Breast Augmentation in Medellín

Breast augmentation, augmentation mammaplasty, breast enlargement, or “getting implants”: it's all the same surgery. In Spanish, you'll see it as mamoplastia de aumento or aumento de senos. If you live in the United States, our guide to breast augmentation in Medellín for US patients may also help (there's a version in Spanish, too). According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), it's done to make the breasts larger, to restore volume lost after pregnancy or weight loss, or to improve a difference in size between the breasts.

The FDA, which regulates breast implants in the United States, has approved two types: saline implants, which are a silicone shell filled with sterile salt water, and silicone gel implants. Both come in a range of sizes, with a smooth or textured shell. According to the ASPS, the implant can go under the pectoral (chest) muscle or over it, behind the breast tissue, and the incision can be made along the edge of the areola, in the crease under the breast, or in the armpit. The choice depends on the implant, how much larger you want to go, and your body. It isn't something you pick from a catalog: your surgeon decides it with you at your consultation.

An implant adds volume, but it doesn't lift. The ASPS explains that augmentation doesn't correct breasts that sag significantly, and that sometimes a lift is needed, either in the same surgery or in a separate one.

• If your breasts sag, we'll consider a breast lift (mastopexy), with implants if you also want more volume, or with your own tissue only.
• If your abdomen also changed after pregnancy, we'll consider a mommy makeover.
• If you already have implants and want a different size or want them removed, we'll consider a breast implant exchange.

At your consultation, we'll tell you what makes sense for you.

According to the ASPS, you may be a candidate if you're in good health, your breasts are fully developed, and your expectations are realistic. So, for now, it isn't for you if:

• You're pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Your breasts are still developing.
• You're not in good health.
• You expect the implant to lift a sagging breast.
• You're doing it for someone else. The ASPS puts it plainly: this decision is yours.

If you're planning a pregnancy, tell your surgeon at your consultation.

Every surgery has risks, and this one does too. The ASPS lists, among others:

• Anesthesia risks, bleeding, hematoma, and infection.
• Fluid buildup (seroma).
• Hard scar tissue around the implant (capsular contracture).
• Implant leakage or rupture, or an implant that ends up in the wrong position.
• Changes in nipple or breast sensation, and persistent pain.
• Wrinkling of the skin over the implant, and poor scarring.
• A lymphoma associated with breast implants (BIA-ALCL), or other very rare cancers in the capsule around the implant.
• The possibility of revision surgery.

Before you decide, we go over each one with you, and you sign an informed consent form.

Before surgery, you'll get your pre-op tests and go over your medications with your specialist: the ASPS recommends quitting smoking and avoiding aspirin and certain anti-inflammatory drugs, because they increase bleeding. We'll give you your fasting instructions, and our international patients page explains how the trip works and links to a guide on what to pack. You leave surgery in a post-op bra, and you need an adult to take you home (or to where you're staying) and stay with you the first night. The first week is relative rest, with your first follow-up visit. Over the years, implants need monitoring: the FDA explains that there's no way to predict how long an implant will last and, for silicone implants, recommends periodic screening to detect a rupture that causes no symptoms. Your doctor will tell you whether that means an ultrasound or an MRI.