Today, women are choosing breast augmentation to enhance their profile and improve the appearance of breasts that show signs of aging or changes after child bearing.

Breast enlargement is the UK's most common form of cosmetic surgery with the highest satisfaction rate.  Breast enlargement is a simple surgical procedure that can help you to regain more body confidence.

Breast augmentation is performed by inserting a breast implant behind breast tissue or above the breast muscle. Implants come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with varying designs, in a range of materials. They can be placed in different positions through a variety of incision locations.

Breast surgery is a medical procedure that requires advanced surgical skill. The goal is to leave your breasts looking as natural as possible, while enlarging them to your desired size.

The plastic surgeon may recommend that a breast lift and breast augmentation be performed at the same time. This is most commonly recommended to treat the sagging appearance that results from aging or pregnancy. During this combined procedure, some breast tissue is removed, the breast skin is tightened and lifted, and an implant is inserted.

Breast lift cosmetic surgery (mastopexy) is a common, but complex breast enhancement procedure that raises and reshapes sagging breasts. Breast lift can be performed with or without the insertion of breast implants, depending upon the anatomical factors and needs of the patient.

At the initial visit, you can expect the surgeon to take measurements of your breasts while you are upright (seated or standing). You'll talk about the desired size and shape of your breasts, and about the new position of the nipple after surgery. The surgeon should help you fully understand the extent of the changes to your body.

Discussing your expectations and goals with your surgeon helps ensure that you will achieve them. The surgeon may also discuss whether your breast lift surgery may include breast implants or breast reduction to receive a fully satisfactory outcome

The breast lift surgical procedure may be performed under local anaesthesia (awake) or general anaesthesia (asleep), in a hospital or in an office surgical suite. Your time in surgery is typically two to three-and-a-half hours.

The degree of lift needed generally will determine the number and length of the incisions. The more lift a patient needs, the more likely the patient will need a lift with more extensive incisions. In other words, someone who needs a significant lift likely will not be a candidate for a periareolar incision, but rather the "anchor incision" (described below).

One surgical technique for breast lift involves three incisions that form an anchor shape ("anchor incision"):

• The first incision is around the areola, extending above it and creating a new position for the nipple.
• The second incision runs vertically from the nipple down to the bottom of the breast.
• The third incision runs on the underside of the breast just above the fold under the breast.

These incisions create flaps where excess skin will be removed.
Excess skin may also be removed as the nipple and areola are moved to a higher location on the breast. The nipple is normally positioned so that it will be even (vertically) with the lower crease between the breast and chest. The skin that was previously above the nipple is brought down around the nipple and sutured together under the breast. The nipple and areola remain connected to the underlying breast tissue and the associated nerve and blood supply, reducing the chances of sensation loss.

For some patients, other techniques may be appropriate that may include omitting the horizontal incision along the bottom of the breast and thus leave one less scar after surgery. For women with smaller breasts and less droopiness, a concentric series of incisions can be used, omitting both the vertical and horizontal incisions.

Because skin is removed and tissue is moved around, the breasts will be bruised, sore, and swollen afterwards. You can expect to wear bandages or a surgical bra for several days. There may be some pain, but it should not be severe and it can be treated by a prescription from your plastic surgeon. After the bandages and surgical bra have been removed, your doctor may suggest that you wear an athletic or support bra until the swelling subsides. Stitches are normally removed in stages within a week or two after plastic surgery.

Heavy lifting or straining should be avoided after plastic surgery because this can cause the breasts to swell and increase pressure. You can return to work normally within a week, and to full activity within a month. Sensation in your nipples may be reduced temporarily, but sensation usually returns to normal as your breasts heal. Breast feeding is typically unhindered because the connecting glandular tissue of the nipple and areola are left intact during breast lift surgery.

As with any surgery, there is risk of complications related to infection or reaction to anaesthesia. Excessive bleeding can occur. After healing, some permanent scarring will remain. When proper precautions are taken by the surgical team, complications are typically minimized or prevented.

Breast lift surgery is effective in lifting and reshaping saggy breasts for both smaller and larger breasted patients. In some cases, smaller breasts may retain their lift results longer after a breast lift than larger breasts. This is because the weight of larger breasts works against the changes made during the plastic surgery.

