Breast augmentation with implant has been widely accepted as a good method to enlarge the women's breast size. Annually, 10000 cases of breast augmentation are performed in Taiwan. Several types of implants are available are available in Taiwan currently.
Types of Breast Implants Available in Taiwan
Types |
Motiva |
Smooth Round Implant |
Textured Round Implant |
Shaped |
Shape |
Round |
Round |
Round |
Tear Drop |
Shell Surface |
Nanatextured (Silksurface) and Microtextured (Velvet surface) |
smooth |
Microtextured (Mentor Siltex) and Macrotextured (Allergan Natrelle) |
Microtextured (Mentor Siltex) and Macrotextured (Allergan Natrelle) |
Available products in Taiwan |
Motive Ergonomix Silksurface |
Mentor and Allergan Round |
Mentor Siltex |
Mentor Shaped |
Softness |
Soft |
Soft |
Soft to Firm |
Firm |
Mobility |
Good |
Good |
Poor |
Not mobile |
Wound length |
Short |
Short |
Longer (1 cm longer than motiva and smooth round) |
Longest |
Massage |
Needless |
Needed |
Needless |
Needless |
Capsular Contracture |
<1% |
5% |
3% |
3% |
Late Seroma |
0% |
0% |
<1% |
<1% |
Must Know Before Breast Augmentation in Taiwan
- Breast implants won't prevent your breasts from sagging. To correct sagging breasts, you might need a breast lift in addition to breast augmentation.
- Breast implants aren't guaranteed to last a lifetime. The average life span of an implant is 10 years. Implant rupture is a possibility. Also, your breasts will continue to age, and factors such as weight gain or weight loss might change the way your breasts look. These issues will likely lead to more surgery.
- Mammograms might be more complicated. If you have breast implants, in addition to routine mammograms, you'll require additional, specialized views. (Dr. Wu suggest not to undergo mammogram after breast implant surgery. Instead, ultrasound can be used for routine breast health check-ups)
- Breast implants might hamper breast-feeding. Some women are able to successfully breast-feed after breast augmentation. For others, however, breast-feeding is a challenge. (Especially for peri-areolar incision breast augmentation)
- Insurance does not cover breast implants. Unless it's medically necessary — such as after a mastectomy — breast augmentation isn't covered by insurance. Be prepared to handle the expenses, including related surgeries or future imaging tests.
- You might need additional surgery after breast implant removal. If you decide to have your implants removed, you might need a breast lift or other corrective surgery to help restore your breasts' appearance.
- You might need an MRI scan. The FDA recommends routine monitoring with MRI after three years. However, recent studies show that there's little data to support routine screening unless you have symptoms.
- Breast implants are not lifetime devices; the longer you have your implants, the more likely it will be for you to have them removed.
- The longer you have breast implants, the more likely you are to experience local complications and adverse outcomes.
- The most common local complications and adverse outcomes are capsular contracture, reoperation, implant removal, and rupture or deflation of the implant. Other complications include wrinkling, asymmetry, scarring, pain, and infection at the incision site.
- You should assume that you will need to have additional surgeries (reoperations).
- Many of the changes to your breast following implantation may be cosmetically undesirable and irreversible.
- If you have your implants removed but not replaced, you may experience changes to your natural breasts such as dimpling, puckering, wrinkling, breast tissue loss or other undesirable cosmetic changes.
- If you have breast implants, you will need to monitor your breasts for the rest of your life.
- If you notice any abnormal changes in your breasts, you will need to see a doctor promptly
. If you have silicone gel-filled breast implants, you will need to undergo periodic MRI examinations in order to detect ruptures of the implant that do not cause symptoms (“silent ruptures”). For early detection of silent rupture,
the FDA and breast implant manufacturers recommend that women with silicone gel-filled breast implants receive MRI screenings 3 years after they receive a new implant and every 2 years after that. MRI screening for implant rupture is costly and may not be covered by your insurance.
• If you have breast implants, you may have a
very low but increased risk of developing a
rare type of cancer called anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) in the breast tissue surrounding the implant. (ALCL is not breast cancer.)
Women diagnosed with ALCL in the breast may need to be treated with surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.
What to Expect Immediately After Breast Augmentation
Taking good care of yourself post-op is extremely important. You need to give your body an optimal amount of time to heal and look its best. Here's what you can expect within the first few days after your surgery:
- Surgery is incredibly taxing on the body. You'll likely feel extremely tired and sore in the days following the procedure. Get plenty of rest.
