June 14, 2024Many people have experienced significant benefits from plastic surgery, from a boost in self-confidence and self-esteem, to reconstructing areas damaged from disease or injury.
Yet, you may have heard several myths about plastic surgery that have either kept you from exploring your options or painted a slightly unrealistic picture of the procedure. It’s important to make sure you have all the facts before you agree to this major life change.
Let’s explore the top five myths we often hear about plastic surgery so you can be more informed when you schedule a consultation with our team.
1. You Can Get a Fantastic Waist and Body Contour Without Any Work
There’s that old expression, you can’t get something for nothing. Our experienced plastic surgeons can trim extra skin, tighten muscles that have been stretched during pregnancy, and remove extra fat deposits using liposuction.
Yet to get the fantastic results you desire, it is important to recognize that plastic surgery is a team effort. The best results are achieved by individuals who work together with their surgeons, eat a nutritious diet, and exercise to build muscle.
Plastic surgery can help restore contours and improve your appearance, but it is not an “easy button.” Instead, it helps remove what has been resisting diet and exercise to reveal the results of your hard work.
2. Scars Completely Fade and Are Invisible With Time
You might have heard that scars from the incisions during plastic surgery will completely fade over time. Our medical team at North Texas Plastic Surgery pride ourselves on doing everything to minimize scar tissue after surgery. We use advanced techniques such as 5FU injections to thin the scar tissue and employ additional treatments in our Med Spa after your incision is healed.
However, a good portion of your scar development is dependent on your genetics, which can sometimes produce larger and darker scar tissue than normal. Even people with perfect genetics will have visible scars, but our surgical team works hard alongside your efforts to make these as imperceptible as possible.
Although scars are never completely invisible, you can improve the look of your scar tissue by following our surgeons’ recommendations, including eating a vitamin-rich diet that helps your skin to heal well, and using SPF 30 sunscreen when you are in the sun. Photodamage can increase the appearance of scar tissue and slow the production of collagen, the protein responsible for improving the structure and tone of your skin. Taking these simple steps can also help improve the results of your plastic surgery procedure.
3. You Must Change Your Breast Implant Every 10 Years
When breast implants were first available, they had a lifespan of roughly 10 years. This meant that the implants had to be replaced every decade to prevent them from rupturing or becoming misshapen. Today, the new silicone gummy bear implants last much longer.
One manufacturer has a warranty on the silicone gummy bear implant for 20 years. Our team believes if nothing is obviously wrong and you are satisfied with how they look, there is no need to change the implants at an arbitrary point.
We encourage you to call our practice when the implants have begun to change or you do not like the way they look anymore. It is not unusual for a breast implant’s size and shape that you chose 15 years ago to no longer meet your lifestyle expectations.
4. Breast Augmentation Prevents Breastfeeding
It is true that breast augmentation can impact your milk supply for breastfeeding, depending on how the implant is placed. However, our surgical team can utilize a sub-pectoral placement using an incision underneath the breast. This means the incision is made directly under the breast and the implant is placed underneath the chest wall muscle, far from the milk ducts and nipple.
This technique does not disrupt any of the milk ducts and the implants are not in contact with any structure that would inhibit breastfeeding. After this type of breast augmentation, if you get pregnant and choose to breastfeed, your milk supply would be the same as if you did not have the surgery.
5. Breast Implants Cause Breast Cancer
Breast implants used today are not the same as when the surgery was first pioneered. Large clinical studies have demonstrated that women who have had breast augmentation actually have a very slightly lower risk of breast cancer than those who have not.
When the breast implant is placed under the chest wall muscle (pectoral muscle), the American College of Radiology says that women with breast implants can get greater than 95% visualization of the breast in a mammogram for detection of breast cancer. In other words: no one should fear that implants will cause cancer or prevent its detection!
Bonus Myth: Is Plastic Surgery Just for the Rich?
Many women believe that plastic surgery is just for the rich and famous. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth! In our practice, the vast majority of patients are regular women of typical financial means. In fact, many of our patients finance their procedures instead of paying out of pocket. Plastic surgery is not an aspirational thing that is only available to a select few.
When you are dissatisfied with the image you see in the mirror, we encourage you to call and schedule a consultation with us. You will find that many of our patients finance their procedures to make plastic surgery a reality. Please call us and schedule a consultation so we can address any myths or misunderstandings you have and show how these procedures can be safe, effective, and affordable.
