Breast Implants for Sex Reassignment Surgery

Hormone therapy is frequently used to help breast development in people who are undergoing male to female breast reassignment surgery. However, breast growth from hormone therapy may not be enough to satisfy the person who is having the sex reassignment surgery. In these cases, breast augmentation (also known as breast enlargement or breast enhancement) may be an alternative option. Breast augmentation is a common cosmetic surgery procedure that is performed by a plastic surgeon to enlarge the breasts.

The most common type of breast implants used for sex reassignment surgery are saline breast implants. The implants are placed under the muscle via an incision either under the breast or around the areola. Although the technique for breast augmentation for sex reassignment surgery is basically the same as for breast enlargement in non-transgender women, there are important anatomical differences in male and female chests that require modification for the male to female transsexual. The male breast is often undeveloped and tight, so there may be less tissue to cover the breast implant. When this is the case, initial tissue expansion may be necessary before breast enhancement surgery.

If you are planning to have sex reassignment surgery, and are interested in having breast implants, you should be aware that implants cannot perfectly imitate natural breasts. In particular, it is difficult to recreate age-related changes that occur in non-transgender women, or cleavage between the breasts.

References
1. Bowman C., Godberg J.: Care of the Patient Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery. http://www.vch.ca/transhealth/resources/library/tcpdocs/guidelines-surgery.pdf

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