Hundred and Eleven Cases of Subfascial Breast Augmentation in Trans Women—A Single-Center Experience

• Main Authors: Sasanka Sekhar Chatterjee, Manoj Khanna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. 2020-03-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
• Subjects: augmentation mammoplasty; subfascial; trans women
• Online Access: http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0040-1708227
• ISSN: 0970-0358; 1998-376X

Hundred and eleven patients of breast augmentation in trans women operated between January 2004 and September 2019 are presented. Two surgeons conducted the study with a slightly different antibiotic regime. Only round implants were used. Till December 2017, 72 implants used were textured. Thereafter, we switched over smooth silicone gel implants more for reasons of availability than others. It was used in 39 patients. We did not notice any difference in results. Our postoperative regimes consisted of antibiotics (usually amoxicillin + clavulanic acid) for 10 days, restricted shoulder movements for 3 weeks, use of an inner brassiere and outer sports vest for 2 months. Routes of implantation were either periareolar or inframammary, former being selected as per choice of the patient, provided the hemicircumference of the areola was 4.5 cm or more. We never used transaxillary route. The implants were always placed in a subfascial pocket. Routine irrigation of the pocket with 5% povidone iodine was done before insertion of implant. From 3 weeks postoperatively, routine massage of breasts for a period of 6 to 8 weeks were advised. Complications included delayed minor wound healing problems usually in periareolar technique requiring secondary suture under local anesthesia. This was negligible with inframammary technique. Capsular contracture was found in 12 patients. Two of these merited intervention but one of them refused operation. In one patient, implant had to be extracted due to severe suppurative infection resulting from a separate incidence of traumatic injury with hematoma formation 2 weeks post operatively. Poor scarring including one keloid were noticed in 11 patients.