Breast Augmentation Risks & Safety

As a plastic surgeon in the Washington DC and Maryland area, Dr. Landford and her team pride themselves on practicing safe procedures that produce pleasing results for many satisfied patients. We believe in full disclosure, which is why we also discuss the potential complications of cosmetic surgery. Some of the risks and side effects associated with the Breast Augmentation procedure, which can include, but are not limited to: Anesthesia risks Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) or other very rare cancers in the capsule around the breast, such as breast implant-associated squamous cell carcinoma (BIA-SCC) Bleeding Changes in nipple or breast sensation Fluid accumulation (seroma) Formation of tight scarred tissue around the implant (capsular contracture) Hematoma Implant leakage or rupture Infection Persistent pain Poor scarring Possibility of revision surgery Wrinkling of the skin over the implant Wrong or faulty position of the implant If you do experience any of the previously mentioned reactions or long-lasting side effects, please contact our office immediately so that we can help.

Is Breast Augmentation Painful?

Your Breast Augmentation recovery should be mostly painless, however, you may experience swelling, bruising, pain, and general discomfort during the early stages of your recovery. Dr. Landford can prescribe you some temporary pain medications to help manage any pain or discomfort.

How many appointments will I need?

After your Breast Augmentation in Maryland or Washington DC, Dr. Landford will have you return about a week after surgery so she can monitor your recovery and remove any stitches and bandages. You can expect another appointment about a month or two later, followed by another one three months post-surgery, then again six months later. Dr. Landford will always let you know when she wants you to return at the end of each appointment.

How long until I see the results of my Breast Implants?

While your Breast Augmentation results could be immediately noticeable depending on the change in your breasts’ appearance, you will be swollen and bruised for a few weeks as you heal. In the following months of your Breast Augmentation, your breasts will continue to go through changes, normally requiring about three to four months for you to see the final results after your implants have settled into their natural resting position.

Can I combine a Breast Augmentation with other procedures?

Absolutely! Many women will combine their Breast Augmentation with other Body Contouring procedures to achieve a beautiful look, with other cosmetic surgical procedures such as a Breast Lift , Tummy Tuck or Body Lift For example, if your goal is not only to enlarge your breasts but also to correct sagging breasts, a Breast Augmentation performed in conjunction with a Breast Lift can produce some stunning results and improve your breast implant profile. If you would like to achieve certain aesthetic goals, please discuss them with Dr. Landford during your breast augmentation consultation. She will be able to use her experience and artistic eye to help you find the right combination of breast augmentation procedures to meet your aesthetic goals.

Does Breast Augmentation surgery cause breast cancer?

No. Breast implants do not cause breast cancer, nor will they increase your chances of getting it. That being said, there has been some research that has shown that textured breast implants increase the chances of getting anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), which is a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a serious form of cancer that affects the T lymphocytes. Important to note, textured breast implants are not used in our practice. In any case, routine mammograms are important after getting breast implants. If you have any concerns or questions about this, please discuss them with Dr. Landford during your consultation and she will hopefully be able to put your mind at ease.

What is Capsular Contracture?

A “capsule” is created from scar tissue when your body reacts to the inserted foreign object (i.e. breast implants). While this is usually a good thing to help keep the implant in place and prevent slippage in the breast pocket, there is a possibility with Breast Augmentations that the scarred tissue can become a cause for concern if it becomes too hard and closes around the implant. Not only will this create aesthetic problems, but it will also cause tremendous pain in the breasts. We encourage you to be cognizant of the possibility of capsular contracture and that it can happen to anyone, so if you notice any odd feelings in your breast, please contact our office immediately.

How do you treat capsular contracture?

Breast Implant Exchange or Removal are options when treating capsular contracture. If you begin feeling any unfamiliar pain in your breasts from either a previous full breast reconstruction or augmentation, please contact your nearest Landford Plastic Surgery location and schedule a consultation with Dr. Landford.

Breast Augmentation

In Washington D.C. &. Maryland

Breast Augmentation is a transformative cosmetic procedure that involves enhancing the size and shape of your breasts. This can be achieved through the insertion of implants filled with saline or silicone gel, tailored to your unique preferences and body proportions.

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Preparation
Techniques
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What is a Breast Augmentation?

Many women are concerned about the size and shape of their breasts; whether it’s due to a loss in breast volume, genetics, or general dissatisfaction, Breast Augmentation surgery is an incredibly popular cosmetic surgery that helps women who are dissatisfied with the contour, size, or fullness of their breasts, or would like to improve their breast asymmetry.

