The decisions you make before surgery

A good breast augmentation is decided long before the operating room: which implant, how large, where it sits and where the incision goes. Those choices are what a consultation with Dr. Chang Soo Kim is for, and for Pleasantville that consultation is a straight run of about ten miles up the Saw Mill River Parkway — around 16 minutes without traffic — to Bellava in Bedford Hills.

Dr. Kim is a Yale School of Medicine graduate who completed his plastic surgery residency at Yale–New Haven Hospital and is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Read more about Dr. Kim.

Why women in Pleasantville come to us

The reasons patients give him tend to fall into a few groups:

wanting a fuller bust;
wanting the chest to balance better with the hips;
evening out two breasts that are noticeably different;
getting back the size they had before pregnancy.

Knowing which of these is yours shapes every choice that follows.

Silicone or saline

Both kinds of implant feel soft. Saline implants are filled with sterile salt water; silicone implants have a consistent feel throughout. Neither is right for everyone, and Dr. Kim will recommend the one that suits your body and the look you are after.

Choosing a size you can actually picture

Implant size is measured in cubic centimetres, which means very little until you see it on yourself. At Bellava you can try sizers — soft bead-filled neoprene pouches worn under your own clothes — so you can judge a volume in the mirror rather than from a number on a chart.

Placement and incision

An implant can sit over or under the chest muscle, and Dr. Kim can place it through one of three small openings: around the areola, in the crease beneath the breast, or under the arm. He will explain which of them he would recommend for you, and why.

Not sure about implants?

Some women would rather use their own fat. Bellava also performs natural fat transfer breast augmentation, which suits a more modest increase. You can discuss both at the same visit.

Pleasantville patients ask

What happens at the first visit? Dr. Kim reviews your health history and goals, examines you, talks through implant options and risks, and sketches out a plan. It is free and you are under no obligation to book.

What makes someone a good candidate? Being in good health, not smoking (or being willing to stop for the time required), having fully developed breasts and being unhappy with their size or shape.

Do implants get in the way of mammograms? They can partly obscure the view, so extra images are sometimes taken. Screening can still pick up changes.

Is there financing? See our financing page for the options, and the main breast augmentation page for more detail.

Breast Augmentation for Pleasantville, NY