Silicone Implants
Another successful seminar on plastic surgery in Scottsdale.
Feb 4th
Breast augmentation, breast lift and tummy tuck seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Dr. Guerra discussing the breast lift procedure.
Dr. Guerra completed another successful seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona. The seminar focused on breast augmentations, breast lifts and tummy tucks. Dr. Guerra spent time going over each plastic surgery procedure and went over some actual patient before and after photos.
Dr. Guerra and the AB Guerra Plastic Surgery Center enjoy educating the public in cosmetic surgery procedures so they can make an informed decision. Dr. Guerra is a big believer in education and through the seminars, community service and this blog he is able to highlight and discuss plastic surgery in more detail.
Are you interested in attending a plastic surgery seminar in Arizona?
Check out the news and events schedule for more information on the next plastic surgery events in Arizona. If you are interested in learning more about plastic surgery in Arizona please contact our office today. These educational seminars are very informative and patients appreciate the group environment in discussing these popular plastic surgery procedures.
Seeking Bigger Boobs…
Jan 12th
Seeking Bigger Boobs – Part 2
Scottsdale – Breast augmentation is the most popular plastic surgery procedure. What do you need to know when seeking bigger boobs?
We already discussed the option between silicone and saline breast implants. The next priority when seeking breast augmentation in Arizona, is the size of the new breast cup desired.
In our opinion, deciding on your new breast size after surgery is the most important decision when it comes to creating satisfaction. Fortunately, the final breast cup can be derived at, using common sense advice.
First, we must look at what the patient brings to the consultation. We must consider the height and weight of the patient. We also look at the proportions. We must consider the current bra size and chest measurements. Patients who are taller and wider can accept and look great with bigger implants. The more petite the person, the more difficult it becomes for them to accept bigger implants.
Second, we must consider what looks good on your body. This is determined by two important factors. The first, has to do with your actual physical proportions. The second factor is more dependent on society, where you live and what sizes are considered acceptable. For instance, living in Scottsdale, patients spent plenty of time outside in the sun and larger breasts implants are more acceptable. An average size in the warm and sunny southwest, is between 385 to 465 cc.
The situation might be different if you live on the east coast. Patients usually choose smaller implants in this part of the country because outdoor activities are not as popular. Implant volumes less than 325 cc are more popular in this region.
Third, having a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon, is one of the most important decisions you can make. We will encourage you to choose the size you believe will make you the happiest, but review the pros and cons of that size. When you are in our office, you will have plenty of time to tell us your desired cup and when you leave, you will be very confident about the size you have chosen.
In general, breast implants larger than 350 cc are considered to carry higher risks leading to skin stretching, thinning and sagging. The larger the implant, the longer the recovery and there may be more pain for patients who choose larger implants. Large saline breast implants are likely to create a higher risk of rippling.
The bigger the breast implants, the more likely your result will look round, bubbly or fake. A natural result is more likely to be achieved when the implant size is proportional to your body.
For additional important information on breast augmentation and breast implants go to bellabreast.com
38 KKK: That’s right, the biggest breast implants can be found in Texas.
Jan 11th
Scottsdale – According to the NY Daily News, Texas woman, Sheyla Hershey, has the world’s biggest breasts, at 38 KKK. Her story has been documented by several media outlets. In June 2008, she was a 34 FFF and was denied additional breast augmentation surgery by American doctors. She decided to go to Brazil and had a ninth breast surgery. Brazil does not have a limit on how large breast implants can go.
She now wears the 38 KKK.
“To me, big is beautiful. I don’t think I have anything to worry about,” Hershey told Fox News.
According to Fox News, she holds the world record for the biggest breast implants, having an entire gallon of silicone to accomplish her new size. You can see more photos and read more about Ms. Hershey on MySpace.
Successful Plastic Surgery Seminar in Scottsdale
Jan 6th
Breast Augmentation, Breast Lift and Tummy Tuck Seminar in Scottsdale.
Dr. Guerra completed another very successful plastic surgery seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona. The seminar focused on the breast augmentation, breast lift or mastopexy and tummy tuck or abdominoplasty cosmetic surgery in Arizona. Dr. Guerra went into details into each plastic surgery procedure and answered some very good questions from the attendees. The AB Guerra Plastic Surgery Center enjoys educating the public in cosmetic surgery procedures so they can make an informed decision. Dr. Guerra is a big believer in education and through the seminars, community service and this specific blog (ScottsdalePlasticSurgeon.org) he is able to highlight and discuss plastic surgery in more detail.
Dr. Guerra discussing breast implants at the Scottsdale seminar.
Interested in attending a plastic surgery seminar in Arizona?
