Breasts Women

Many women experience changes in their breasts due to aging, gravity, pregnancy or weight loss. The breasts may lose their youthful shape, firmness, volume, position and begin to sag and droop.

Women then desire to change the size and or shape of their breasts to create more youthful breasts that they have dreamed of, enhancing their confidence, beauty and sexuality.

Dr. Carmina offers four options: Breast Augmentation, Breast Lift, Breast Reduction and Capsulectomy. Each of these techniques will depend on your unique shape and desired results. Dr. Carmina will evaluate your desires and go over everything in detail with you.

AWL Breast Augmentation 
This is a surgical procedure to recreate the size and shape of your breasts. You may feel your breasts are too small or not the right proportion for your body and want to increase the volume and or customize the shape.  When augmenting the breasts, saline or silicone implants are used and placed under or over the muscle.

To optimize your satisfaction Dr. Carmina will discuss all of your options and go over everything with you, finding the right size and shape to attain more youthful and beautiful breasts.

AWL Breast Lift 
This procedure lifts the breasts internally returning them to a natural position on the chest wall and then removes any fat and excess skin. Options of Breast Lift are: Benelli (periareolar). Vertical (lollipop) and anchor (full) lift, the procedure you need will be determined by Dr. Carmina based on your physical evaluation.

By restoring firmness and shape the breasts are lifted and rejuvenated to a profile that is more youthful and attractive, creating a balance with the rest of the body.

AWL Breast Reduction 
Many women suffer from having breasts that are too large, out of proportion with their body frame that also may cause painful problems with their neck, back and shoulders.  Some women cope with tiredness, even depression and low self-esteem due to this condition.  A breast reduction is the removal of breast fat, glandular tissue and excess   skin from oversized breasts.

After breast reduction surgery you will find that clothes fit better, you will have a more balanced and beautifully proportioned overall body creating more self-confidence and  self-esteem.

Combining Dr. Carmina’s artistic ability and experience with the latest techniques you can be assured you will receive your desired results.

Dr. Carmina Cardenas requires a BMI (Body mass index) of 30 or below in order to be a safe candidate for any plastic surgery procedure, post-bariatric patients are required to be 1 YPO from bariatric surgery and have at least 3 consecutive months of steady weight in order to be eligible.

Patients are typically candidates for:

1. Breasts Women
2. Tummy Tuck
3. Liposuction
4. Butt Augmentation

A combination of regional anesthesia and IV sedation (twilight) is used where the patient is not unconscious, but sedated, this allows the anesthesiologist to monitor oxygen levels in blood, this is especially important when performing the repair of the abdominal wall muscles, as the patient need to breathe by itself, something that cannot be achieved with general anesthesia.

A local anesthetic is injected into the epidural space of the lumbar or sacral region of the spine, the anesthetic will wear off a few hours after the procedure without the negative effects that general anesthesia typically produces such as nausea, vomiting, etc.

Will you be awake, during the procedure?  Yes and no. During the entire procedure, you will be conscious, which means you can respond to commands such as opening and closing your mouth. Although, during twilight sedation, you will be in a drowsy, dream-like state.

Although Plastic Surgery is an elective procedure it is still a real surgery and therefore there is always a potential risks of complications as in any other major procedure,  DVT (deep vein thrombosis), PE (pulmonary embolism) or VTE (vein thromboembolism) which is a combination of the two are the most fatal risks and therefore you should discuss this with Dr. Cardenas thoughtfully, other potential risks may be but are not limited to:

The honest answer is NO, but risks can be reduced considerably if doctor and patient work together; You’ll be provided with a list of pre-operatory exams that need to be performed prior to surgery and a protocol of actions that you will need to follow in order to reduce the risks, but the patient must always be aware that risks cannot be eradicated completely.

Remember AWL and especially post-bariatric patients are at a greater risk of complications, therefore, pre and post operative instructions must be followed with diligence.

The risk of fatal complications in plastic surgery (when following the recommended standards) is less than 1%, meaning that Plastic Surgery is very safe; As shown in the previous chart, other complications may happen and are more frequent, is plastic surgery worth it even after considering those risks?

Plastic Surgery is a very personal decision; therefore, it is very important that you have a comprehensive understanding of the risks involved and the benefits that plastic surgery may bring to your life,  the following  chart represent the improvements in the overall quality of life that patients who underwent surgery with Dr. Cardenas over the last 3 years reported.

1. Following pre and post operative instructions diligently.
2. Having a discussed emergency plan that both parts can follow in the event of a complication (Supportive PCP at home, family of friend’s support group that can help you at home in case that you need to travel back).
3. Constant and open communication and collaboration.

All our patients have a PROTECTION PLAN included that can cover up to $3,500 dlls in expenses for treatment in the event of a complication that requires the patient to return to our facilities.