There are many important decisions to make when it comes to deciding on the type of breast enhancement. Dr. Landford will go over all of these decisions during your consultation while sharing the pros and cons of each choice to allow you to make an informed decision. These options will include breast implant shape, cup size, option for lipofilling, implant positioning, and insertion techniques.

Who is a Good Candidate for a Breast Augmentation?

If you are in Washington DC or Maryland and wondering if you are a good candidate for Breast Augmentation surgery, at Landford Plastic Surgery we believe you should have some of the following characteristics:

Bothered by the feeling that your breasts are too small
Dissatisfied with your breasts losing shape and volume after pregnancy, weight loss, or with aging
Have realistic expectations
Looking to treat asymmetrical breasts
Not currently pregnant or breastfeeding
One or both breasts failed to develop normally or have an elongated shape
Physically healthy
Unhappy with the upper part of your breast appearing “empty” after dramatic weight loss
Your breasts are fully developed

Most importantly, Breast Implant Surgery should only be considered after your natural breasts have fully developed. There is no age limitation for breast enlargement later in life, as long as the patient’s health allows for it.

Woman in white lace bra sitting on her bed

How Much Does a Breast Augmentation Cost in Washington DC & Maryland?

The cost of Breast Augmentation in Washington DC & Maryland will vary on numerous factors, including the size, shape, and type of breast implants, as well as the surgical techniques used. The best way to learn how much your procedure will be is to come in for your Breast Augmentation consultation with Dr. Landford. After she creates your surgical plan, our Patient Coordinator will be able to use that information to provide you with a complete price breakdown.

What Should I Expect During a Consultation for a Breast Augmentation?

After scheduling your Breast Augmentation consultation in either Washington DC or Maryland, you will be able to meet with

. During this appointment, you will be able to discuss your expectations for the procedure, discuss your Breast Augmentation options, ask any questions you may have, and have your body and breasts examined by Dr. Landford.

When performing her evaluation, Dr. Landford will take everything into account, including your body type and desired aesthetic. She will ask you questions about your medical history and lifestyle in order to gain more insight into your life, as well as to avoid any unnecessary risks.

Next is what most of our patients get the most fun out of – getting to choose the size and shape of their breast implants. If you do not go the route of Lipofilling your breasts with fat, deciding on breast implants is the next step! To help you make your decision, we provide you with 3D imaging to see how breast implants appear on your body, see mold examples of the types of breast implants, and have Dr. Landford discuss the pros and cons of every option.

Please keep in mind when deciding on your breast implant sizing that you should focus more on the look of the implant, rather than the cup size. The “cup-community” is unfortunately inconsistent in its sizing, so what may be a ‘C’ for one clothing line, won’t necessarily be the same for another.

Once you and Dr. Landford have agreed on every aspect of the surgery, including the techniques, types of breast implants, and a few additional details, she will create your personalized surgical plan.

Using all of this information, Dr. Landford will create your customized surgical plan, and our Patient Coordinator will be able to help you pick your breast augmentation surgery date. You will also be provided with some important instructions to follow pre-surgery, along with the total Breast Augmentation cost.

Types of Breast Enhancement

Breast enhancement can be achieved through various methods, each tailored to an individual’s unique goals and body characteristics. Two of the most common methods include Breast Augmentation with Implants or Fat Transfer. Dr. Landford will discuss the benefits of each and help you determine which is best for you.

Saline Breast Implants

Saline Implants are filled with a sterile Saline solution, very similar to the saltwater that’s in the human body. Unlike Silicone implants, Saline Implants can either be pre-filled or filled during the implant operation.

Silicone Gel Breast Implants

Silicone Breast Implants are composed of a Silicone outer shell filled with Silicone gel that feels like jelly.

Gummy Bear Implants

“Gummy Bear implants” is a term used for a type of Silicone Breast Implant known as “form-stable” or “highly cohesive” implants. These implants are made of a thicker, more cohesive silicone gel that retains its shape even if the implant shell is cut or ruptured.

Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation

Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation, also known as Autologous Fat Transfer or Natural Breast Augmentation, is a surgical procedure that involves using a person’s fat cells to enhance the size and shape of the breasts. In this procedure, fat is typically harvested from areas of the body where there is excess fat, such as the abdomen, thighs, or hips, through Liposuction.

Smooth Implants

Smooth-walled Silicone and Saline Breast Implants are the most common choice for Breast Augmentations. Great for round implants, these are made of silicone gel and have a smooth outer surface, creating a natural look and feel with a lower risk of rippling.

When possible, breast implants are placed beneath the chest muscle to provide better coverage, less chance of visibility, and less risk of capsular contraction.

