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Transumbilical Silicone Breast Augmentation: A 13-Year Experience and 5-Year Analysis

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  • Breast Surgery
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Abstract

Background

Transumbilical breast augmentation (TUBA) with saline implants has been considered a safe and efficient technique for decades. However, because silicone implants are more popular than saline ones, TUBA with saline implants is not widely performed. In 2014, we published a report on transumbilical breast augmentation using silicone cohesive gel implants. As we have performed transumbilical silicone breast augmentation (TUSBA) for 13 years with slight modifications, this study aimed to describe this novel technique and present accompanying patient outcomes over 5 years.

Methods

We enrolled patients desiring breast augmentation at a single center. The preoperative design was initially determined with the patients in standing positions before they underwent surgery under general anesthesia in a supine position.

Results

Between January 2018 and December 2022, 69 women and one man underwent TUSBA at a single center. All patients underwent cohesive gel silicone implantation in the subpectoral pocket. The implant size varied from 225 to 300 mL (average 272 mL) because two patients underwent surgery with implants of different sizes due to breast asymmetry. All patients were satisfied with the surgery outcome except one who was dissatisfied because of abdominal bulging.

Conclusions

TUSBA offers advantages such as minimal scarring and unrestricted arm movement; thus, it can be an alternative option for patients seeking breast augmentation.

Level of Evidence IV

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors https://www.springer.com/00266.

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Acknowledgement

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Hallym National University Hospital Ethic Committee (2023-06-018).

Funding

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, Information and Communications Technologies (No. 2021R1F1A1062758; Kim SH). Institutional Review Board Statement: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital’s Institutional Review Board (IRB number 2023-06-018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yonsei E1 Plastic Surgery Clinic, Anyang, South Korea

    Won Lee

  2. Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, 1 Singillo, Yongdeongpo-gu, Seoul, 07441, Korea

    Seong Hwan Kim

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  1. Won Lee
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  2. Seong Hwan Kim
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Correspondence to Seong Hwan Kim.

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Lee, W., Kim, S.H. Transumbilical Silicone Breast Augmentation: A 13-Year Experience and 5-Year Analysis. Aesth Plast Surg (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-024-03850-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-024-03850-4

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