Augmentation Mammoplasty (Silicone Implants) in Uberlândia, Brazil

These are different implant placement planes, each with its own recovery profile and result characteristics, chosen according to the patient's anatomy.

It is a breast augmentation technique in which the implant is placed in front of the pectoral muscle, through a short incision and without cutting the muscle, preserving the gland, the supporting ligaments and the nerve supply of the area. Suitability depends on the thickness of the covering tissue and is assessed on physical examination.

It is not a different kind of implant, but a set of surgical and anesthetic measures aimed at reducing trauma and speeding the return to daily activities, described in the literature since 2002 and studied in a randomized trial. It reduces pain and recovery time compared with conventional care, but the exact timeframe varies from patient to patient and is not guaranteed.

Modern implants are durable, but periodic follow-up is important to monitor implant integrity over the years.

Yes. They are everyday and technical names for the same operation, in which a silicone implant is positioned to gain volume, projection or symmetry. "Breast implant" and "silicone prosthesis" refer to the same object.

The surface changes how the implant relates to the capsule the body forms around it — it does not change the volume or the shape of the breast. A smooth surface lets the implant move within the pocket created: it is the surface tissue does not attach to. A textured surface has a roughness designed to encourage tissue adherence, which reduces rotation and displacement; that matters when the implant indicated is anatomical, teardrop-shaped, because an anatomical implant that rotates changes the shape of the breast. A polyurethane implant has a foam layer that tissue incorporates, with marked adherence, and in the classification of surfaces it is counted among the textured ones. None of them is automatically superior to the others: what decides is the implant shape indicated for your case, the plane in which it will be placed, the thickness of your tissue and your history. There is a safety point worth reading alongside this, answered in detail in the question about cancer and implants on this page: BIA-ALCL has been associated mainly with textured surfaces, particularly macrotextured ones, and some of those models were withdrawn from the international market in 2019. The surface of the implant used in your case, with brand, model and registration number, appears on the consent form and on the implant card you receive after surgery — worth keeping that card.

It can, when there is enough breast tissue coverage — this is the pre-pectoral plane, which avoids cutting the muscle. Suitability depends on tissue thickness, chest shape and the implant chosen, and is assessed on physical examination.

It usually takes one to two hours, depending on the surgical approach and implant placement chosen.

No. The approach is discharge the same day, a few hours after the operation, once pain is controlled and you are walking and passing urine normally — and always accompanied. The surgery is carried out in an operating theatre with an anesthesiology team, and recovery happens at home. When the implant is combined with another procedure in the same operation, the approach for combined surgery applies instead, which is one night of admission. Whether you go home the same day or stay overnight is always assessed case by case, according to the extent of the surgery, the anesthesia, whether other procedures are combined and your pre-operative assessment — and it is defined before the surgery, not on the day. That same decision determines the venue: procedures with same-day discharge are performed in the operating theatre of Healme Clinic itself, and those requiring admission in the operating theatre of the UMC Hospital — in the same complex, with no travel between sites.

Usually general anesthesia, determined by pre-operative assessment together with the anesthesiology team.

Patients rarely describe a stabbing pain. The usual report is heaviness, tightness and a stretched feeling across the chest, strongest in the first 48 to 72 hours and easing through the first week. The pain felt underneath the implant comes from tissue stretching and, when the implant sits behind the muscle, from muscle spasm as well — which is why the submuscular plane tends to be more uncomfortable early on than the plane in front of the muscle, which does not make one plane superior to the other, since the choice depends on the thickness of the covering tissue and the shape of the chest. Coughing, laughing and raising the arms above the head tend to hurt more in that period. Analgesia is planned before surgery precisely to cover those first hours. Pain that increases instead of easing, or comes with fever and redness, should be reported immediately.

The anesthesiologist decides, in a joint assessment before surgery, and general anesthesia is the most common choice for breast augmentation because it allows control of breathing while the surgeon works on the chest wall. General anesthesia does not automatically mean intubation: in many cases the airway is managed with a laryngeal mask, a device placed without passing the vocal cords. The literature describes breast augmentation under sedation combined with chest wall blocks — pectoral nerve blocks, serratus plane and intercostal blocks — and those blocks are also used today alongside general anesthesia to reduce pain in the first hours. Epidural anesthesia is not the usual route for breast surgery. The anesthetic plan is individual and discussed at the preoperative assessment.

Back and neck pain has a mechanical explanation when the chosen volume is large for the patient's frame: weight carried in front of the chest changes posture, one reason not to treat volume as a matter of "the bigger, the better". In the first weeks, part of the back discomfort comes from guarded posture and from sleeping with the upper body raised. Headaches in the immediate postoperative period usually relate to anesthesia, fasting, caffeine withdrawal and pain medication rather than to the implant itself; no causal link has been established between implants and chronic headache. The sense that the breasts feel colder in cold weather is real and tends to be stronger when tissue coverage is thin. A complaint that persists is investigated, not attributed to the implant by default.

