Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon San Francisco Blog

Serving San Francisco, San Jose, & Walnut Creek, California

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Does Breast Augmentation Cause the Ripple Effect?

Every breast implant has some degree of rippling - a surface irregularity. Some implants have very little and some have a lot. If you have a small pre-operative cup size, your surgeon will probably have to use your muscles to help cover the implant. Or, if you increase your size from an A cup to a D cup and have little breast tissue, the doctor may also have to use your muscle tissue, and this can cause rippling.

Even when the implant is placed behind your pectoral muscle, rippling can happen on the sides or at the bottom of your breast.

Some minor ripples are not even visible. Larger ripples can be felt and sometimes seen if they are plentiful. The degree to which your skin wrinkles depends on several factors.

You may experience more wrinkling if you:

Are thinner with a thin fat layer
Have a small operative breast size
Increase to a large implant size
Prefer saline over silicone
Have an inadequate volume of saline inside your implant

You may experience less wrinkling if you:

Are heavier with thicker fat layer
Have a larger pre-operative breast size
Increase a small implant size
Prefer silicone over saline
Optimize the volume of saline inside your implant

To learn more about plastic surgery and which procedures and treatments are available to you today, please contact Dr. Weil today to schedule your initial consultation.

posted by Patti at 2:48 PM