Two ways to a fuller bust, 19 minutes from Armonk

Ask most people what breast augmentation involves and they will say implants. At Bellava there is a second answer: enlarging the breasts with your own fat. Dr. Chang Soo Kim offers both in our accredited suite in Bedford Hills, about 13 miles from Armonk — around 19 minutes without traffic, most of it on I-684 — so you can weigh one against the other with the same surgeon rather than visiting two practices in Manhattan.

Your surgeon

Dr. Kim graduated from the Yale School of Medicine, trained as a plastic surgeon at Yale–New Haven Hospital and is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Whichever method you choose, his goal is the same: a shape that looks natural and in proportion, never overdone. Meet Dr. Kim.

Option one: implants

What changes: volume, shape and symmetry, with the size chosen in advance.
The choice of implant: silicone or saline, set over or under the chest muscle.
How long it lasts: on average ten years or more, and an implant may eventually need replacing.
Things to know: implants carry their own risks — rupture, capsular contracture (scar tissue tightening around the implant) and shifting — which Dr. Kim goes through with you.

Option two: your own fat

What changes: a gentler increase, built up gradually as the transferred fat settles in.
Where the fat comes from: liposuction from an area such as the tummy or thighs, so that area is slimmed at the same time.
How long it lasts: the fat that takes is living tissue and ages with you; there is no implant to exchange later, and no capsular contracture.
Things to know: you need enough spare fat to harvest and should be close to your ideal weight, and the operation itself takes longer than an implant procedure.

More on this approach on our natural fat transfer breast augmentation page.

Which suits you?

That is a judgement Dr. Kim makes after examining you. Implants let you choose the size in advance; fat transfer gives a subtler result and depends on having fat to spare. If your breasts have also dropped, a breast lift may be part of the answer.

Armonk patients ask

How much bigger can fat transfer make me? It depends on how much fat you have to spare. Dr. Kim estimates the increase you could realistically expect when he examines you.

Is recovery easier with fat? The procedure takes longer, but with nothing implanted there are generally fewer restrictions afterwards. Can I start with a consultation only? Yes. Consultations are free and private. See our breast augmentation page and our gallery of results.

Breast Augmentation for Armonk, NY