Relative rest is recommended in the first week, with a gradual return to daily activities in the following weeks.

It varies by activity type — desk work is usually resumed sooner than jobs requiring intense arm movement.

Usually after the first few days, once strong pain medication is no longer needed and arm movement feels comfortable.

Return is gradual: light activity is usually cleared first, with higher-impact exercise or upper-body training only after medical reassessment.

Yes — wearing a surgical bra for a recommended period helps the implant settle during healing.

Most of the swelling subsides in the first three to six weeks, when the breasts stop looking high and firm. Settling — what patients call the implants dropping into place — is slower: the implant descends a few millimeters within the pocket, the tissues relax, and the shape tends to stabilize between three and six months, sometimes longer in breasts with little covering tissue. The band worn above the breasts — the stabilizing band, which is not the compression garment mentioned in post-operative care — limits upward movement of the implant during that period; how long it is used depends on the protocol adopted, and in the rapid-recovery protocol it is often dispensed with. Judging the final result before that point leads to premature conclusions, which is why follow-up visits are spread across the first year.

For the first weeks patients are advised to sleep on their back with the upper body raised: the position reduces swelling and avoids uneven pressure on a newly positioned implant. Sleeping on the side is usually allowed around the third or fourth week, and face down later, generally after the second month, because direct pressure on the breast is what most tends to shift an implant. The surgical bra is kept on at night while continuous wear is advised; once that period ends, sleeping without a bra does not harm the result, and many patients keep wearing one only for comfort. The timings above describe conventional guidance; under the rapid-recovery protocol described in the techniques section of this page, position restrictions tend to be shorter. What applies to you is the discharge guidance for your own surgery, adjusted to the placement plane, the approach used and how your recovery progresses.

The scar's length and position depend on the surgical approach chosen, planned to be as discreet as possible for each patient's anatomy.

The scar does not disappear — it matures. For the first two to three months it tends to be redder, firmer and sometimes raised; from then on it usually lightens and flattens progressively, a process that can take twelve to eighteen months to complete. The scar from a breast augmentation is normally a line a few centimeters long, placed according to the approach chosen during planning, often in the fold beneath the breast. Strict sun protection, avoiding tension on the area in the early weeks, and silicone tapes or gels when indicated all support that maturation. A tendency to hypertrophic scars or keloids exists, is raised when reviewing your history, and changes both the plan and what is reasonable to expect.

All three approaches exist and carry different consequences. The inframammary approach, in the fold beneath the breast, is the most used: it gives direct view of the pocket that will hold the implant and hides the scar in the crease. The periareolar approach follows the edge of the areola and conceals the scar well in patients with a marked colour transition, but it crosses glandular tissue, which the literature links to greater contamination of the pocket and to more capsular contracture than the approach in the breast fold. For nipple sensation, direct comparison of the two approaches found no difference. The transaxillary approach moves the scar away from the breast, at the cost of a more indirect operation and technically harder revisions. None is best for every patient: the choice depends on anatomy, the implant and previous healing, and is settled during planning.

Breast augmentation is one of the most frequently performed plastic surgeries worldwide, and implants used in Brazil must be registered with Anvisa, the national health regulator, with lot-number traceability. That does not mean the operation carries no risk. The events most often described in the literature are capsular contracture, seroma, hematoma, infection, altered nipple sensation, asymmetry, visible rippling and implant rupture over the years — most of them manageable, some requiring further surgery. To these are added the risks of any procedure under anesthesia, such as thrombosis. Silicone is not rejected the way a transplanted organ is: the body forms a fibrous capsule around the implant, and trouble begins when that capsule tightens. Smoking, body mass index, diabetes and certain medications change individual risk, which is what the preoperative assessment is for.

Large cohort studies following women with implants show no increase in the risk of breast carcinoma — the cancer that screening looks for. There is, however, a finding that belongs alongside it: a meta-analysis of observational studies described breast cancer being diagnosed at a less localized stage, and poorer cancer-specific survival, among women with implants compared with women without. These are observational data, not fully adjusted for confounders, and they do not indicate that implants cause the disease — they reinforce the part that is within your control: keeping screening up to date and telling the imaging service that an implant is in place, so the technique can be adapted. There is also a rare and different condition: breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, known as BIA-ALCL. It arises in the capsule that forms around the implant and has been linked mainly to textured surfaces, particularly macrotextured ones — some of those models were withdrawn from the international market in 2019. It usually presents as late swelling caused by fluid collecting around the implant, typically years after surgery. Investigation and management are conducted together with the specialties responsible for the oncological diagnosis, and the literature describes removal of the implant together with the capsule as part of that management. Beyond BIA-ALCL, since 2022 the United States regulator has been recording a small number of cases of squamous cell carcinoma and of other lymphomas arising in the capsule itself — a count still in the dozens worldwide, rare enough not to change the indication and frequent enough to belong in an honest answer about implants and cancer. It is rare, but it has to be said: any late change in breast volume or shape deserves assessment rather than waiting.