The next plastic surgery seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona will focus on plastic surgery after major weight loss and will be held on Wednesday January 13, 2010 at the AB Guerra Plastic Surgery Center. If you are interested in learning more about the body lift, thigh lift, extended tummy tuck or arm tuck cosmetic surgery procedure please contact our office so we can place you on the RSVP list. These educational seminars are very informative and patients appreciate the group environment in discussing these popular plastic surgery procedures in Scottsdale or Phoenix, Arizona.
Dr. Guerra explaining the tummy tuck incision
at the Scottsdale seminar.
Interested in attending a plastic surgery seminar in the Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona area? Please call (480) 970-2580 or use our contact form to schedule a complimentary consultation.
What is Poland’s Syndrome?
Dec 16th
Scottsdale – I brought this topic for consideration on the blog, because Poland’s Syndrome is common in the plastic surgeon’s practice. In my office for instance, the condition usually involves women seeking breast augmentation and/or reconstruction.
Poland’s Syndrome is a condition in which there is malformation of the chest causing the pectoralis major, on one side of the body, to be absent or underdeveloped. An underdeveloped breast can accompany the condition. Poland’s is not life threatening, but can make restoration of normal breast shape and symmetry challenging. In Poland’s, one can also see unilateral shortening of the index, long, and ring fingers, and hypoplasia of the hand. Other muscles may be lacking such as the latissimus dorsi and teres major muscles depending on the severity of the condition.
Restoration of a normal appearing breast requires individualized and focused treatment. The hypoplastic breast may require muscular flap and/or silicone gel implant placement, tissue expansion for a future flap and/or implant reconstruction and, in mild cases, implants alone can be use on the affected side. Nipple reconstruction is some times required.
For the best symmetry, I discussed surgery on the non-affected side with all patients. Breast reduction and breast lift with or without silicone breast implants should be used.
A learning experience.
Dec 5th
Santa Barbara, CA – Today was a good day for learning!
The best part of the medical conference, sponsored by Mentor Corporation, was learning about biofilms. It turns out that many of the accepted concepts on how bacteria live out their lives may not be totally accurate! We used to think as bacteria as loners who would in isolation cause infections.
The reality is that most bacteria form communities and communicate with others to form a successful living environment – called biofilm.
The conference focused on silicone breast implants. More information will be forthcoming on the blog as this truly cutting-edge research evolves!
Update: Safety and Effectiveness of Memory Gel Implants at 6 years.
Nov 4th
Scottsdale – I decided to do a follow up review on this very important article. I originally covered the findings in this article on the blog earlier this year, but I have decided to take a close look the numbers. This article originally appeared in the May 2009 issue of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. This blog will include only a review of the cosmetic augmentation and revision augmentation subgroups. A separate blog article will cover the reconstructive subgroups later.
Silicone gel filled implants have been approved in the U.S. since November 2006. The FDA requires follow up studies to be completed through 10 years. This article summarizes the findings involved with Mentor Corporation Memory Gel Core Study at 6 years. There were 1008 patients enrolled in this study. The subgroups included 552 augmentation, 145 revision augmentation, 251 reconstruction, and 60 revision reconstruction patients.
A close look at the augmentation subgroup demonstrates the 6-year rupture rate at a very low 1.1%. This is the lowest reported implant leakage rate ever reported for a long-term implant study. In the group, there occurred a 6-year revision totaling 19.4% of patients. The most common reasons for re-operation in this sub-group was for the treatment of capsular contracture (33.3%) and size change (14.8%). There was an infection rate of 1.6% in the subgroup.
Capsular contracture is the scar tissue that develops around the implant and can tighten over time as a reaction to the implant. It is known that implants placed above the muscle have a higher risk of developing capsular contracture. It is believed that a certain number of contractures cannot be prevented. Currently, plastic surgeons utilized several techniques to reduce the incidence of contracture. However, patients should realize that even this study, performed by experts in breast surgery, contracture of the capsule over the implant will occur and cannot be totally preventable.
The overall rate of capsular contracture in the augmentation subgroup was 9.8% after 6 years. The article does not tell us how many patients had implants above the muscle. The most common operation performed to treat capsule contracture is capsulectomy or capsulectomy (removal of the tissue) with implant exchange. In the subgroup, 19.7% of the implants removed were due to capsule contracture while of the implants removed, 51.5% of the implants simply to change the size of the implants.
The revision augmentation numbers are even more interesting. The rupture rate for implants in this scenario was 11.4%. Additionally, capsular contracture (22.4%) and reoperation (33.4%) numbers were also higher. The more likely explanation for the higher numbers is that revision breast surgery is more technically challenging and certainly is riskier than primary breast augmentation. Patients who re contemplating revision breast surgery should be aware of the higher risks associated with revision surgery and implant exchange.
This article demonstrates that silicone gel filled breast implants are safe and effective. This study also demonstrates that complications can occur after cosmetic breast surgery and patients should be mentally prepared for these challenges. A 1.1% rupture rate at 6-years for cosmetic breast augmentation using Memory Gel Filled implants is the lowest reported rupture rate – ever.
