This may seem like a very obvious question with a very obvious answer…to get bigger breasts…but it actually is a much deeper more meaningful question than you might suspect…

The answer also depends on what decade of life you are in and if you are male or female. Let’s start with the decade of the 20′s, pre-children, perhaps pre-significant other, and female. While women who seek breast enhancement and breast implants obviously want to have larger breasts, you might be surprised that the majority of women are doing this for themselves only, because they want to feel more confident, and have a balanced body. It is about feeling more comfortable and confident in one’s own body. It isn’t to seek attention for one’s breasts or to flaunt their sexuality (those aren’t bad either, but truly not the primary motive). As a female plastic surgeon, I truly understand the female body image that has run through every woman’s head since 10 years of age. We seek beauty and balance. We are vain but don’t want to be thought of as vain, but mostly because we would like a little more confidence and proportion. We can’t increase the length of our legs (which is what we truly want) so this is the next best thing!

The next group of women are post children, breasts are a little saggy, skin that has some stretch marks, with absolute loss of volume (the breasts may even look like the old Playboy’s cartoon caricatures of grandma’s with extra long bananas for breasts). These women hate their breasts and do not want to be seen naked or in a swimsuit. They feel their breasts are ugly and therefore the rest of their body is ugly. These women don’t want to go out, don’t enjoy shopping for clothes, and don’t feel motivated to eat healthy and stay fit. Can all this result from just your breasts?? Well, yeah, of course! Any woman who has had a really bad hair and skin day will tell you that they don’t want to be seen that day, they don’t feel good about themselves that day, they tend to over eat and subsequently feel worse that day, and they can’t find anything to wear that looks good that day. Just think if this feeling lasted more than just a day, and you had to look at what you felt were awful breasts everyday! A breast lift and a breast augmentation, repositioning the breasts to the chest with volume does wonders for a woman’s outlook and self confidence.

I have learned from my patients and from my own insecurities growing up, that my self confidence or “happiness” is often tied into my perception of how good or bad I look. While this may seem very shallow, it really isn’t. Our outside appearance is a projection of our inner self. If we are tidy, “put together”, and well groomed externally, we feel more at peace, and there is balance and harmony in our mind and life. If our appearance is disheveled, disorganized and dirty, this is a projection of the chaos within. We feel ”out of control.” Our outward appearance tells the world whether we care about ourselves or not. In my opinion, the women who seek breast enhancement, care about themselves and their appearance and want to take charge of their lives and make the best impression possible with balance, harmony and beauty. And truly we need to be the first person to care about ourselves if we want others to care about us.

These are all the right reasons to go forward with any cosmetic surgery…that we care about ourselves. No, this isn’t the most important thing in life, and may seem so trivial and superficial to many, but it is about being the best you can be. Life is short and we should go after what it is that makes us more productive, happy, and confident.  We can’t change the world all at once, but we can start by making ourselves happier and hopefully more productive, thereby starting the ripple that may become a tsunami.

While visiting woman considering breast implants in my St. Louis plastic surgery office I often hear the same concerns. While its impossible to get medical advice on the internet I wanted to share just a few things for you to think about before taking the next step.

1. You don’t know how to choose your surgeon 2. You don’t know if the surgeon will understand exactly what it is you want and if she/he can create what you have in your mind 3. You don’t know if you want a saline or silicone breast implant 4. You don’t know if you want the implant under your breast or under the muscle 5. You are not sure if you need to have a breast lift along with the breast implant

All of the above questions are completely legitimate and I’m going to give you a list of questions you need answered by your plastic surgeon. You also need to educate yourself on the look and size of your future breasts. You therefore need to acquire a breast vocabulary. You will then be able to ask more informed questions and you will know how to better describe exactly what it is you want your breasts to look like.

1. The first question you need answered is: Is your plastic surgeon a BOARD CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON?
2. Is your plastic surgeon a Member of the Aesthetic Surgery Society?
3. Does she/he have MANY before and after pictures of women who have had breast enhancement and are those patients willing to talk to you?
4. Have your plastic surgeon explain the differences pro and con about silicone versus saline breast implants.
5. Do you know how often you will need to have your breast implants changed?
6. What about future mammograms?
7. What if you have a family history of breast cancer?
8. How full will my breasts be and how long will that look last?

The remainder of the questions are actually thoughts you need to sort out before finalizing your decision as to the ‘CUP SIZE’ of your augmented breasts.

1. How noticeable do you want your breasts to be? Do you want them noticeable all the time or do you only want them noticeable when YOU want them to be noticed (when you wear something tight, are naked, or in a swimsuit)?
2. How round and full do you want your breasts to appear? Do you want them to fall gently off your chest wall and want a very natural slope so your breasts almost appear to be a little low so no one will guess you have breast implants?
3. If your plastic surgeon were to err on a fuller side or a smaller side for your breasts, which would you choose, fuller or slightly a little smaller?