They do. Silicone is radiopaque and shows on a mammogram as well as on a chest X-ray taken for any other reason. The implant hides part of the breast tissue, so screening is carried out with specific maneuvers — the displacement technique described by Eklund pushes the implant back and brings the gland forward, with extra views. It is worth telling the imaging service beforehand so the technique can be adapted and the team knows the placement plane of the implant. The chance of compression rupturing a modern implant is considered very low, though it has been reported. Having implants does not remove the need for screening: which exams and how often remain decisions of the doctor following your breast health.

No causal link has been established. Large population studies have not found a consistent increase in defined autoimmune diseases, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, among women with implants. At the same time, there is a cluster of symptoms reported by patients and grouped under the names breast implant illness and ASIA syndrome: fatigue, joint and muscle pain, difficulty concentrating, hair loss. The literature records reports of patients describing improvement of symptoms after implant removal, in series without a comparison group and with no demonstrated mechanism; removal therefore cannot be presented as a treatment for this cluster of complaints. Systemic symptoms are investigated together with the specialties that care for each of them. Since 2021 the United States regulator has required this set of symptoms to appear in the boxed warning on implant labelling and in a patient decision checklist reviewed and signed before surgery — that requirement is theirs, not the Brazilian regulator's, but the subject belongs in the consultation and in the team's own consent document. It belongs in the decision as honest information, not as a single reason either to abandon the idea or to go ahead.

It can. Anatomical implants — teardrop shapes — rely on keeping the right orientation to hold their form and may rotate, which is irrelevant for a round implant and for a conical implant with a circular base, both symmetrical about their own axis. Displacement upwards, downwards or to the side usually traces back to the surgical pocket, to early arm effort or to capsular contracture. When the displacement affects one side only, it shows as asymmetry between the breasts. Correction, when indicated, is surgical: no home maneuver repositions an implant. Visible rippling of the skin is more frequent when the covering tissue layer is thin, particularly in the plane in front of the muscle. Any change in shape or position deserves an in-person assessment rather than advice found online.

Capsular contracture is the complication most associated with breast implants. The body forms a fibrous capsule around any implant; when that capsule tightens, the breast becomes firm, may change shape, ride up and hurt. Milder grades are only palpable; more advanced ones are visible and symptomatic, and treatment is surgical, opening or removing the capsule. Hematoma, seroma, infection and smoking are among the factors associated with a higher chance, which is why strict hemostasis, antibiotic prophylaxis and minimal handling of the implant are part of the technique — measures that reduce the chance described in the literature without eliminating it.

Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis is used in every patient, not only in those at higher risk. It has two parts. The mechanical one is routine: anti-thrombosis compression stockings and intermittent pneumatic compression of the legs, used during the operation and in the immediate postoperative period, until early ambulation — the third pillar, and the reason the team insists on short, frequent walks from the first hours. The chemical part is individualised: how long enoxaparin is used is defined by the Caprini score, a validated instrument that adds up factors such as age, body mass index, expected length of surgery, hormone use, smoking and personal or family history of thrombosis. None of these measures eliminates the risk, which is why asymmetrical pain or swelling in a leg, shortness of breath and chest pain need immediate assessment, not waiting.

In most cases, yes — implants usually do not directly compromise the mammary gland, though this is assessed individually.

Nipple sensation depends mainly on a branch of the fourth intercostal nerve, which reaches the breast from the side. Altered sensation after surgery is common: it may be reduced, uncomfortably heightened or tingling in the first weeks, usually recovering over months. In a small share of patients the change is permanent, and that has to be said before surgery, because full return of sensation cannot be assured. The chance is higher with implants whose volume is large for the breast envelope, since they stretch the tissues more: that is the variable sensory-threshold testing identified as predictive. The approach used, contrary to what is often said, showed no difference in sensation between the incision in the breast fold and the one around the areola. The nerve supply of the area is taken into account when planning the approach and the placement plane, and there are techniques that avoid cutting the muscle and create the pocket by tunnelling with that among their aims. No plane or technique is superior to the others in every case, and none removes the possibility of altered sensation.