Textured Implants

Textured Breast Implants have a surface that helps them adhere to the surrounding tissue, making them less likely to move around inside the breast pocket and giving them a more natural look and feel. Textured implants are not used often anymore due to their higher risk of capsular contracture and association with BIA-ALCL (Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma).

How Do I Prepare for Breast Augmentation Surgery?

Before you leave your consultation, you will be provided with some instructions to follow that will help improve the chances of a successful Breast Augmentation surgery. While every patient’s plan is created just for them, below we have listed some of our more common suggestions:

Avoid taking aspirin and certain anti-inflammatory drugs as they can increase bleeding
Drink plenty of water
Complete lab work and medical evaluation
Live a healthy lifestyle with a good diet and routine exercise
Prep your recovery area, request an appropriate time off from work, and meal plan to make your recovery more relaxing
Stop smoking
Take certain medications or adjust your current medications

What are the Benefits of a Breast Augmentation?

Breast Augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures in the world and has a multitude of advantages. Some of the benefits our Breast Augmentation Maryland and Washington DC patients have seen include:

Achieve a rounder breast shape
Clothing fits better (i.e. shirts, dresses, bikini tops)
Improved cleavage
Larger breast volume
More self-confidence
Provides more fullness in the upper portion of the breasts

What are the Steps of a Breast Augmentation?

Your procedure will vary slightly depending on which type of Augmentation you are receiving, but regardless of which one you are getting, we will start your procedure by administering you general anesthesia first to provide you with a more comfortable experience.

Once you are sedated, Dr. Landford will start making inconspicuous incisions to minimize visible scarring. Depending on implant size, the implant will be placed either under the pectoral muscle or directly behind the breast tissue, but over the pectoral muscle. Natural Augmentation (fat transfer) may require more operative time dictated by the extent of areas to be liposuctioned and the desired breast size.

After she is finished with the implant or fat graft, Dr. Landford will close the incisions using layered sutures in the breast tissue to provide natural breast tissue extra support and close the external breast skin incisions with sutures, skin adhesives, or surgical tape.

Each operation will take about one to two hours depending on the techniques used.

Surgical Techniques for a Breast Augmentation

When performing your Washington DC or Maryland Breast Augmentation surgery, Dr. Landford can use a variety of Breast Augmentation techniques to help you achieve the best breast enhancement.

Breast Implant Placement

Submuscular Placement

The breast implants are placed underneath the pectoral muscle. This placement is often recommended to women who have very little real breast tissue, as it can help to create a more natural look and feel.

Subglandular Placement

This technique requires the breast implants to be placed behind the existing breast tissue and in front of the chest muscles. This placement is best for women with more breast tissue, as it can help to create a more lifted and perky look.

Dual Plane Placement

This surgical procedure is a combination of the previous two in which the implant is placed partially underneath the pectoral muscles and partially behind the tissue of the breasts. It’s recommended for women who want a more natural look with a little extra lift.

Where are the Incisions and Scars for a Breast Augmentation?

When undergoing Breast Augmentation surgery, there are three options that Dr. Landford can use for incisions: Axillary (armpit), Periareolar (around the areola), and Inframammary fold. One of the most important aspects of your surgery for Dr. Landford is skillfully creating very precise pockets for your breast implants.

Inframammary Incision

The Inframammary incision is made directly below the breast, in the crease where the lower part of the breast comes into contact with the skin of the chest.

Periareolar Incision

A Periareolar Incision is located just below the lower half of the areola (the pigmented circle around the nipple). This incision is fairly common for Breast Augmentation, Breast Lift or Removal, and Exchange of Breast Implants.

Transaxillary Incision

Also called a Scarless Breast Augmentation, a Transaxillary Incision is made in the armpit. Working through this armpit incision, Dr. Landford can insert a saline breast implant into the breast and enhance the overall size and shape of a patient’s bustline in the process.

Blonde woman laying down with her hand on her head in a night shirt

There will be some visible scarring from the incisions, but Dr. Landford will do her best to hide them in the natural creases and lines of your body. While visible scarring is inevitable in most plastic surgery, it will fade out and smoothen over time.

Breast Augmentation Recovery

A Washington DC or Maryland Breast Augmentation at Landford Plastic Surgery is an outpatient procedure, which means you will be able to return home to recover in peace. As you recover from surgery, you’ll likely have some swelling and bruising. You might also have some pain and soreness, but Dr. Landford will prescribe you some temporary pain medication to help with this.

Recovery time is usually about one week. You’ll need to wear a special surgical bra for a few weeks after breast surgery, and you may require some drainage tubes to help remove excess blood and fluid. You’ll also need to avoid strenuous activity for at least six weeks.

