Welcome to a whole new world in Breast Augmentation!

This is the first post of an entire new venture for me! I have been a patient educator in my husband's practice for 20 years now, we have written 2 books to help patients understand the issues surrounding this operation and yet it wasn't enough. I would visit and read information on the breast implant boards, on ivillage boards and just kept scratching my head - - the world that we and our patients live in is entirely different than what I was reading on these boards.

Our patients routinely return to normal activity the day of surgery - 24 Hour Recovery is a reality and has been for over 10 years! Our patients make decisions with us - each is treated differently and offered different implant options, incision locations and pocket locations depending on their bodies. We have a published re-operation rage of 3% (the FDA reports 25%!). We help our patients reconcile what they want with what they can really have - balancing wishes with tissues. We know that if they know what we know, then we - patients and the surgeon - will make better decisions together.

There are so many things I want to address - but let's start with the most common way patients and surgeons decide on the size of the implant. Thus my disseration on What Is Cup Size?????

What is the difference between a large C and a small D? Why do Victoria's Secret bras always seem to be a little smaller (you have to buy a larger size) than say the ones you get at Dillards? How is cup size determined? Does the little 19 year old that comes to help you get measured really know what she is doing?? How do those 34, 36 band sizes factor in? How does cup size figure into medicine? Is there a standard measurement for cup size????

The answer to this ladies is NO!!! There is no standard of measurement for cup size in fashion let alone in medicine. It just baffles the heck out of me how patients and surgeons can plan an operation based on something that is not clinical! You are setting yourself up for disaster if cup size is the only factor you consider as you decide on your ba result. Because your satisfaction depends on where you shop and what you buy. Communicating with your surgeon based on cup size alone to determine your result almost guanantees dissatisfaction in the end.

Using cup size alone, also neglects to take into consideration what each patient brings the surgeon to work with - back to one of my favorite subjects, balancing what you want with what you can really have - reconciling wishes with tissues. If you never measure the tissue you bring the surgeon to work with - how can you consider it and make good, solid clinical decisions based on it? Now, not every measurement technique is the same - that will be another subject - just because a measuring tape and caliper are taken out during a consult doesn't mean that translates into solid clinical evaluations that lead to good clinical decisions.

I would encourage all of you who want to enlarge your breasts, but do it safely with the LEAST risk of re-operation, to read the article posted on the top of our home page at www.thebestbreast.com - understanding the limits and benefits of our tissue will help you make sense of all of this.

Ladies, knowledge is power. Providing education through our book, The Best Breast 2, is our way of sharing with all of you what our years and years of experience have taught us. We want to spread the word that there is a differnt world - a whole new world and levelof result and recovery in breast augmentation - - if you just know how to ask for it!!

I look forward to spirited discussions and welcome your questions!