Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation using silicone gel or saline implants performed by Northwestern University board-certified plastic surgeons at the Streeterville campus. Implant selection — profile, volume, material, and texture — and incision approach (inframammary, periareolar, or axillary) are customised to the patient's chest dimensions, existing tissue, and aesthetic goals during a pre-operative consultation. Procedures are performed at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Breast augmentation at Northwestern Plastic Surgery is performed by attending plastic surgeons with Northwestern University appointments, within the infrastructure of Northwestern Memorial Hospital — one of Chicago's leading academic medical centers. The procedure uses implants to increase breast volume, restore fullness that may have been lost following pregnancy or weight fluctuation, correct natural asymmetry between the two sides, and improve overall breast shape and projection. During the preoperative consultation, the surgeon performs dimensional planning: measuring base width, nipple-to-inframammary fold distance, skin stretch, and existing breast tissue volume to determine the implant parameters — base width, projection class (low, moderate, or high profile), and volume in cubic centimetres — that will achieve the patient's desired outcome while respecting her anatomical constraints. Silicone gel implants produce a feel and movement closer to natural breast tissue and are the predominant choice among patients undergoing primary augmentation. Saline-filled implants offer an adjustable fill volume and the practical advantage that a rupture is immediately evident as the saline is absorbed harmlessly by the body. Smooth-surface implants are placed in the majority of cases; textured implants are reserved for specific anatomical indications. Pocket placement options discussed at consultation include subglandular (beneath the breast tissue, above the pectoralis major muscle), submuscular (beneath the pectoralis major for greater soft-tissue coverage, particularly in thin patients with minimal native breast tissue), and dual-plane (a hybrid approach optimising both coverage and the implant's interaction with the breast gland). The practice also offers breast augmentation revision surgery for patients seeking implant exchange, size change, or correction of complications from prior augmentation performed elsewhere.