Cosmetic Surgery Blog

As many of you may know, breast augmentation surgery alone can be performed with 4 incision locations:

- The infra-mammary crease (under the breast envelope where it meets your chest wall)

- The areolar incision - (nipple)

- The transumbilical breast augmentation (TUBA) - (belly button)

- The axillary incision - (armpit).

I have had both a transumbilical, and an areolar incision for implantation. I will more than likely have the areolar incision again with my re-implantation this fall. Why areolar? Because I may need a small lift again and he will be cutting there anyway. I may be getting silicone implants this time around. But, if I did not need a lift I would be choosing the axillary incision.

The benefits of the axillary approach are the lack of scars upon the breast, as well as no disruption of possible nipple sensation as with areolar incisions. Mammary crease incisions can be obvious and unsightly, especially when the surgeon does not take care in choosing a discreet, yet effective, incision length. This leaves the axillary and transumbilical breast augmentation (TUBA) or so-called “scarless breast augmentation” approach.

Now, I personally like the TUBA  (belly button)  method. It was my first method used for breast implant surgery and I healed relatively fast compared to my other procedures. However, many surgeons do not offer this method to their patients yet. So, the second method of choice for a standard approach to augmentation would be the axillary (armpit)  incision.

The key benefit of the axillary method is the ease of placement of full unders. Full unders, or full sub-muscular placement is when the breast implants are placed under the pectoralis major, the serratus muscles and the rectus abdominus fascia. This method has often been referred to as a sort of internal bra. Not all patients may be candidates due to their anatomy and not all with get a suspension effect, but it can be effective in many patients.

Ask your surgeon if he performs the armpit incision method if you are interested in getting a “scarless” breast enlargement procedure.

So, you would ask - how bad is scaring after breast augmentation?

Obviously a scar forms with any incision or injury to the skin, but the scars are not actually visible unless you run around with your arms up in the air. And even with this, in time the scars will fade. If you get a natural looking set of implants placed using the axillary method, one will ever know you have had the oh-so-gossiped-about boob job!