Bethany always loved the way she felt in her own body—confident, feminine, and empowered. But after having her first child, she considered cosmetic surgery for the first time. Pregnancy had taken its toll, leaving Bethany feeling self-conscious about her figure:

“Prior to having a baby, I would have never considered changing anything on my body, but in life there are unpredictable changes that happen to our bodies that can make us feel as though we have lost a part of ourselves.”

Fighting fires takes courage and skill, and impressive physical fitness. So when firefighter Angel was blessed with a beautiful set of twins, she admits to being discouraged to find pregnancy had really “done a number” on her body. Confident in her role as a firefighter (and now a mom!), Angel decided to reclaim her figure and regain her fitness. A friend recommended she come to La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre to discuss a tummy tuck and liposuction with Dr. Brahme. From the moment she finished her consultation, Angel knew she had found the right doctor to help her achieve her goals.

Four San Diego-area women tell why they chose breast augmentation and explain how the procedure has changed their self-confidence. These stories are from real La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre patients.

Wedding Bells Inspire Action

Every bride dreams of a perfect day, yet Kim found herself anxious about how she would look in the strapless wedding dress she wanted. But it wasn’t just about one big day or one beautiful dress—Kim had always felt self-conscious about her small breasts and hid them under loose clothing whenever possible.

Living in Southern California certainly has its perks. One of the biggest is that we can spend almost all our free time in tank tops, shorts, or bathing suits. Wearing body-conscious clothing year-round makes plastic surgery, breast augmentation in particular, popular in San Diego.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, over 296,000 breast augmentation procedures were completed nationwide in 2010—in fact, it’s the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure for women.

Breast augmentation San Diego: Let’s take a look at 10 reasons why it is so popular.

When you are considering breast implants, one of the most natural questions to ask is how your loved ones will react. After all, plastic surgery—especially breast surgery—creates a sudden, noticeable change, and you can’t be sure how everyone will respond. Plastic surgery, like religion and politics, sometimes elicits strong reactions.

The important thing to remember is that this is not your mother’s, sister’s, or best friend’s life. It’s yours. You are the only person who can decide what’s best for you, so embrace whatever it is that gives you the positive self-image and self-confidence you desire.

San Diego breast augmentation surgery can increase your breast size and eliminate asymmetry. Breast augmentation has helped millions of women improve their self-esteem.

If you’ve been considering breast augmentation surgery, one of your first questions may be whether or not breast implants are permanent. While many believe that breast implants last forever, the fact is—although they do have a long lifespan—they are not considered lifetime devices

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons: “You will likely [have to] undergo implant removal with or without replacement over the course of your life. Whether you are undergoing augmentation or reconstruction, be aware that breast implantation may not be a one-time surgery.”

Mothers and daughters have always shared a special bond. It’s as much about family dynamics and handed-down recipes as it is about shared experiences and perspectives. For Kelly and her mom Becky, that bond grew recently to include the choice of plastic surgery..

Kelly wanted a breast augmentation, and Becky decided to finally get the facelift she’d been thinking about.

South Africa-born Susan’s life is never dull. While maintaining a web design business and sailing on the competitive circuit, she is also a single mom. In the last 15 years of living in the U.S., Susan has developed a passion for sailing. She has done everything from LEMWOD to Newport to Ensenada (twice!) in the Long Beach Yacht club, an all-women’s match race on the Catalina 37s.

Susan promised she would have cosmetic surgery done before her fiftieth birthday. When the time came, she kept her promise and decided on a facelift and breast augmentation. Choosing the right surgeon was of utmost importance to her.

La Jolla Breast Augmentation patient Kerilyn bubbles over with enthusiasm when asked her she feels about her cosmetic surgery procedure at La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre. You may find it hard to believe that someone could be so excited about breast augmentation surgery until you read Kerilyn’s story.

The youngest of family of petite woman with small chests, Kerilyn decided to have surgery to enhance her breasts.

Before her big move to San Diego, Jaclyn lived in New Jersey her entire life. As she matured, she noticed she had developed differently than any of the other girls she knew. “I don’t know if it is just the way I was built, but I have had sagging breasts from the time I began to develop.” A few things can cause breasts to lose shape, but Jaclyn experienced none of them.

“I never thought I would have plastic surgery. It’s not that I’m opposed to it, I just always felt comfortable with my body the way it was.” Tara’s felt that way for most of her life. She liked the way her smaller breasts complimented her petite body, even when all her friends were having their breasts augmented. However, when Tara and her friend began an intense exercise regimen, her body changed in an unexpected way. “It was like my breasts started to deflate. It happened so quickly that it was really shocking.” Suddenly, her bras and clothes no longer fit her well.

Wendy never had a strong feeling either way about plastic surgery until one night she was watching a movie with her husband and became interested in breast augmentation. Ultimately, she was happy with her body, but felt it could be more balanced. After speaking to her husband about the operation, he was against it, so she let the idea drop.

Years went by and Wendy was starting over after a divorce, and her thoughts for a breast enhancement returned. “It was something that I had given a lot of thought to, but I finally reached a point where I was ready to stop just thinking about it, and take action.”

Turning 21 is our second step into adulthood. For Larissa, it was a chance to fulfill a dream she had since she was in high school. Like most girls, she went through an awkward stage. She looked to her mother, who had raised her since her father had passed away when she was young, for advice and was confident that she would fill out over time.

