When will I see my final breast augmentation results? [Andrew Cohen, MD, Encino]

Dr. Cohen (00:00):
This is Andrew Cohen. I'm a board certified plastic surgeon here in Encino, California.

Eva Sheie (00:06):
How long does breast augmentation surgery take and how long are you under anesthesia for?

Dr. Cohen (00:12):
It's usually about an hour. There are some surgeons that can do it in 15 or 20 minutes, and it looks like they did it in 15 or 20 minutes, but most of the skilled board certified plastic surgeons take about an hour to do it, to make sure it's done correctly and you don't need any other complications afterwards. So it's about an hour of surgery if someone's taking their time and being precise, and then about 45 minutes of recovery time in the recovery room. But then the initial healing of a breast dog is five to seven days, but it can take a little longer for the scars to heal and it's done under general anesthesia.

Eva Sheie (00:52):
There's a lot of chatter on the internet about techniques above the muscle, below the muscle, dual plane. Can you tell us what they all are and how each one is used and in what circumstances?

Dr. Cohen (01:04):
That's a lot, but I will. Dual plane just means you're under the muscle and there's different types of dual plane, but that's pretty much what the majority of us do. It's a dual plane where we release the muscle and it goes under the muscle. It's dual, meaning part of it isn't covered by the muscle. Sub glandular is above the muscle. I rarely do that. Usually in bodybuilders I've done that, or if I have to do a revision and there's too much of a distortion when they squeeze or hug their partners or lift something, if the implant is being distorted from the muscle, sometimes you can just put it above the muscle and that takes care of it. So pocket position is extremely important. It's usually under the muscle in my hands, cuz I find that under the muscle makes that implant less palpable and gives me good, a nice soft breast implant.

Eva Sheie (01:55):
How long does it take to recover from a typical breast augmentation surgery?

Dr. Cohen (02:00):
In my hands, it's about five to seven days. You hear people doing fast recovery or flash recovery. A lot of my patients can go out to dinner that first night or second night, but we prefer you to just kind of chill and not do too much cuz you can bleed after surgery. So yeah, we do a lot of flash recovery and fast recovery, whatever kind of social media term you want to see. I do a special block of the breast tissue so you're not hurting, so most people are just a little sore. We give you a muscle relaxant and a pain pill so that you're not hurting, but we don't want people going out to dinner that first night or doing anything too crazy because you're going to bleed, so you don't want to do that.

Eva Sheie (02:39):
What about lifting things or going to the gym?

Dr. Cohen (02:43):
6 to8 weeks before going to the gym or lifting anything more than 20 pounds or more than 10 pounds I should really say.

Eva Sheie (02:52):
But when can you go for a walk then.

Dr. Cohen (02:54):
Right away you can go for a walk the next day, just don't go five miles. You can go half a mile the next day and then go a little further a mile after a couple days. It just depends. We don't want you doing too much or elevating up your blood pressure because it will cause bleeding.

Eva Sheie (03:08):
Do you ever see people push themselves too soon?

Dr. Cohen (03:10):
Yes, all the time. This is LA man. Yeah, they're pushing themselves all the time too soon.

Eva Sheie (03:18):
When do they get to see their results for the first time?

Dr. Cohen (03:21):
The next day we have you look at it the next day. We take everything off, you look in the mirror and it looks great, but there'll be some bruising, but we let people look at it right away. We like people to see what's going on.

Eva Sheie (03:34):
Do the implants change or change position or fall over the next few weeks or months?

Dr. Cohen (03:40):
Yeah, they have to kind of fall. They're going to be a little bit high and a little swollen, and then they fall and come into place after about three or four weeks for the most part. Some people take longer, but usually three or four weeks.

Eva Sheie (03:52):
What is the first thing that patients say when they see the final results? Do you get their feedback at that point?

Dr. Cohen (03:58):
Oh, of course. Yeah. People are always very, very happy. They like what they see, and it's a very satisfying procedure because they're really changing people's lives.

Eva Sheie (04:07):
Tell us your Instagram and your website address.

Dr. Cohen (04:11):
My Instagram is really easy. It's Andrew Cohen MD and my website's also Andrew Cohen MD. So we keep it simple.

Eva Sheie (04:20):
Love it. Thank you Dr. Cohen.

Dr. Cohen (04:23):
You got it. Thank you.

Eva Sheie (04:26):
On this podcast, we bring you directly to the doctors who are where before meets after. Links to our guest's website and contact info are in your show notes. Follow us on Instagram @wherebeforemeetsafter. If you're a board certified plastic surgeon and would like to be a guest or a sponsor of the show, go to wherebeforemeetsafter.com for more information. Where Before Meets After is a production of The Axis, the podcast Agency for Aesthetics, theaxis.io.