A Johannesburg prominent
plastic surgeon explains…
Contemporary media, including cinematography and glossy magazines have promoted large breasts as a symbol of beauty and sexuality; notice the image of Barbie with her small hips, waist and disproportionate large breasts.
Breast augmentation is therefore one of the more popular operations requested from plastic surgeons in the last decade. The trade-off of breast augmentation surgery, like any other surgical intervention, is a scar. Scar on the breast inevitably produces a blemish however, in most instances it is a justifiable trade-off for the improved shape and volume.
Inserting breast implants through a small incision under the armpit can be regarded as scarless…In the plastic surgeon’s continuous quest to minimize or eliminate scars as much as possible, the axillary approach to breast augmentation was developed. This approach leaves the inevitable scar in the armpit, an area aesthetically dissociated from the breast aesthetic unit. The small incision (approx.5cm long) is horizontally placed in the skin crease of the armpit and when it matures it usually blends and becomes inconspicuous. The arm pit approach leads easily into a sub muscular pocket which the favorable position is elected by most
plastic surgeons for insertion the implants.
One of the trade-offs of the under-arm approach is that the scar is only exposed when you elevate your arm. This is only evident in the immediate period after the operation, for some six to twelve months. This period requires restrain of arm movement, to keep the scar concealed until it matures fully.
This approach has the distinct advantage of avoiding any surgery on the breasts. In addition to avoiding scars, this technique avoids alterations to the architecture of the breast, ensuring breast feeding after the surgery. It also has a cosmetic advantage over the sub mammary incision (incision at the junction of the breast and the chest wall) which is exposed whenever the breast moves up, usually in the most inappropriate social circumstance.
What are the risks involved?On rare occasions numbness of the inner arm is experienced, which usually settles within a few weeks. On the rare occasion hypertrophic scar or keloid may occur under the armpit.
