Bleeding & Infection – Breast Augmentation Complications

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Posted on September 6, 2018 under Breast Augmentation

If you are considering breast augmentation surgery, then you must keep yourself informed about its risks as well. Just like all general surgeries, there are risks associated with breast surgery too. The most common ones are bleeding and infection. If it happens to a patient, she should not ignore it and consult her doctor immediately. Bleeding and infection can turn into a serious condition if left unattended.

Dr. Franklin D. Richards who is a cosmetic surgeon and works out of Bethesda, MD and McLean, VA; Northern Virginia; Fairfax, VA; Alexandria, VA, Chevy Chase, MD; Rockville, MD, says that breast augmentation bleeding can happen during the surgery or post it. Bleeding during surgery is normal and it is usually controllable. If the bleeding happens after surgery then it should cease after the first few hours.

Breast augmentation complication – bleeding

If the bleeding starts once the surgery is over, it results in one of the breasts getting bruised and becoming larger than the other. Depending on the severity of bruising, your doctor will decide whether you will need to go back to surgery or not. The enlargement of the breast and its bruising may or may not cause additional pain. Plastic surgeons place a drain on the exit wound through the skin to diagnose if the bleeding is normal or abnormal. If the drain is filled with thick blood, it is an indication that all is not well and another operation will need to be performed.

However, if a bruise develops post several days of surgery, it shouldn’t necessarily scare you. It could be the result of a small blood vessel in the chest tissue acting up. Ideally, it is harmless as the delayed bleeding traces can be found around the bruises caused by incisions during surgery. To have peace of mind, you can still get it checked by your plastic surgeon.

Breast augmentation complication – infection

Dr. A. Dean Jabs who is a plastic surgeon and works out of Bethesda, MD and McLean, VA; Northern Virginia; Fairfax, VA; Alexandria, VA, Chevy Chase, MD; Rockville, MD, says that infection post breast implant surgery is of two types and in both cases, it involves removing the implant from patients breast tissue.

In the first type of infection, which usually happens after a week of augmentation surgery, the patient feels unusually sick and has a fever. The breasts feel tender and so does the skin which is a shade of red. Your cosmetic surgeon can determine the course of removal of implants after a physical check-up.

The second type of infection is not evident but it starts showing its impact over some time. The breasts can turn red and their skin can get thin. In many cases, women can suspect an infection only when the implant breaks through the skin. Implant removal is a must and this infection can lead to loss of breast tissue and it can leave a scar at the exit place of the implant.

If you would like to learn more about plastic surgery procedures performed by Plastic Surgeons Franklin D. Richards, M.D. and A. Dean Jabs, M.D.  please visit https://cosmeticplastics.com/  or  http://breastaugmentationmd.com/ Serving patients in and around Northern Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, McLean, Bethesda, Fairfax County, Rockville, Alexandria, Chevy Chase, and Potomac. 

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Our Plastic Surgery Associates team includes Dr. Franklin Richards, Dr. A. Dean Jabs, and Dr. Keshav Magge. Each of our plastic surgeons is board-certified, and together they have over 60 years of combined experience. Drs. Richards, Jabs, and Magge are all highly qualified in procedures for the face, breast, and body, and pride themselves in providing excellent results through our state-of-the-art, Quad A certified operating centers