Breast augmentation is a procedure to enhance the size of your bust by using saline breast implants or silicone breast implants. By inserting breast implants a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills can increase a woman's bust line. Advances in implant technology and surgical technique are making this plastic surgery procedure a popular option among women. The breast implant can be placed either partially under the pectoralis major muscle (submuscular) or on top of the muscle and under the breast glands (subglandular) depending on the thickness of your breast tissue and its ability to adequately cover the breast implant. You should discuss with your surgeon the pros and cons of the breast implant placement selected for you. There are three common incision sites: under the arm (axillary), around the nipple (periareolar), or within the breast fold (inframammary). If the incision is made under the arm, the plastic surgeon may use a probe fitted with a miniature camera, along with minimally invasive (very small) instruments, to create a ?pocket? for the breast implant.

In 1992, the FDA called for a voluntary moratorium (delay) on the use of silicone gel-filled breast implants until new safety information could be thoroughly reviewed by the FDA's advisory panel. That same year, the FDA lifted this moratorium and announced its decision to allow access to silicone gel-filled breast implants for reconstruction patients under controlled clinical studies, called Adjunct Studies. In 1999, the FDA allowed the use of silicone gel-filled breast implants in Allergan's Core Clinical Study to assess the safety and effectiveness of these devices.

While these studies are collecting information specific to Allergan Medical's Silicone-Filled Breast Implants, the National Institute of Health's Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a landmark 400-page report entitled ?Safety of Silicone Breast Implants.? This 1999 report on the safety of silicone concluded ?There is insufficient evidence to support an association of silicone breast implants with defined connective tissue disease.? The IOM also stated ?There is no convincing evidence for atypical connective tissue disease or rheumatic disease or a novel constellation of signs and symptoms in women with silicone breast implants.? For more information, please read the IOM report which contains the history of breast implants and studies concerning their safety.

The unique qualities of today's silicone gel-filled breast implants help make it the filler of choice for patients in countries where both saline-filled and silicone gel-filled breast implants are widely available.

Your final result from plastic surgery will be determined far more by your choice of plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills than by which breast augmentation technique is used or which breast implant you choose. Not only is this your most important choice, it is also the hardest one to make. One thing on your side is that this is elective surgery, and totally non-urgent. If you make a pact with yourself to wait until you are 100% comfortable, you will have the breathing space to choose the right plastic surgeon for yourself. Get informed and learn more about plastic surgery and what it has to offer.

Please consult a board certified plastic surgeon if there is anything you don't understand about these plastic surgery procedures.