Additionally, some women with breast implants may continue to experience minor side effects such as some breast pain, swelling, and bruising. These side effects are typically short-lived and resolve within a few weeks.

Why Choose Us?

After completing her residency at John Hopkins, Dr. Wilmina Landford has become a specialist in plastic surgery and cosmetic plastic surgery. She is trilingual with an ability to communicate with her patients in Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin), and English, allowing her to communicate with a wide range of patients.

Dr. Landford’s passion for helping her patients achieve natural-looking results and her friendly demeanor are just a few of the characteristics that make her so favorable amongst her patients. She also combines her technical proficiency with an artistic eye to deliver procedure results that enhance natural beauty and provide a better quality of life. When you’re looking for breast enlargement plastic surgeons in Maryland or Washington DC, look no further than Dr. Wilmina Landford.

Schedule a Consultation

If you are considering Breast Augmentation in Maryland or Washington DC, you should call your nearest Landford Plastic Surgery location to schedule a consultation and discuss breast augmentation with Dr. Landford. You can also use our website to fill out a consultation form and a member of our team will be with you shortly.

Whether you’re looking to improve your breasts’ shape and size, looking into a breast surgery revision, or have any other aesthetic goals, we can’t wait to meet you and help you achieve your best appearance possible.

Schedule Now

Breast Augmentation FAQs

As a plastic surgeon in the Washington DC and Maryland area, Dr. Landford and her team pride themselves on practicing safe procedures that produce pleasing results for many satisfied patients. We believe in full disclosure, which is why we also discuss the potential complications of cosmetic surgery.

Some of the risks and side effects associated with the Breast Augmentation procedure, which can include, but are not limited to:
- Anesthesia risks
- Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) or other very rare cancers in the capsule around the breast, such as breast implant-associated squamous cell carcinoma (BIA-SCC)
- Bleeding
- Changes in nipple or breast sensation
- Fluid accumulation (seroma)
- Formation of tight scarred tissue around the implant (capsular contracture)
- Hematoma
- Implant leakage or rupture
- Infection
- Persistent pain
- Poor scarring
- Possibility of revision surgery
- Wrinkling of the skin over the implant
- Wrong or faulty position of the implant
If you do experience any of the previously mentioned reactions or long-lasting side effects, please contact our office immediately so that we can help.
After your Breast Augmentation in Maryland or Washington DC, Dr. Landford will have you return about a week after surgery so she can monitor your recovery and remove any stitches and bandages. You can expect another appointment about a month or two later, followed by another one three months post-surgery, then again six months later. Dr. Landford will always let you know when she wants you to return at the end of each appointment.
While your Breast Augmentation results could be immediately noticeable depending on the change in your breasts’ appearance, you will be swollen and bruised for a few weeks as you heal. In the following months of your Breast Augmentation, your breasts will continue to go through changes, normally requiring about three to four months for you to see the final results after your implants have settled into their natural resting position.
Absolutely! Many women will combine their Breast Augmentation with other Body Contouring procedures to achieve a beautiful look, with other cosmetic surgical procedures such as a Breast Lift, Tummy Tuck or Body Lift

For example, if your goal is not only to enlarge your breasts but also to correct sagging breasts, a Breast Augmentation performed in conjunction with a Breast Lift can produce some stunning results and improve your breast implant profile.

If you would like to achieve certain aesthetic goals, please discuss them with Dr. Landford during your breast augmentation consultation. She will be able to use her experience and artistic eye to help you find the right combination of breast augmentation procedures to meet your aesthetic goals.
No. Breast implants do not cause breast cancer, nor will they increase your chances of getting it.

That being said, there has been some research that has shown that textured breast implants increase the chances of getting anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), which is a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a serious form of cancer that affects the T lymphocytes. Important to note, textured breast implants are not used in our practice.

In any case, routine mammograms are important after getting breast implants. If you have any concerns or questions about this, please discuss them with Dr. Landford during your consultation and she will hopefully be able to put your mind at ease.
A “capsule” is created from scar tissue when your body reacts to the inserted foreign object (i.e. breast implants). While this is usually a good thing to help keep the implant in place and prevent slippage in the breast pocket, there is a possibility with Breast Augmentations that the scarred tissue can become a cause for concern if it becomes too hard and closes around the implant. Not only will this create aesthetic problems, but it will also cause tremendous pain in the breasts.

We encourage you to be cognizant of the possibility of capsular contracture and that it can happen to anyone, so if you notice any odd feelings in your breast, please contact our office immediately.

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