Breast implants are the best option to enhance one's breasts

Several althernatives exist although not necessarily ideal. One common option is water bras or padded bras or gel inserts. Other options would include hormonal pills. The Brava system has been around for over 10 years; however, this does not appear to have caught on. Results are not similar to breast implants. Autologous fat grafting is gaining more attention especially for breast defects encountered in the breast reconstruction patient. We must be cautious in being too enthusiastic about this option for breast enhancement until we determine the longer term effects of this.

There have been a number of creams, both hormonal and homeopathic, that promise breast enlargement without verifiable results. The Brava system has been used as well, but has been inconsistent.

Fat injections seem to be gaining popularity, as many plastic surgeons have used fat injections to help breast reconstruction patients with minor, and major, defects of the breast. There are surgeons who take four to seven hours to do one round of fat augmentation, that can usually only increase the breast size by about one half to one cup size (about 150cc). This can cost usually about 20K for this one cup size, and then frequently has to be repeated if it isn't large enough for the patient's wishes.

There are many unknowns currently, such as whether this will hide any cancer, or cause long term effects that may mask cancer by causing calcium deposits. This can be very dangerous if the physician just squirts fat into the breast and doesn't really do fat grafting, as it can lead to lumps in the breast of fat necrosis, and scar.

There is much more that we need to do to study this to make sure that we are doing the best thing for our paitents in the long run and are not harming them long term.

Implants currently are our best means of breast augmentation, as imperfect as they may be, because we have been doing them for almost 50 years, and know the types of complications and benefits that come with the implants.

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There are some out there as stated, but non have really proven to be worth while.  Either they dont work or if they do work they only result in small improvement or volume change.

Autologous fat grafting is still a bit scary and I would not recommend it at this point.  This is when fat is removed from elsewhere and injected into the breast tissue.

Good luck.

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The other consultants have categorized breast enhancement options as:

a) Nonmedical: wearing push up bras +/- gel inserts; weight gain, hormonal changes  (menopause) and aging will also increase the volume but not necessarily the 'perkiness" of the breast.

b) "Medical": using homeopathic creams, which aren't regulated and produce erratic results, if any. BRAVA system, which produces modest results.

c) "Surgical": Fat transfers are increasingly being used in breast reconstruction, however the side effects, if any, are still to be determined for the cosmetic breast patient.  Remember that the breast screening is still a high priority and any procedure which could make mammography more difficult to interpret may not be your best bet.

Hope this helps.  Good luck.

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