she describes as life-saving, but breast implants — used in the traditional breast augmentation procedure — successfully filled the space where the lung used to be and holds the heart in the correct position.

In spite of the degenerative nature of her condition, she remains upbeat and positive, even though her health is deteriorating exponentially faster than a healthy adult of the same age.

“I coughed, sneezed and farted all at the same time and broke six ribs a few months ago. I guess it’s a talent,” she says with a hearty laugh. “They say I’ll eventually sever my spinal cord, but that’s okay, I’ll just run people over with my wheelchair and leave tire marks to prove I was there,” she added, also saying that she wants her chair motorized with a horn.

One of the UK’s largest cosmetic surgery providers, The Harley Medical Group, have released new figures that reveal 75% of women who have had a Breast Augmentation procedure in the last six months opted to go up just one or two cup sizes.

The new figures reflect the less-is-more attitude now taken by many celebrities, with many women now opting for a more natural look.

The new sort of breast augmentation patients, keen to keep things in proportion, are going for the “lower profile implant” in favor of two other available breast implant shapes – the “contoured” breast implants, which are designed to reflect the slope of the breast and the “round high profile”, which produces a more rounded appearance to the upper breast.

The Brittish medical group also reveals that breast enlargement remains the most popular of all cosmetic surgery procedures, making up 30% of all procedures across its 23 clinics.

“The ‘Boob Job’ has always been the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure we perform. These days women come to us looking for a natural result, not a look-at-me statement d colletage, which can sometimes cause too much attention. Contrary to popular belief, most cosmetic surgery patients want to fit in – not stand out!” according to Liz Dale, Director of The Harley Medical Group.

According to new reports from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, almost 400,000 breast augmentations were performed in 2007 — an increase from previous numbers since silicone breast implants were approved by the FDA in 2006. Still, many women are still choosing saline breast implants, known as the “workhorse” of breast enlargement surgery.

One of the many benefits of saline breast implants for breast augmentation is the many different saline profiles and shapes available, which allows your doctor to achieve a better match to your individual body frame.

Saline breast implants also have a flexible fill volume, and are not prefilled. This provides more options for incision placement, as well as a smaller incision necessary for the breast enhancement surgery.Because saline implants are filled after insertion, their final volume can be adjusted making it easier for the surgeon to correct for existing breast asymmetry.

Saline breast implants are widely endorsed by plastic surgeons for women who need correction for asymmetry, or that have reservations about silicone breast implants. Each patient is different however, and you should always consider the option that is best suited for your body type.The best way to be certain is to consult your plastic surgeon (or 2, or even 3) and find out which breast implants will work best for your breast augmentation.

Fountain, Colorado. There are more strange elements surfacing related to what police say was a botched murder for hire attempt. The apparent goal was getting money for breast implants.

Eighteen year old Nikita Weis allegedly offered to pay two men a total of seven thousand dollars to break into his own home, kill his mother, and steal her money and car. Police say it was all to pay for breast augmentation surgery for his girlfriend, twenty-one year old Sophia Alsept.

Juan Antonio Velez Gonzalez, 18, is accused of striking Weis’ mother in the head with a baseball bat, while Brandon Soroka, 19, waited outside during the attack, acting as lookout and driver.

When police questioned Weis and his girlfriend there stories didn’t match. During further questioning the story came out. Charges include attempted murder and kidnapping.

Court records show Nikita Weis had been bailed out of jail by his mother a couple of weeks earlier for attempted kidnapping with a deadly weapon. The victim listed is the girlfriend in this case.

Christina Applegate Opted for Double Mastectomy,
following her Breast Cancer Diagnosis, this past
August.

The entertainment world was stunned this past August when the star of ABC’s “Samantha Who?”, Christina Applegate announced that she had breast cancer and was set to undergo a double mastectomy to combat the disease. An outpouring of support and well-wishes from fans and women who had undergone the same circumstances followed as she embarked on course of action that for her, “seemed the most logical.”

During her treatments, doctors detected the presence of “CDH1″, a rare genetic mutation that placed her at an extremely high risk for cancer to spread or return, and despite the fact that cancer was only discovered in one breast, she, like a growing number of breast cancer victims, chose to have both breasts removed as a precautionary measure.

“I didn’t want to go back to the doctors every four months,” she says. “I wanted to be rid of it. For me this was the choice I made and it was a tough one.”

What may seem like a drastic step to some, becomes a reasonable decision for patients like Applegate who have the CDH1 gene.

“There’s around a 50% chance of having a recurrence in 5 years, and possibly a 60% chance of developing cancer by the age of 70,” says Dr. Steven Schonholz, Medical Director at Mercy Medical Center’s Breast Care Center.

While it isn’t known what type of Breast Reconstruction she’s had, following her Mastectomy, she is an ideal candidate for tissue expansion (a reconstructive procedure, using the patient’s own tissue) or breast implants, given her age, figure and medical history.

So, where is Applegate now, in terms of her health and state of mind?

“I’m clear. Absolutely 100-percent clear and clean it did not spread, they got everything out.” She added in a Good Morning America interview, following her reconstructive procedure: “I’m going to have cute boobs til I’m 90”.

We here at Breast Implants Info wish Ms. Applegate well and hope that she enjoys many happy and healthy years to come.

Given the controversy and debate that seems to always surround plastic surgery, we want to know where you stand on plastic surgery for reconstructive purposes. Share your thoughts (or your own personal story) about Breast Implants, Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery, by leaving us some comments.

Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Athleo Louis Cambre does a pretty good job answering many frequently asked questions concerning breast augmentation surgery.

Besides the normal ‘what is breast augmentation’ and ‘am I a good candidate’ questions, he covers breast implant surgery options such as incision location and implant type as well as surgery risks and recovery time.

Unfortunately there are no mentions of typical costs and the cost of breast implants is an often asked question.

Scroll down to the bottom of his breast surgery page and there are quite a few before and after breast augmentation photos.

A breast augmentation video from south Florida plastic surgeon Dr. Leonard Hochstein.

You can learn more about this story by reading an article about Dr. Hochstein and this breast augmentation patient on PlasticSurgery.com.