Breast Augmentation by Macrolane
Recovery, breast augmentation Comments Off
Yet another option for breast enlargement is brewing in Europe and headed for U.S. shores.
Plastic surgeons there are using a thick, gel-like substance, Macrolane, made of the same chemical compound as the familiar Juvederm.
It’s made by the same Swedish firm that makes Restylane.
Injected deep into the breasts, Macrolane breast enhancement really is an augmentation without the knife. Of course, this procedure has its plus and minus features, too.
Upsides include:
- Recovery is nil
Walk in, have a one to two hour procedure, walk out
- It looks good
Macrolane is said to provide substantial volume and provide a smooth appearance to the breasts without lumps or bumps
- Few risks
The risks of general anesthesia and surgery (infection, scarring, broken implants) are gone.
The downsides are:
- Not approved yet for U.S. use
- Effects only last one to two years (British doctors include yearly “top-offs” to maintain the look.)
- Not for those allergic to hyaluronic acid
- Women who have the procedure are monitored
Many women now in their 40s and 50s who had breast augmentation while younger no longer want large bosoms and often have surgery for smaller implants.
If those women can afford to go back every two years for Macrolane, they would not have to worry about explants surgery later on.
Explore Plastic Surgery, the most excellent blog of Indiana board-certified plastic surgeon Barry Eppley, M.D., says injecting Macrolane is “very much like injecting jello.”
Dr. Eppley compared breast augmentation before and after pictures of both implants and Macrolane. His opinion? “Macrolane fares poorly compared to breast implants.”
For a preview of coming attractions, here’s a British You Tube segment, below.
The segment starts with a low cringe factor as the surgeon uses a tiny syringe to inject what is probably a pain killer.
That thicker, foot long instrument he puts into the patient’s breasts is not a needle but a blunt end canula, a thick, hollow tube that injects the Macrolane jell deep into the breasts. (Watch the Macrolane breast augmentation.)
Dr. Eppley says Macrolane will probably be used in the United States soon.
But the real danger he sees: the stuff is so easy to use, more untrained hands may take advantage of “quick and cheap” factors to produce shoddier breast augmentations.
admin @ May 15, 2009