Implant shape matters less than most people expect. Studies using blinded assessors could not consistently tell breasts augmented with round implants from those augmented with anatomical ones. What usually determines a natural appearance is the relationship between the width of the breast base and the width of the implant, the profile chosen — how far it projects forward — and the thickness of the tissue covering it. A round implant of moderate profile tends to give a softer transition in the upper pole, while an anatomical one depends on staying in the orientation in which it was placed to hold the shape that was planned. The conical implant is a third shape, also with a circular base, with its volume distributed more centrally. The choice is made from chest measurements at the physical examination, not from a volume that suited someone else.

The operation is planned to preserve the gland and the ducts, and most patients with implants are able to breastfeed. Even so, the available comparative studies show that breastfeeding — and exclusive breastfeeding in particular — is established less often by women with implants than by women without them, with no explained mechanism. A patient for whom breastfeeding is a priority needs that in front of her when she decides, and support from a lactation specialist after birth usually helps. The placement plane — in front of or behind the muscle — has little known influence on lactation. The periareolar route crosses glandular tissue and passes close to the nerves involved in the milk ejection reflex, which is usually taken into account when a patient intends to breastfeed; the available meta-analysis, however, found no difference in exclusive breastfeeding between that route and the one in the breast fold, so no approach is presented here as the breastfeeding approach. There is no demonstration of silicone passing into breast milk in any relevant amount. Appearance also changes: pregnancy and breastfeeding alter breast volume and support, and some patients seek revision afterwards. Patients planning pregnancy in the near future are usually advised to weigh that when choosing the timing of surgery, a decision taken together at the consultation.

A breast implant has no expiry date inside the body, and the idea of replacing one every ten years is not based on evidence. Nor is there an implant that can be promised never to need replacing: ten-year follow-up series show that a share of patients undergo some further operation in that period, most often for capsular contracture, a changed wish about volume, breast changes from pregnancy and weight variation, or implant rupture. Rupture of a cohesive gel implant is usually silent and painless, sometimes accompanied only by a slight change in shape or firmness. That is why imaging follow-up — ultrasound or MRI — is part of long-term surveillance. The United States regulator suggests starting it between the fifth and sixth year and repeating it every two to three years; the interval adopted in each case is set by the team following the patient. Replacement is prompted by a finding, not by the calendar.

Surgical fees are always private — Dr. Lorena does not operate through health insurance. What is possible, when a genuine, documented medical indication exists — such as breast reconstruction after breast cancer treatment, which Brazilian law guarantees, or the correction of marked asymmetry or a breast malformation —, is to guide the patient and attempt to have the health plan cover part of the hospital admission, which may include the operating room, the hospital stay and materials, according to the terms of her policy. Authorisation is the insurer's decision and cannot be guaranteed; the team advises on the documentation required and on how to proceed.

Yes, where there is a reconstructive or functional indication — for example breast reconstruction after breast cancer treatment, which Brazilian law guarantees. Surgery for purely aesthetic purposes is not covered by the SUS. Dr. Lorena is a plastic surgeon appointed by public examination to the Hospital de Clínicas of the Federal University of Uberlândia (HC-UFU) and preceptor of its plastic surgery residency, and she operates on SUS patients there. The route, however, does not run through this site or the private practice: the patient must register at the primary care unit (Unidade Básica de Saúde) nearest to where she lives, be assessed by a doctor there and, if there is an indication, be placed in her municipality's regulation queue. The surgeon cannot choose who is operated on through the SUS — the order follows the queue and the rules of the system strictly.

We do not publish isolated before-and-after pairs. Resolution 2,336/2023 of the Brazilian Federal Council of Medicine allows results to be demonstrated, but only within a set that also includes unsatisfactory outcomes and the complications described in the literature, across different body types, age ranges and stages of healing, and with no editing of the images (art. 14, II). An isolated pair of photos does not meet those requirements and also implies a guaranteed result, which the same resolution prohibits (art. 11, XII). At the consultation the expected outcome is discussed from your own anatomy — what is reasonable to expect, what is not possible, and what the risks are.

It is possible in selected cases, and Dr. Lorena performs it. The technique is fat grafting: fat is harvested from another area of the body by liposuction, processed and injected into the breast. What differs from an implant is the order of magnitude and the predictability. Part of the grafted fat is reabsorbed over the first months, so the final volume is smaller than what was injected, and variation between patients is wide — the gain therefore tends to be discreet and may require more than one session. It also depends on there being a donor area with enough fat. It is an option when the aim is to refine contour, correct asymmetry or add volume subtly, and it can also be combined with an implant; it does not replace a prosthesis when significant enlargement is the goal. One point has to be stated: grafted fat can form oil cysts, areas of fat necrosis and calcifications that show on breast imaging and require differentiation — so the decision takes your history and your breast follow-up into account, and is assessed individually at the consultation.