“My mom had developed very early in life, when she was 13 years old, so I just figured I would catch up and my breasts would grow.” Larissa was always active as a teenager. She appeared confident on the outside, but was struggling with the fact that her breasts had yet to develop.

Having a patient who puts time and effort into researching cosmetic surgery and physicians who perform the surgeries is music to our ears! La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre is proud of our team of board certified plastic surgeons as well as our AAAASF certified surgical suite, which are all important items to be researched before deciding on plastic surgery.

All of these things are exactly what brought Paula into our offices. “I had been curious about having breast augmentation for years. But when I finally got serious about it, I spent about six months finding out everything I could about the procedure and prospective surgeons.”

Heidi began gaining weight when she was 10 years old. Twenty years and two toddlers later, she decided to do something about it. “Something began to change for me after my daughter was born. Here I was, the mother of two beautiful children, and too heavy and out of shape to keep up with them. Even worse was the fear of not knowing if I would be around to watch them grow up. I decided enough was enough and in December of 2007, I began using walking videos and exercising.”

Getting a breast augmentation for Brittni wasn’t about wanting to increase her breast size, it was about getting her feminine shape she always wanted. “I had the type of body that matured very early. By the time I was in my early twenties, my breasts had already changed shape and I didn’t like what I was seeing.” Now facing what women typically face after children or later in life, Brittni’s breast were less than perky.

From the time Judith was a teenager, she was unhappy with her body. She felt she had a boyish figure, being thin with a small chest. “As I grew up, I never felt like I had a woman’s body and it bothered me all the time. I spent a lot of time trying to hide my body with loose clothing and padded bras and even found it hard to look at myself in the mirror.”

Is there a “right age” to begin having plastic surgery? That’s something 26-year-old Jessie always wondered. Spending most of her youth and young adulthood playing sports, Jessie described herself as having a body that never made her feel very feminine. “I had this strong, athletic build combined with a very flat chest. I hated that.” Jessie recalls being in high school and imagining one day she would have a breast augmentation to make herself feel better about her body.

Christy knows what a struggle it is to lose weight. In 8th grade, just when life is beginning to throw so many challenges at you, she weighed 225 pounds and wore a size 22. “I’m a southern girl from Alabama and grew up loving food. When I was a teenager, I moved in with my grandparents and started to become aware of how unhealthy my weight was. My grandmother sent me to nutrition classes and I lost some weight.”

This year, Kim became the bride she had always dreamed of being. While her mother discouraged her from revealing too much cleavage in her gown, Kim was determined to pick a dress that accentuated her newly shaped body. Just two years ago, Kim was so self-conscious of having small breasts that she avoided clothes that drew any attention to her chest. This became extremely difficult when her lifestyle with her boyfriend involved regular trips to the river, desert, and formal events. “I was either in a bathing suit or a formal gown, neither of which I felt comfortable being in.” Coming from a family of females with large breasts, Kim just assumed they would one day grow.

Breast Augmentation

What Size Is the Right Size?

Since plastic surgeons began doing breast augmentations in the late 1960s, two questions have always dogged both prospective patients and their surgeons…

• As you consider breast augmentation, which size implant will give you what you want?
• And how do you communicate that to your surgeon?

Dr. Brahme

We all know that a “C” cup varies with different Bra Manufacturers. So what we need is communication which is visual, so you can show us what you want and then we can deliver a surgical result that is what you expect.

The first silicone breast implant was developed in 1961 by two surgeons (Cronin and Gerow) from the program where I was trained in Houston, Texas. Since that time, millions of women have been extremely satisfied with a simple one hour procedure.

Currently, women have many options with respect to their breast implant procedure (incisions, above or below the muscle, size of the implant and saline vs. silicone), with one of the most important decisions you must make is whether you prefer a silicone gel or saline (salt water) filled implant.

Lori Saltz, MD, Medical Director

Hopefully the rain is over and the sun is out. Are you casting your glances toward the beaches? The stores are stocked with newest swimwear. So you’ve checked it out. The problem is the same every year. There’s no way to disguise that gap up top. You just can’t pull it off one more summer.

When it comes to plastic surgery, almost every patient has a different story and motivation for deciding when the time is right. For Carla, a mother of five, ranging in ages from 14 to 26 years, she had many reasons. “I think having plastic surgery was always in the back of my mind, but being able to justify spending that money on myself was difficult.” Never one to really lack self-confidence, Carla says two life-changing moments made her change the way she felt about her body. “About 20 years ago I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The way they performed the surgery left me with this big fold of skin on my stomach that never went away.” Years later, a lumpectomy was performed on one of her breasts, leaving her feeling lopsided. “Luckily the lesion was benign but because they took so much breast tissue, I could never get clothes to fit right.” A recommendation from a friend led her to Dr. Lori Saltz, a board certified plastic surgeon and Medical Director at La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre.

Kathryn, 18 years old, has lived in San Diego most of her life. She enjoys being out in the sun, singing, dancing, and shopping. She chose to have a breast augmentation to even out her body proportions and to make her breasts more symmetrical.

“I have numerous friends who have had surgery at LJCSC, and I loved their results and their comments regarding their experience they had at LJCSC. It has made me feel more comfortable in and out of clothes, my self-esteem has gone up, and has given me the confidence most teens lack now-a-days in our society to love my body.”