Breast Augmentation
Vancouver, BC
Your body goes through incredible seasons of change, whether navigating major weight loss, managing the shifts of pregnancy, or simply living with natural structural asymmetry. We offer cosmetic breast augmentation to help you reclaim your physical vitality and feel entirely at home in your skin. Dr. Jennifer Prince focuses on balancing your natural body proportions, ensuring your physical enhancements look seamlessly integrated with your unique frame. We provide an empowering, highly educational environment where your personal goals are the foundation of your custom-tailored surgical plan.
Outpatient surgical procedure
1 to 2 weeks for initial recovery; resume more strenuous activities in 4-6 weeks
Immediate improvement in breast size and shape, with final settled results visible in 6-12 months
Approximately 1-2-hour outpatient procedure performed under general anesthesia
Cosmetic breast augmentation—or augmentation mammoplasty—is a surgical procedure designed to enhance the volume, shape, and overall profile of the breasts.
This popular cosmetic surgery uses implants to enhance breast size and contours, with a wide range of implant options tailored to your goals and body type. During your initial consultation, Dr. Prince takes the time to review every variable of your procedure. Together, you will select the ideal implant type, sizing, and projection to suit your personal aesthetic vision. Dr. Prince favors round-shaped implants to deliver a gorgeous, full, and enduring lift that revitalizes your natural anatomy.
Choosing your implants is an exciting milestone in your journey. Dr. Prince will guide you through your options to find the perfect match for your goals and lifestyle:
Cohesive Gel Silicone Implants: Often referred to as "gummy bear" silicone breast implants, these devices utilize an ultra-pure, viscous silicone gel encased in durable silicone shells. They are highly favored because they closely mimic the natural feel of real body fat and breast tissue. The cohesive silicone gel maintains its form even if the outer shell experiences a breast implant rupture, offering maximum structural integrity.
Saline Breast Implants: These implants feature strong silicone shells that are placed into the breast area empty and then filled with a sterile saltwater solution during surgery. Saline-filled implants allow for precise, intraoperative adjustments to breast size and require slightly smaller surgical incisions, providing a gorgeous, firm projection.
On the day of your surgery, you will arrive at our state-of-the-art private surgery center, City Center Surgery, where our welcoming clinical team will immediately put you at ease. The procedure is performed as an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia, ensuring you remain completely comfortable and asleep throughout the process.
Dr. Prince typically accesses the breast tissue through an inframammary surgical incision, placed discreetly within the natural inframammary crease beneath the breast. This specific incision location ensures any resulting scar tissue is well concealed. To protect tissue integrity and mitigate risk, Dr. Prince does not use the transaxillary approach through the armpit.
Depending on your pre-existing breast tissue, skin elasticity, and body type, Dr. Prince will utilize one of three advanced options for implant placement:
Subglandular Placement: The implants are positioned over the chest muscles and beneath the natural glandular breast tissue.
Subfascial Placement: Implants are placed beneath the thin fascial tissue layer covering the major chest muscles for enhanced stability.
Subpectoralis (Dual-Plane) Placement: Implants are positioned partially beneath the pectoralis chest muscles and partially beneath the glandular breast tissue, providing a smooth transition from natural tissue to implant while maintaining maximum projection.
Once the implants are positioned, Dr. Prince closes the incisions using advanced layered techniques and applies durable surgical tape. You will wake up resting comfortably in a specialized surgical bra, ready to begin your recovery journey.
Augmentation mammoplasty is highly effective at correcting several common anatomical concerns, helping you achieve a balanced, proportional figure:
Volume Loss: Rebuilds lost fullness and projection following weight loss, pregnancy, or breastfeeding.
Natural Asymmetry: Balances asymmetries in breast size or shape.
Micromastia: Enhances naturally small breasts to create a more prominent, feminine curve.
Congenital Differences: Addresses tubular breast shapes or developmental differences to achieve a classic, rounded look.
