Home » Beauty » Cosmetic Treatments » Peaks of Perfection If you are not satisfied with the way Mother Nature has endowed you, all is not lost. You can actually have what you want, thanks to modern developments in the world of cosmetic surgery.

Breast Reduction

Oversized breasts can affect your confidence and sap your strength. Reduction is a more complex operation than breast augmentation as it involves a surgeon reducing and reshaping the tissue so you are not simply left with small-but-droopy breasts. As with all operations, you won't be able to see the results immediately because of swelling and fluid build-up. You will need up to three weeks of rest at which point your new breasts will have settled down to their correct, reduced size.

Drawbacks of this operation include more visible scarring than with augmentation (although this will fade) and you will not be able to breast feed because the nipple will have been detached from the relevant tissue during the operation. If you have children after breast reduction you may need a course of hormones to dry up your milk.

Augmentation

If flat-chested, augmentation could help. In theory you can go from very flat to massive but this is not advisable! During the operation, soft implants will be inserted via a small incision (either in your armpit, or just under your breast). This will take up to one hour. The recovery period can take up to six weeks.

At first, you will feel sore and will have to wear a compression bandage or special bra. You should also not sleep on your front. Less than a week later, you'll feel much better but you should refrain from doing household chores. You should be careful when raising your arms for about three weeks. You may not be able to assess the final look of your surgery as there will be swelling which will take some weeks to subside. Fluid may also need to be drained away, though this is not usually the case.

And the down side is:

1. Implants of this type have an average life of up to 20 years and may need to be replaced in certain patients
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2. Ruptures can happen in up to two percent of them. Ruptures are most common in the type of smooth-walled implants that are rarely used in augmentation nowadays. The newer textured implants are very successful.
3. Fibrous capsules may develop around the implants causing them to harden. Again, this is rarely a problem of the smooth-walled variety.
4. You could lose some feeling around the nipple or in other areas of your breasts. Conversely, some patients even gain heightened nipple sensation!