Breastfeeding With Silicone Implants
Does Silicone Implant Affect Breastfeeding?
Most of the breast augmentation operations are done on young women. The most effective breast augmentation way is still inserting a silicone breast implant although autologous fat injection augmentation is a rising trend. The most important hesitation of young women about breast operations is fears about breastfeeding.
Can every breast capable of feeding new born baby?
It is not predictable that breasts always can feed baby. It is well known that some mothers can not produce adequate milk for feeding, some mothers might unable to produce milk after a short time and even some mothers cannot breastfeed at all. There is not a specific risk about breastfeeding after breast augmentation operations. However like unoperated mothers operated for breast implant mothers also have the same risks about breastfeeding
Does silicone implant create a risk for breastfeeding?
Wherever is the entrance route does not change the final position of the breast implant. Implants are always are always placed behind the breast tissue and sometimes deeper. Babies suck the milk from the most protruding part of the breast. There is a nipple over there in the middle of a dark circle. All the channels into the breast glands conjunct to each other and eventually open to the outside as a few large channels from the tip of the nipple. Milk runs out from here. Even some small milk channels had been wounded in the deep areas the other channels in the network can still maintain the milk flow. Breast implants are never inserted into the beast or close to the large milk channels. And also the opening for preparing the implant pouch never goes through the large mammary channels. For these reasons mammary implants are not interfere breastfeeding.
Areola and nipple
Breast has a conical shape and there is a dark circle on top of the most prominent part. Diameter of this area is usually 3 to 6 cm (even larger). Anatomically it is called as “areola”. In the middle of this circle “nipple” protrudes out and milk comes inside it. Final destination of milk channels is here and baby sucks the nipple for feeding.
Putting the implant through the edge of the areola
Silicone breast implant can be inserted under the breast from different sides:
- From the fold under the breast
- From the armpit
- From the umbilicus
- From the edge of the areola
All of these sides have some advantage and disadvantages. However inserting the implant through the areola edge gives better results with unnoticeable scar. For this reason many experienced plastic surgeons prefer this approach. Some patients believe that operation through this route would damage milk channels. This is wrong. The cut from here (areola edge) continuous into the breast very far from main milk channels and the resulting damage is so minor that it can be dismissed. The scar of this cut is on the border of the dark and light breast skin and so usually are inconspicuous. Additionally there is very little skin tension in this area and the risk of scar enlargement is little. But like in every other operations the success of this approach is directly related to the skill and experience of the surgeon.
