Volume, position — or both?

Many women who come to Bellava asking about implants are describing two separate things. One is volume: breasts that were always small, or that emptied after pregnancy or weight loss. The other is position: breasts that now sit lower than they used to. An implant answers the first, a breast lift answers the second, and some women need both. Telling them apart is the first job of a consultation with Dr. Chang Soo Kim, and from Bedford Village that consultation is roughly ten minutes away without traffic, by Route 22 and Bedford Center Road to Bedford Hills.

What Dr. Kim measures

Dr. Kim — Yale School of Medicine, plastic surgery residency at Yale–New Haven Hospital, American Board of Plastic Surgery certification — examines your breasts and the crease beneath them, takes measurements, and looks at your skin quality, the width of your chest and how much tissue you already have. Every one of those changes how an implant will look. The same volume in cubic centimetres can read as modest on one frame and generous on another, so size is judged on you rather than from a chart.

If implants are part of the answer

Saline or silicone. Saline implants are filled with salt water. Silicone gel comes in a softer traditional form and a firmer cohesive form that ripples less.
Shape. Most silicone implants are round. Teardrop-shaped ones give less upper fullness and cleavage.
Placement. Over or under the chest muscle, depending on your breast size and shape, your skin and the implant chosen.
Incision. Dr. Kim most often uses the crease under the breast, where the scar is well hidden; around the areola and in the armpit are the alternatives.

If a lift is part of the answer

A lift raises and reshapes your own breast tissue, and it is also used after large weight changes have stretched the skin. Implants are added only when more volume is a goal as well. Bellava’s guidance is that most lift patients are back to regular activities within one to two weeks.

Recovery points worth planning for

A supportive surgical bra is worn around the clock for several weeks, then a sports bra for exercise.
Push-ups, chest presses and weightlifting wait at least six to eight weeks.
Swelling takes months to settle fully, and the final result can take six months to a year to appear.

Bellava’s surgical suite in Bedford Hills is accredited by The Joint Commission, and every follow-up is with Dr. Kim’s own team.

Bedford Village patients ask

Should I wait after breastfeeding? Yes. Dr. Kim’s guidance is to have finished breastfeeding at least six months before an augmentation.

Will the incision affect nursing in future? An incision around the areola can put milk ducts at risk; incisions in the breast crease or the armpit generally avoid them. Mention it at your consultation if you may breastfeed again.

Can I combine augmentation with a tummy tuck? Often. It is a pairing Bellava patients frequently ask for, and with a lift added it becomes a mommy makeover. See the main breast augmentation page and Dr. Kim’s results — your first consultation is free.

Breast Augmentation for Bedford Village, NY