Many women are unhappy with the look and shape of their breasts. It’s why breast augmentation remains one of the most popular aesthetic procedures in the world. Maybe you were born with breasts that are too small for your frame, or perhaps your breasts have lost volume thanks to pregnancy, breastfeeding or an advancing number of candles on your birthday cake. As a breast surgery expert, I have witnessed first hand the transformative power of properly chosen and placed implants. A breast augmentation is one of those procedures that can literally change you both inside and out. However, my goal with any breast surgery is to not only restore proper proportion to your torso so that you look and feel terrific, but to also ensure that these great results stand the test of time. Soft tissue support has quickly become one of the most important tools in my arsenal as it helps me to deliver the kind of exemplary, long-lasting result that we both desire.
Soft Tissue & Breast Augmentation
Many women do not have strong, healthy enough breast tissue to adequately hold up a breast implant. Women who have undergone:
- Multiple pregnancies
- Breastfeeding
- Weight gain/loss
- Age
- Menopause
All of these factors can contribute to a weakening and/or stretching of the skin and tissues of the breast. This is particularly true in the vulnerable lower pole. As this is where a breast implant rests, if the skin and tissues are not strong enough, the implant will drop over time either below the inframammary fold or crease beneath the breasts, or else out to the side towards your armpit. This is where soft tissue support can make all the difference.
GalaFLEX™ Soft Tissue Support
Soft tissue support refers to a number of different materials that can be inserted during your breast augmentation and/or breast lift to help strengthen your native tissues. Personally, I use two in my practice. The first is GalaFLEX or GalaFORM. Made of a P4HB™ Biopolymer, this is a mesh-like product that I place in the lower half of your breast to more or less create an internal bra of support for your breast implants. Your body’s natural response to any foreign device is to produce scar tissue which weaves itself in and out of the mesh. Over time, the GalaFLEX™ is reabsorbed into the body, leaving you with your own, a natural suspension system that is anywhere from 2-4 times stronger than your native breast tissue.
Strattice™ Soft Tissue Support
Strattice™ is another form of soft tissue support that has long been used in other surgeries such as hernia repair. Derived from cellular pig dermis that has been specially processed and cleaned, this meshworks in a similar fashion to GalaFLEX™, promoting your body to create its own internal scaffold of support. I find both of these products to be extremely helpful in creating the right supportive environment in a patient with compromised skin and tissues. I use soft tissue support very liberally in my practice, and as my many happy breast augmentation patients can attest, the long-term results are well worth it.
Immense Power of Soft Tissue Support
To find out more about breast surgery with soft tissue support with Dr. Mark Epstein in Hauppauge, Long Island, contact us today or call 631-689-1100 to schedule a consultation.
