*A MUST READ CONSUMER AWARENESS GUIDE* THE MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN CONSIDERING BREAST AUGMENTATION

THE MISTAKES

TO AVOID WHEN

CONSIDERING

BREAST

AUGMENTATION

THE MISTAKES TO AVOID

WHEN CONSIDERING BREAST

AUGMENTATION

By

Breast Excellence Australia

&

Dr George Mayson

MB BS Honours (Sydney University), FACCS, FASCBS, Dip. ABLS

Surgical Fellow, Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery Associate Fellow, American Society of Cosmetic Breast Surgery

Diplomate, American Board of Laser Surgery

Principal Cosmetic Surgeon, Breast Excellence Australia

“I URGE EVERY WOMAN

CONSIDERING BREAST

IMPLANTS TO FOLLOW

THIS GUIDE. BEFORE

READING THIS I

THOUGHT I KNEW

ALL ABOUT BREAST

ENLARGEMENT BUT

NOW LOOKING BACK

I REALISE HOW NAÏVE

AND MISINFORMED I

WAS!”

Unfortunately for

patients, “cheap

overseas cosmetic

surgery” has now come

to Australia!

We’ve all heard horror stories about cheap cosmetic surgery gone wrong and as a clinic specialising in Cosmetic Breast Surgery we receive on average 2-3 calls per week from patients who have had cheap surgery by

inexperienced doctors and have ended up with problems which they either can’t afford to fix, or even worse, are unfixable!

Owing to the increasing popularity of Breast Augmentation, especially among young women who often have limited financial resources, cut-price clinics are sprouting up all over Australia offering Breast Augmentations by less experienced doctors for as low as $4,500 when the total cost among more skilled surgeons performing the same surgery is considerably higher. Cut-price clinics discount heavily in order to gain a market share through

low prices simply because they cannot attract patients on experience and

(business entrepreneurs) attracted to Cosmetic Surgery by the cash flow on offer from the many patients unable to afford the more experienced surgeons. The principal motivation of such clinics appears to be more one of money through high volumes of cases but unfortunately this in turn can adversely impact standards as well as patient comfort and safety!

So, yes, you can now find cheap Breast Augmentations right here in Australia. But do you want that? After all, it is life-changing surgery on your body and if it goes wrong it’ll cost many more $$$$ to get it fixed – and that’s providing it’s fixable!

So, if you can’t afford to do it in the best and safest possible manner, either borrow or wait and save till you can.

Nothing beats experience, skill, high standards and safety - not even a cheap price!

THE CURRENT

STATUS OF

COSMETIC BREAST

SURGERY IN

AUSTRALIA

CHOOSE YOUR BREAST

AUGMENTATION

SURGEON ON ALL THE

FOLLOWING CRITERIA

There are two separate aspects to this issue that you must always look into:

• Secondly, always remember that FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS ALONE ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF A DOCTOR’S EXPERIENCE IN COSMETIC BREAST SURGERY. For example, a recently graduated Plastic or Cosmetic Surgeon may have performed very few or no Breast Augmentations even though they have been fully qualified in Plastic or Cosmetic Surgery. Or they may have been in practice for many years but only just started performing Breast Augmentations. • Firstly, ENSURE THE DOCTOR

YOU ARE SEEING HAS THE

REQUIRED SURGICAL TRAINING and is either a:

1. Certified Cosmetic Surgeon, certified by The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery

WITH Procedural Registration in Breast Augmentation Surgery. Procedural Registration with ACCS means the doctor has performed a minimum of 100 cases; OR

2. Plastic Surgeon - but most importantly, always ask how many breasts he/she has done. A degree in Plastic Surgery does not automatically confer extensive experience in Breast Augmentation!

1. FORMAL

QUALIFICATIONS

AND TRAINING

THEREFORE, YOU NEED TO ASK THE DOCTOR YOU ARE SEEING THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:

• Are you a Certified Cosmetic Surgeon (FACCS) WITH

Procedural Registration in Breast Augmentation that confirms you have performed a MINIMUM of 100 cases, or a qualified Plastic Surgeon with a minimum of 100 cases of Breast Augmentation? • How many years have you been

performing Breast Augmentation? • Have you had any litigation in

Breast Augmentations? If so, how many times?

At Breast Excellence Australia, we only employ doctors that have been carefully vetted in terms of qualifications, surgical training and experience to ensure our patients receive the highest standard of surgical care. For example, our Principal Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr George Mayson:

• Holds a FACCS qualification from The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery with Procedural Registration in Breast Augmentation Surgery. He is also an Associate

Fellow of the American Society of Cosmetic Breast Surgery at whose meetings he has presented his special techniques.

