Friday, February 19, 2010
Having breast implants is almost commonplace these days. More and more health care providers are offering this procedure at less and less cost (although still several thousand dollars in most cases). Technology behind these implants is also becoming safer which makes it a very attractive option for many women. Regardless of what your reasons may be for wanting to undergo breast augmentation, here are a couple of things that you really ought to know first.
1. Not all women (and in some cases, men too) can have such a procedure done. Any qualified doctor will certainly ask you to undergo a screening process to ascertain why you want the procedure, if you have any underlying medical conditions that may get in the way of the operation, and if you are currently under medications that may affect your recuperation after the procedure. In some cases, the doctor might even ask that you undergo a complete checkup, or at least have one session with the MRI or the mammogram to guarantee that the operation will go smoothly.
It is also during the screening stage that the health care provider advises you on the possible risks in regards to breast implants, and what measure they ought to take (or not take) should something go wrong. The doctor will also educate you as to how you can keep your implants intact for the longest possible time.
Augmentation mammoplasty (the medical term for breast implants) isn’t approved in all cases. While there are no doubt some doctors that will do the augmentation procedure as long as the patient can pay for it, credible doctors will only proceed if the patient passes the prescreening phase.
2. Also vital to understand is that not all health care providers can do breast implants. In order to keep yourself out of harm’s way, it is essential that you find a qualified plastic surgeon to do the job. It is a bit disheartening to say that there are a few doctors out there who routinely perform this procedure, even if they do not have the experience, knowledge or license to do so. Needless to say, this doesn’t end well in most cases.
In order to avoid this scenario, it would be best to approach only clinics with certified personnel -- preferably, with plastic surgeons who have already successfully performed the procedure on a fair number of people. Although truly qualified cosmetic surgeons can ask for a higher fee for the breast implants, you can at least be assured that you will have fewer risks of medical complications down the line.