The benefits of enhancing your silhouette extend far beyond the physical transformation. Many women report an immediate boost in daily self-confidence and an improved body image.
If you are a healthy individual looking to improve the volume, symmetry, and shape of your bustline, you may be an excellent candidate for breast augmentation. Ideal candidates are non-smokers who maintain a stable weight, have normal blood pressure, and do not have active risk factors like uncontrolled autoimmune disease or active breast cancer.
It is vital to approach cosmetic surgery with realistic expectations. Breast enlargement will significantly enhance your natural proportions. During your private consultation, Dr. Prince will carefully assess your medical history to ensure this procedure aligns perfectly with your cosmetic goals and medical profile.
Preparing for your recovery ensures a smooth, successful healing experience. Because this is an outpatient procedure, you will return home the same day under the care of a trusted friend or family member. For the first few days, it is normal to experience mild breast pain, tightness across the chest wall, and temporary swelling. Dr. Prince will prescribe medication to help you manage discomfort during early recovery.
A supportive sports bra or specialized surgical bra is worn for 6 weeks to minimize swelling and support your breasts as you heal. Most patients can comfortably return to light desk work and normal daily walking within 5 to 7 days. However, you must avoid heavy lifting, vigorous exercise, or pushing off with your chest muscles for at least 4 to 6 weeks to allow the internal tissues to heal. Our attentive team will monitor your progress closely through regular post-operative checkups.
You will notice an immediate change in your breast size and shape right after surgery. However, your implants will initially sit high and tight on the chest wall due to natural post-operative swelling. Over the course of 3 to 6 months, the tissues will soften beautifully, and the implants will settle into their final, natural-looking position.
While breast implants are incredibly durable, high-quality medical devices, they are not classified as lifetime devices. Modern silicone and saline implants are built to last anywhere from 10 to 20 years. Over time, natural aging, gravity, and lifestyle changes may prompt you to seek a simple revision surgery or implant removal to maintain your ideal look.
When it comes to altering your body proportions, choosing a highly accomplished plastic surgeon is paramount. Dr. Jennifer Prince brings extensive surgical experience and technical skill to every single augmentation mammoplasty. Her robust background in complex trauma and reconstructive breast surgery gives her a master-level understanding of chest wall anatomy and tissue dynamics.
As a female plastic surgeon, Dr. Prince offers an intuitive, deeply valued perspective on each patient's journey. She spends a generous amount of time listening to your motivations to craft a result that is breathtaking, balanced, and perfectly aligned with your life.
Capsular contracture occurs when the natural scar tissue capsule that forms around any medical device tightens abnormally, squeezing the implant. This can lead to breast pain or firmness. Dr. Prince actively minimizes this risk by utilizing sterile techniques to prevent bacterial contamination, selecting premium smooth or advanced textured surface implants, and placing implants beneath the chest muscles when appropriate.
Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is an uncommon, treatable condition of the immune system that has been linked primarily to specific macro-textured surface implants. Dr. Prince stays at the forefront of all safety data and prioritizes smooth or highly advanced, low-risk implant profiles to maximize patient safety.
Yes, modern silicone gel implants are fully approved by Health Canada. The cohesive, viscous silicone gel used in contemporary implants is highly stable, ensuring that even in the rare event of a breast implant rupture, the material remains bound together within the silicone shells rather than migrating into surrounding tissues.
Absolutely. If you are experiencing both a loss of breast volume and significant skin sagging, Dr. Prince can perform a breast augmentation and a breast lift simultaneously. This combined procedure adds gorgeous volume while removing excess breast skin to elevate your entire bustline.
Breast implants do not cause breast cancer, but they can require specialized views during a routine mammogram. It is important to inform your mammography technician that you have implants so they can utilize specialized displacement techniques to capture clear, accurate images of your natural breast tissue.
Most patients can resume light cardio like walking within a week. However, heavy lifting, high-impact running, and specific chest-strengthening exercises must be avoided for 6 weeks to prevent your implants from displacing before the internal tissues have fully locked them into place.