- 24 hours after surgery, you may remove the dressings, except for the skin tapes or steri-strips that cover the incisions. Steri-strips are applied with a skin adhesive, so they can be washed over without needing to be removed. Just blot dry with a clean towel. The steri-strips will eventually fall off on their own.
- You may continue to cover incisions with gauze dressings, as needed, for a week.
- The chest area may feel tight while the skin adjusts to the implants, which is normal.
- You may have less feeling in your breasts and nipples in the days immediately following the surgery.
- Swelling and mild bruising of the breasts is normal after surgery, and will gradually subside over the next several weeks.
- Your plastic surgeon may start you on breast massage techniques to avoid capsular contracture, speed up recovery and diminish discomfort.
- Your plastic surgeon may also tell you to wear a soft, yet supportive post-surgical bra, sports bra or wide, elastic bandage around your breasts for help with support and positioning during recovery. Do not wear an underwire bra. The wire can affect the position of the breast implant. Some plastic surgeons advise patients not to wear a bra at all. Follow your surgeon's instructions.
- If instructed to wear a bra or compression bandage, remove it to bathe, but put it back on immediately after.
- Most plastic surgeons will allow patients to shower 24 hours after surgery, but they will request that still water be avoided for 2 weeks after surgery. This includes bath water, swimming pools, hot tubs, whirlpools, lakes, oceans, etc.
- Many patients return back to work and their daily routine within days of the surgery.
- If you are sent home with drains, empty the drainage bulb and record the amount of fluid three times per day. It is important to record the amount because this will tell your surgeon when the drains are ready to be removed.
What to Expect in the Weeks Following Surgery
As previously mentioned, the recovery process varies for everyone. Although most patients are completely back to normal about a week after surgery, recovery continues:
- Breasts will likely remain swollen and sensitive for up to a month or longer following surgery.
- Strenuous activities and exercises that raise the pulse, blood pressure or require extensive use of the arms and chest should be avoided.
Possible Complications and Adverse Outcomes
- Breast feeding difficulties
- Breast pain
- Breast sagging, also called “ptosis”
- Calcium build-up in breast tissue, also called “calcification”
- Capsular contracture—hardening of the breast area around the implant
- Chest wall deformity—when the chest wall or underlying rib cage appears deformed
- Deflation of the breast implant—when filler material leaks from the breast implant often due to a valve leak or a tear or cut in the implant shell
- Delayed wound healing
- Extrusion—when the skin breaks down and the implant appears through the skin
- Hematoma—collection of blood near the surgical site
- Iatrogenic injury or damage—when new injury or damage occurs to the tissue or implant as a result of implant surgery
- Implant displacement or malposition—when the implant is not in the correct position in the breast
- Implant palpability or visibility—when the implant can be felt through the skin
- Implant removal—with or without implant replacement
- Implant visibility—when the implant can be seen through the skin
- Implant wrinkling or rippling
- Infection, including Toxic Shock Syndrome— when during breast implant surgery, wounds
are contaminated with micro-organisms, such as bacteria or fungi - Inflammation or irritation
- Necrosis—when there is dead skin or tissue around the breast
- Nipple or breast changes, including change in or loss of nipple sensation
- Redness or bruising
- Reoperation—additional surgeries
- Rupture of the breast implant—when there is a tear or hole in the implant’s outer shell
- Scarring
- Seroma—the collection of fluid around the breast implant
- Skin rash
- Swollen or enlarged lymph nodes, also called “lymphedema or lymphadenopathy”
- Thinning and shrinking of the skin, also called “breast tissue atrophy”
- Unsatisfactory appearance due to implant style or size
Case Studies of Breast Augmentation (Dr. Chih-Wei Wu ,Taipei, Taiwan)
Contact Dr. Wu
Elysee Aesthetic Clinic, Taipei, Taiwan
6F, 172-1, Sec. 2, Keelung Rd, Da’an Dist., Taipei, Taiwan
Email: drcwwu88@gmail.com
Line: @drcwwu
6F, 172-1, Sec. 2, Keelung Rd, Da’an Dist., Taipei, Taiwan
Email: drcwwu88@gmail.com
Line: @drcwwu