If you plan to have children in the future you may want to postpone cosmetic breast surgery until after pregnancy and after you are done breastfeeding. Pregnancy may stretch the breasts and may reduce the volume of the breasts. Both of these factors may counter the benefits of breast lift surgery. In fact, breast skin ages over time, which may impact breast sagging and the appearance of a breast lift.

Improving your breast shape can improve self confidence and change how you are perceived by others. The procedure, however, does not completely change who you are and may not meet unrealistic expectations you may have.

The procedure also does not permanently change the breast shape and firmness. As time marches on, you may expect the effects of aging and gravity to continue. In these cases, a secondary revision surgery may be required. The best candidates for this cosmetic surgery are women who are emotionally well-adjusted, have realistic expectations, and understand the procedure thoroughly.

During the initial consultation, the surgeon will discuss your goals and expectations, the size and shape you are looking for, and your feelings about the procedure. You and your surgeon should make decisions together about the type of implant, the incision location, and the implant placement. Your anatomy plays a major role in these decisions. The surgeon will talk with you about the options for surgery — depending on your current measurements, your body frame, and your expectations.

Breast augmentation is often performed in an office surgical suite or an outpatient surgical centre, using local anaesthesia (where you remain awake). Breast surgery can also be performed in a hospital under general anaesthesia (where you are asleep). Time in surgery is typically one to three hours.

To begin the procedure, an incision is made in one of four primary locations:

• Under the breast 
• Around the nipple 
• In the arm pit 
• In the navel area 

After the incision, a special surgical tool will be used to form a pocket so that the implant can be inserted. There are three primary positions where the implants can be placed:

• Sub-glandular or above the pectoral muscles
• Partial sub-muscular or partially behind the muscles
• Complete sub-muscular or completely behind the muscles

The choice of incision and implant placement depend on the size and shape of the implant, your body frame, amount of breast tissue and the planned scar location.
Patients can choose the type of breast implants. Implant factors include the implant size, shape, and material, in addition to whether or not the implant volume can be adjusted after surgery, all of which should be discussed beforehand with your surgeon.

Because breast tissue is stretched and separated, and because implants are inserted through incisions, the breasts will be bruised, sore, and swollen after surgery. You can expect to wear a surgical bra for several days. There may be some moderate pain, but that can be treated by a prescription from your plastic surgeon. Your doctor may suggest that you wear an athletic or support bra until the swelling has subsided.
Heavy lifting or straining should be avoided after surgery because this can cause the breasts to swell and increase pressure. You can typically return to work within a week and to full activity within a few weeks. Sensation in your nipples may be reduced temporarily, but should return to normal as your breasts heal. Breastfeeding usually is not hindered; however, it is important to ask the doctor about breastfeeding during your initial consultation.

After healing, some permanent scarring will remain. Scars are typically small and inconspicuous. Your surgeon's goal will be to make them as unnoticeable as possible. Inframammary and peri-areolar-incision scars are on the breast. Transaxillary or TUBA incisions can be placed in a natural fold in the skin under the armpit, virtually unnoticeable after surgery.

As with any surgery, there is risk of complications related to infection or reaction to anaesthesia. Excessive bleeding may also occur. With proper precautions by the surgical team, complications are typically minimized or prevented. This is another reason to choose a board-certified plastic surgeon. Risk can be further reduced by fully informing your doctor about your medical history prior to surgery and by carefully following pre- and post-operative instructions.

Improving your shape with plastic surgery can improve self confidence and change how you are perceived by others. Breast surgery, however, does not completely change who you are and may not meet all of your expectations. This article will help you decide whether breast augmentation is right for you.

Women seek breast surgery for a number of reasons:

• Being genetically disposed to smaller breasts.
• Being genetically disposed to breasts that are not symmetrical, with one breast having a different size or shape than the other.
• Breast cancer patients often seek breast reconstruction surgery because a breast is partially or totally removed as part of the cancer treatment.
• Reduced firmness from aging.
• Drooping or sagging breasts after child bearing and breast feeding (this condition requires two procedures: breast lift and breast augmentation).

Breast augmentation surgery can enhance size and shape, correct imbalances, improve firmness, and restore the body contour for these patients.

The best candidates for breast surgery are women who are emotionally well-adjusted and who have a thorough understanding of the procedure. They are in good health, have a history of physical activity, and eat a healthy diet. Breast surgery is a good choice to enhance a figure, but not to completely change it.

