Breast Augmentation & Enlargement Surgery

Before you undergo any plastic surgery procedure at Karidis Clinic, you will have a consultation and a pre-operative assessment with your plastic surgeon. They will listen carefully to your concerns and what you expect to achieve and discuss which procedure, or combination of procedures, is appropriate.

At this stage, they will also ensure you are fully aware of the potential risks and complications inherent in that specific procedure and explain to you what you can expect immediately after surgery, throughout the recovery process, and when you will likely see the final results.

During the pre-operative assessment, the surgeon may take measurements of the area to be operated on and assess your skin tissue quality and the degree of skin laxity. The position of the incisions will also be decided upon.

A full medical history will be taken to ensure you are fit and well and can undergo surgery at this time.

After the initial consultation, there will be a two-week ‘cooling-off’ period before you can decide to proceed with surgery. You are welcome to return for further consultations with your Karidis Clinic surgeon, free of charge, if you have more questions.

If you make the decision to proceed with surgery, you’ll be given advice on how best to prepare for your operation, and you will have a dedicated Patient Coordinator who can answer any queries you may have.

Any pre-surgery tests can occur at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth, a leading London private hospital where Karidis Clinic is based. The hospital has recently built a new wing including a diagnostic department with the latest X-ray, MRI, CT and ultrasound technology.

We advise patients to stop smoking as soon as possible as nicotine acts as a vasoconstrictor, which impedes the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the surgical site. This can slow down healing, increase the chance of infection and even cause tissue to die. Smoking also increases the risks of a general anaesthetic, and smokers are more likely to suffer ill effects from an anaesthetic.

You will also be advised when to discontinue taking aspirin or other blood-thinning medication in advance of your operation. You will be asked to fast six hours before surgery.

All Karidis Clinic procedures are performed at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth. When you arrive, you’ll be greeted and taken to your stylish and luxurious private room with its spacious ensuite bathroom.

The nursing team will take your blood pressure and relevant vitals, and you will see your Karidis Clinic surgeon, who will make the final mark-ups. Our anaesthetist will also visit you.

Clinical photography will be taken to assist in your care and to enable clinical assessments to be made. These become part of your confidential medical record. These include photographs of the operation site and any distinguishing features and will be taken pre-op and post-op. 

Your procedure will be performed under a general anaesthetic, and once the surgeon has sutured the incision site, you will be taken to a specialist recovery room.

Once the hospital nursing team has ensured your recovery is complete, you will be taken to your hospital room for your overnight stay. The hospital nursing team will be on hand throughout the night, and you will be fitted with compression stockings and a compression device if required.

The following day, you will be visited by your Karidis Clinic surgeon or nurse and then discharged into the care of a friend or family member by the hospital nursing staff.

The pain and discomfort experienced after surgery are unique to the individual patient and the extent of their procedure. However, it should start to subside in the first week and should be easily managed with over-the-counter painkillers.

If necessary, you’ll be advised to wear a specially designed surgical support garment for approximately six weeks after surgery to support you during the healing process.

Depending on the nature of your job, you can usually expect to be able to return to work and normal activities between one to two weeks.

You’ll be given a comprehensive plan for the recovery process, including dates for your cast or suture removal and your check-ups with your Karidis Clinic surgeon. However, we are always on hand throughout this period, and you have access to our dedicated surgical nurse 24/7 if you have any concerns.

Only a consultation can determine this. A breast augmentation procedure can increase your confidence and self-esteem if you feel your breasts are not how you would like them and if you prefer bigger, fuller, firmer breasts to complement your overall shape, then you are a potential candidate for this procedure. During your consultation Mr. Karidis will ask you about your general medical history including details about any previous breast surgery, family history of breast disease, childbirth and lactation. A discussion will take place, in which Mr. Karidis will try to encompass all the variables present- such as your age, the size and shape of your breast, body proportions and the condition of your skin. The best candidates for a breast augmentation are healthy, emotionally stable women who are realistic about what surgery can achieve. While women of all ages can benefit, it’s usually never performed before the breasts are fully developed. As with any surgical procedure, the decision to undergo breast augmentation should be a personal one and not in order to please anyone else. It should also be mentioned that a breast enlargement procedure is not a one-off procedure as implants are not lifetime devices. Breast implants have a rough life expectancy of around 10-15 years although this can vary. When considering this operation, you must therefore also take into account the cost of replacing the implants and undergoing other surgery in the future.

The simple answer is no. Implants come in a wide variety of sizes and it is possible for any woman to comfortably carry a variety of sizes on her chest and most women have a rough idea as to how big they may want to be in terms of bra sizes. Unfortunately however, as many studies have already shown, most women wear the wrong bra size anyway, and moreover have conflicting and widely differing perceptions with respect to cup sizes. Therefore it is unwise to use the concept of “cup size” alone in determing your ideal breast size. To make matters even more complicated, breast implant sizes from the manufacturer are measured in volume displacement(i.e. 250 cc) rather than using the lettering system (A,B etc) that most bra companies use to size bras. Unfortunately these two different measuring systems do not correlate or coincide with each other. The objective therefore, during the examination will be to determine what look you are trying to achieve with the surgery and not cup size.

As you can imagine different size implants in different framed women gives different results. The secret is to choose a size that will give you a more balanced, proportionate look overall that is more in line with your desires. At the time of your consultation Mr. Karidis will take specific measurements of your breast and chest, and then according to your stated requirements, he will suggest a size which would be suitable for you. A wide range of sizer, sample implants will be then be demonstrated to you and inserted into a sports type bra in order to try and give you an idea of the ultimate size you will have after your operation. Seeing this visual image of yourself in the mirror, wearing a sample implant is the closest you can get, before surgery, of identifying what you will look like after surgery. It is not about cup size per say but more importantly the look of the breast! It is also Mr. Karidis’s experience, that in general, it is probably best to err on the side of going slightly bigger than slightly smaller, as most women, in retrospect, given a second opportunity would opt to have gone slightly bigger!

Regardless of where the incision is placed it is important to remember that a scar will always be present. As such there are people with good scarring ability(most people) and people with poor scarring tendencies(thankfully quite unusual). This cannot be predicted before the surgery. It is Mr. Karidis’s opinion therefore, that in the event of poor scarring it is best that the scar is positioned in the most hidden and least exposed of positions. This is why Mr. Karidis prefers inserting the scar under the breast, right in the fold, as this is the least conspicuous place. All scars are red and lumpy initially, but then normally settle quite well and become less conspicuous with time. However no surgeon can ultimately predict the appearance of any particular scar.

Inserting a breast implant has the effect of expanding the breast skin envelope giving the appearance of a “lift”. However if there is considerable drooping of the breast before the operation (this will be determined at the time of your consultation), the drooping will recur again due to the effects of gravity and so you will end up with larger, droopier breasts. In these circumstances, a simultaneous breast uplift or mastopexy is usually recommended to give the optimum result. In this event, it will be necessary to tighten the skin envelope around the breast implant and reposition the nipple to a more desirable level.

A surgeon fee, anesthetist fee and hospital fee will be required. You will be given a breakdown of these costs on the day of your consultation.