Many women with aplasia, hypoplasia, asymmetry or secondary atrophy of the breasts suffer a deep sense of inadequacy which may seriously interfere with courtship and marriage, and their ability to enjoy many daily activities.
Indications for augmentation mammaplasty lie almost completely within the realm of psychologic need.
There are essentially four methods of augmenting the female breast: 1) percutaneous injection of foreign substances such as paraffin and, more recently, silicone prepatations, 2) implantation of local pedicle flaps of dermis and fat, 3) implantation of free dermis-fat-fascia grafts and, 4) implantation of prosthetic material such as polyvinyl resin sponge or silicone products.
Also, there are several routes in implanting the prosthetic material, among which the transaxillary approach seems to have some advantages over the others.
The advantages are thought to be as follows:
1) The axillary scar is less noticeable than one in the submammary fold or in the circumareolar area.
2) There is no tension or stress on the axillary closure by the acutely distended breast region.
3) The constant gravity effect of the prosthesis on the healing wound is eliminated.
4) There is no risk of damage to the prosthesis by the suture needle.
5) There is no contracture.
6) A natural, well-constructed breast from is achieved with prosthesis large enough to completely fill the entire region (full-sized breast).
In this paper, 8 cases of satisfactory implantation of silastic bags via axillas for augmentation mammaplasty were reported with some reviews of the relating references.
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