Breast implant placement can be a complex surgery, and complications may occur. More invasive surgery can mean more risk. A foreign object is implanted in the body and breast alignment and position are altered — an invasive surgical procedure. Risk can be reduced with more skilled and experienced surgeons, and the patient's careful adherence to instructions. But risk of complications remains a fact of life. This article helps you understand those risks.

If infection occurs, it is usually within days or weeks of surgery. Though rare, infection can occur long after breast surgery when the incisions are completely healed. In rare cases, the implant is removed until the infection subsides, then replaced at a later date.

Bottoming out is a complication when the implant rides too low in the breast tissue and may cause the nipple to point upwards. Correction for bottoming out may be accomplished by re-entering the breast and re-creating the pocket.

Symmastia produces the appearance of breasts being too close to each other. To correct symmastia, a surgical procedure may be required. Larger implants may be exchanged for smaller implants. After corrective surgery, a special support bra and other supportive bandages may be needed to provide the necessary cleavage support while the tissues heal.

The body's natural healing process creates a capsule around the breast implant, just as it would any other foreign object. Capsular formation is normal and also occurs with other types of implant surgery including placement of pacemakers, artificial bones, or joints. In some cases, however, the capsule closes or contracts around the implant. This closure is called capsular contraction. Capsular contraction can occur at anytime after surgery — when it does occur, it is typically within a few months. Note, however, that capsular contraction is not common.

Capsular contraction compresses the implant, causing the implant to look distorted. In the most advanced cases, the implant can feel hard and misshapen. The implant has not changed or hardened, but the capsule squeezing the implant has caused it to feel hard.

Capsular contraction is measured by a grading system referred to as the Baker grading system. The Baker grading system has four grades:

• Grade I - The breast is normally soft and looks natural
• Grade II - The breast feels a little firm but looks normal
• Grade III - The breast feels firm and may appear distorted
• Grade IV - The breast feels hard, possibly painful, and may appear distorted

Treatment for capsular contraction requires surgery to remove or replace the implant.

Aging skin, thinning of the skin, and decreasing breast size can contribute to changing breast sensitivity during your lifetime. Diseases such as breast cancer may affect breast sensitivity as well. Breast surgery can also cause these changes. While you might expect the side effect of sensation loss, the nipple area may in some cases become more sensitive. Sensitivity changes caused by surgery, however, are often temporary.

Breast sensitivity can change as a reaction to the changing breast size in surgery. Doctors will take special care to protect nerves in the breast during surgery; however, sometimes nerve paths are affected. Surgical techniques that do not cut the nerves connecting to the nipple are less likely to affect sensitivity.

In breast reduction surgery, there are techniques that do not undermine the breast tissue, which preserve normal sensitivity. In breast augmentation surgery, when placing a reasonably sized implant, doctors can identify the fourth intercostal nerve branch, which extends to the nipple. Your breast's normal sensitivity can be preserved when your doctor avoids interference with the fourth intercostal nerve branch. An implant that is too large, however, may stretch the nerve supply and affect sensitivity.

The following study results will give you a better idea of what to expect:

• Tairych et al. Study: The study concluded that the normal denominators for breast sensitivity include that the skin in the superior quadrant was most sensitive, the nipple was least sensitive, and the areola was in the centre of these sensitivity spectrums. (This means the skin over the upper part of the breast was most sensitive, the areola around the nipple was medium sensitive, and the nipple itself was least sensitive.)
• Courtiss and Goldwyn Clinical Study: Compared sensitivity before and after surgery, noting that small breasts are commonly more sensitive than large breasts. (This means that the smaller the breast, the greater the sensitivity overall.)
• Gonzalez et al Study: Examined 84 reduction mammoplasty patients to find that over 90 percent maintained nipple-areola sensitivity. The study also found sensitivity retention was higher when the excision of breast tissue was less than 550 gm. (This means for breast-reduction, breast sensitivity stays the same in the nipple and areola after surgery for over 90 percent of the patients. If you have less than 550 gm removed, you have the most chance of keeping full breast sensitivity.)

Many young women consider breast augmentation, however, the procedure should wait until after the teenage growth period that occurs in the mid-teens especially due to surge of hormones therefore we only consider women over the age of 18 for this surgery.