Important Considerations for Breast Surgery During Pregnancy

Breast surgeries help boost or bring back the confidence of a woman. It changes the breasts by improving its appearance. There are different breast surgeries available today, and they include breast augmentation with implants, breast reduction surgery, and breast lift surgery.

Before having the surgery, there are important considerations to take whether the patient plans to have the surgery before or after the surgery. For breast surgeries before getting pregnant, patients should remember that the result of the surgery can be negatively affected by future pregnancies and that breast surgeries can also negatively affect the woman’s ability to breastfeed. For those who plan to have the surgery after pregnancy, it is important to remember that the surgery shouldn’t be done immediately after breastfeeding and if the patient still plans to lose weight.

Breast Surgery Procedures

In order to achieve better-looking breasts, some women opt for breast surgery. Different kinds of breast surgeries help improve the appearance of the breast by manually altering the shape or size of the breast. There are three kinds of surgeries to choose from, and they include the following:

Breast Augmentation with Implants

One common surgery done on women today is breast augmentation surgery. In this type of surgery, the main goal is to increase the size of the breast through the use of implants to make the breasts look better. The implants that are inserted are made of silicone material. These also come in different sizes and profiles to make it easier for surgeons to achieve what the patient desires.

Breast implant surgery is a great way to improve the appearance of the breast if the patient feels her breasts are lacking volume or fullness. It can help her achieve a cleavage and also accentuate her curves to make her look sexier and more feminine. This also helps boost or bring back her confidence.

Breast augmentation is major surgery and will require general anesthesia or local anesthesia coupled with sedation. In this surgery, there are a few side effects that can happen, one of which is the change in nipple sensitivity. This may be a temporary effect or a permanent one.

Breast Reduction

Breast reduction is another type of surgery that is commonly done on women in order to enhance the appearance of the breast. It's the procedure that corrects oversized breasts by removing excess tissue, skin, and fat.

Like breast augmentation with the use of implants, this surgery is also major surgery that also requires the use of general anesthesia or local anesthesia plus sedation. This kind of surgery will remove the excess breast tissue to make it more comfortable for women to move or do other physical activities. It also comes with some side effects including change in nipple sensitivity. This is because of the incision created in order to alter the breast. It is possible to make the cut around the nipple and have additional incisions towards the base. The number and size of the incisions will depend on how much reduction the patient needs.

Breast Lift

The breast lift is another type of surgery that aims to improve the overall appearance of the breast. This surgery is used to correct droopy or sagging breasts. The skin on the breasts may be stretched due to different factors. Although the skin is elastic, it doesn’t go back to its former size as fast or as much as it stretches.

When the skin is stretched and there is not enough volume for the breast, it can sag. In order to correct this, excess skin along with some amount of fat will be removed. The breast lift may also require the nipples to be re-positioned. This is to make sure that it looks right and in the correct anatomical location.

The breasts can be perky again with this kind of major procedure. It also requires general anesthesia or local anesthesia with sedation. Although the sagging of the breast will be corrected, future sagging may still occur if the patient has huge weight fluctuations.

Important Considerations for Breast Surgery Before Pregnancy

Women who wish to undergo any of the available breast surgeries before they are done with pregnancy should remember there are important considerations. Patients should be aware of these before they agree to go to surgery:

Results Could Be Reversed By Future Pregnancy

Pregnancy changes the body of a woman in various ways. The breasts are affected because it prepares for the coming of the baby. The breasts will naturally get bigger because the glands start to produce milk. This is the reason why the breasts look fuller during pregnancy, after giving birth, and as long as the woman is lactating.

The change in the breasts can cause the previously reduced breast to grow bigger again. It also causes the breasts to look less perky compared to a newly lifted breast. This is especially seen when the woman has weaned her child off breastfeeding.

Breast Surgery Can Negatively Affect Breastfeeding

Although surgeons are careful in handling the nipples and other areas of the breast, there is still a risk that those who go through the procedure may not be able to breastfeed in the future. This is because the nipples may have permanent changes that negatively affect breastfeeding.

There are also some who can go through breast augmentation, reduction or lift without experiencing any problem with their ability to breastfeed. This is a risk that one should be willing to take before they go through the surgery. This risk is also the reason why most surgeons suggest patients get breast procedures only when they are done getting pregnant.

Important Considerations for Breast Surgery After Pregnancy

Ideally, it would be best for women to get breast surgeries only after they are done getting pregnant. Here are some important considerations for breast surgery after pregnancy.

Breast Surgery Should Not Be Done Immediately After Breastfeeding

Throughout the breastfeeding stage, the woman’s breast will continuously experience changes. Right after weaning the child from breastfeeding, the breasts would still take time before they can stabilize and stop lactating. Those who wish to get breast surgery after giving birth and after breastfeeding should wait for at least six months after breastfeeding or after delivery (if the woman is not breastfeeding) before undergoing the procedure. 

By giving the breasts six months to adjust, the patient will be able to see what her breasts would really look like. If surgery is done prior to the breasts stabilizing, the results could change and the changes can cause a less than attractive result.

Aside from giving time for the breasts to stabilize first, waiting months before getting the surgery also makes sure that the body has healed after giving birth. The body went through trauma when it gave birth whether as a normal delivery or as a caesarian section surgery. Giving the body adequate time to heal also helps make sure that the body can handle the trauma that it is about to take from breast surgery.

Breast Surgery Shouldn’t Be Done When The Patient Plans To Lose Weight

With pregnancy, many women tend to gain weight. This weight can be lost with diet and exercise after giving birth. Breast surgeries should only be done when the patient is already at their ideal weight. If the patient still plans to lose more weight, breast surgery should be postponed.

Losing weight after the surgery could negatively affect the appearance of the breast. When a patient loses weight, the fat that is found in the breasts can also be lost, which can result in the sagging of the breasts. The breasts can also appear smaller after losing weight after breast reduction.

Conclusion

There are different kinds of breast surgeries that can be done in order to improve their appearance. Among them are breast augmentation through implants, breast reduction, and breast lift.

The three surgeries are best done after the patient is done being pregnant. This is because the body goes through changes during pregnancy and this can negatively affect the results of different breast surgeries.

There are some important considerations to take for those who want to get breast surgery before or after pregnancy. Those planning to get the surgery before pregnancy need to know that future pregnancy can negatively affect the results of their surgery and can also negatively affect breastfeeding.

Similarly, those who wish to have breast surgeries after pregnancy should also remember that they should only undergo the surgery after a few months after breastfeeding and postpone the surgery when they still plan to lose weight.