Truthfully, the most important point is that you convey accurately what you want your breasts to look like. Your surgeon should also completely get exactly what you are trying to convey. She/he should be able to articulate back to you exactly what you feel you want for your breasts. You should view before and after pictures from your propective plastic surgeon’s photo gallery. You need to bring a picture of your “perfect breasts” to your plastic surgeon so she/he can see your mind’s eye view of what you want AND of what you don’t want.

You need to be completely comfortable with your surgeon and truly feel that you have connected. I think that is THE most important element of achieving our perfect breasts. Your breast enhancement surgery should be seamless and a great life enhancing experience. If you do your homework and ask the appropriate questions, you’ll be thrilled! Let me know how it goes and feel free to contact me with questions. I’d be more than happy to help you out and answer your questions of concern.

So you’re thinking about plastic surgery for those stubborn areas of fat, flat chest, or excess left over baby skin…

First of all, I want you to know plastic surgery procedures are safe. Second, stop feeling guilty and start taking care of yourself. You’re so busy running around doing things for your kids and husband, you forget about yourself and you feel guilty if you even buy yourself a little lipstick. I know, I get it. As women, we are brought up to do for others first, especially for our children, husbands and family members.

I go through the same daily stresses as you, perhaps with a little variation: my Mother who I am extremely close to is very sick, I’m passionately devoted and feel very obligated to making my patients happy, I have teenagers, two of which are girls, and a very busy husband. Need I say more?

We all go through the daily grind of the bleary sand in the eyes when you wake up feeling like you’re so tired you can’t get through the day. The feeling of being so overwhelmed you have chest pain. But, we do it everyday and we get through the obstacles and we move on. I want you to know we are all in it together. It is OK to do something for yourself. Really it is.

You don’t have to go straight to plastic surgery, but you should start with something that makes you feel healthier. Take an exercise class. Sign up for the class on a regular basis; pay for it upfront and lock yourself in so you can’t make excuses. You’ll be amazed how much better you feel with a little regular sweating and exercise. As you continue to this, you’ll actually see results which will motivate you to go to the next step.

Choose your foods more wisely. Carbohydrates are NOT your friend. Even lots of fruit is NOT healthy. Lightly salted nuts or raw nuts are the best solutions to satisfy the need to munch. You don’t need crazy diets, you need to choose your foods wisely and step AWAY from the food when you are NOT hungry. Yes, HCG does help you curb your hunger. Yes it is successful when you are on it. I do provide it to my patients who want to lose weight HOWEVER, it is really about changing your LIFESTYLE to make healthier choices when you are OFF the HCG so you can sustain your weight loss and maintain your new weight when you return to your regular eating routine.

Keep in mind, my philosophy is that I am here for YOU. I want to make your life better by empowering YOU. Whether you choose to have a breast augmentation, liposuction, or tummy tuck is not the point. It is about making you feel better about yourself so you will take care of yourself better and ultimately be better for those around you and more effective in your professional life. I will not suggest anything for you that I wouldn’t do myself. I ONLY suggest the minimal intervention necessary to achieve the great natural look. I DON’T want you to look “DONE.” I will also steer you away from anything that is dangerous and not in your best interest no matter how much you ask for it.

Begin today, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND FEEL BETTER AND MORE CONFIDENT…go buy that lipstick!

Before Breast Augmentation

After Breast Augmentation

You may think breast implants to enhance a woman’s breasts are ridiculous and fake…but ask any woman who has had her breasts enhanced and you’ll get quite a different answer.

99% of woman have their breasts enlarged for themselves. They want to feel that their breasts and body are in proportion. They want to feel balanced, be able to wear a swim suit, feel less self conscious, and to feel sexier in and out of clothes. Truthfully they just want to feel a little better about their own body.

Is that wrong? The public condemns woman seeking breast augmentation and implants as being vain, vapid, and “slutty” as only wanting attention for themselves in an unbecoming manner. Really, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Woman want to be more comfortable with their own bodies. They want to feel comfortable being seen naked. If they don’t like how they look naked, they will never want to be seen naked or in any type of clothing that shows anything!

Breast implants are safe and the surgery itself takes less than an hour with 1-2 days recovery time. Yes, there is maintenance since the implants will need to be replaced in 10-20 years and mammograms may be more difficult. However, it is minimal maintenance and your plastic surgeon should see you every year after you have your breast augmentation as a courtesy for you.

What do you think, let me know your opinion. My opinion…very safe and very uplifting for any woman who hates what nature gave them. Don’t let nature own you, you go out and take control!!