• Dr Mayson has been performing Breast Augmentations for 20 years and Cosmetic Breast Surgery currently comprises almost 100% of his total surgical workload.

• Dr Mayson has the distinction of NEVER having had a single instance of litigation in any procedure, including Breast Augmentation, over his entire professional career.

2. EXPERIENCE &

REPUTATION FOR

CONSISTENTLY

GOOD RESULTS

ARE PARAMOUNT

It’s not simply a matter of just anybody inserting implants and you instantly have beautiful breasts! They may be bigger, but they may not look that good or could even look terrible! To consistently create breasts that are not just bigger but beautiful as well, takes years of experience. And to achieve this, a surgeon must not only have the required formal qualifications and lots of experience in Cosmetic Breast Surgery, he/she must also possess a sense of artistry to consistently create beautiful breasts and earn a reputation for such.

In contrast, some heavily discounting clinics recruit junior and less skilled doctors with only limited training in the very surgery they are being hired to perform. Such doctors may well lack the experience or knowledge to handle a complication during or after your surgery and you could then find yourself being referred elsewhere at considerable additional cost!!

As an example, our Principal Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr George Mayson, has been performing Breast Augmentation surgery for 20 years and Cosmetic Breast Surgery comprises almost 100% of his total workload. His passion for, and dedication to Cosmetic Breast Surgery, is reflected in his impressive Before/After Photo Gallery which you can view on our website www.breastexcellence.com.au

3. FULLY

INFORMATIVE

CONSULTATIONS

ARE ESSENTIAL

Stop and consider for just a moment that for a doctor to:

• take a detailed medical history & then a breast history; AND

• conduct a breast examination including detailed measurements;

AND

• fully explain and discuss ALL aspects of Breast Augmentation; AND

• give you suitable implants to view and compare in a crop top; AND

• allow you enough time to select your preferred implants in an unhurried fashion

would be impossible to do thoroughly in less than 2 hours. So, if you’re being offered a consultation any shorter it can only mean you’re NOT getting

ALL the information you need to make informed decisions, or are not being given enough time to view all your implant options before choosing.

We believe patients should know

EVERYTHING about Breast Augmentation before they decide to proceed. And because it takes 2 hours to cover everything listed above, we always allocate 2 or more hours for every new Breast Augmentation appointment. We know of no other clinic in Australia currently offering 2-hour consultations for Breast Augmentation!

“IT’S NOT SIMPLY A

MATTER OF JUST

ANYBODY INSERTING

IMPLANTS AND YOU

INSTANTLY HAVE

BEAUTIFUL BREASTS!

THEY MAY BE BIGGER,

BUT THEY MAY NOT

LOOK THAT GOOD OR

COULD EVEN LOOK

TERRIBLE!”

4. WHO’LL BE

DOING YOUR

CONSULTATION?

Some surgeons and clinics are keen to book you for surgery yet they employ nurses or non-medical ‘Cosmetic Consultants’ to give you the consultation. Although they may give you some information regarding Breast Augmentation, their role is to ‘sell’ you the procedure, so all you’re going to hear is how great their clinic and doctor(s) are whereas in reality

the exact opposite could be the case. Moreover, it is illegal for any employee not medically-qualified to assess your suitability for surgery, dispense medical information or recommend implants. Those should only be carried out by the surgeon who’ll be doing your surgery, not by a salesperson or even a nurse of the practice.

In contrast, at Breast Excellence Australia, your consultation will only be with one of our surgeons. With your input and

involvement, he/she will customise and design your surgery to best achieve the ‘look’ you’re after. You will be given various implant sizes and styles to insert into a crop-top so you can actually see the result each can give you. Once you have chosen your implants, you will receive a written, itemised quotation as to costs plus a detailed Information Brochure on Breast Augmentation for you to take home. This brochure serves to re-cap everything covered at your appointment, so you needn’t worry about forgetting something mentioned at your consultation.

At Breast Excellence Australia, we are not brand-loyal and will recommend whichever implant brand and style that can best achieve the ‘look’ you’re after.

5. SOME CLINICS

RECOMMEND

ONLY ONE BRAND

OF IMPLANT

Some clinics buy one heavily

discounted and less popular brand of implant and this means you don’t get a choice! Unfortunately, this could prevent you getting the best possible result from your surgery. Avoid any doctor or clinic that shows you only one brand of implant. The best implant for

YOU needs to be chosen from a range of the best brands available!

“Avoid any doctor or

clinic that shows you

only one brand of

implant.”

6. DOES YOUR

SURGEON OFFER

THE SAFER

POLYURETHANE

FOAM-COVERED

SILICONE

IMPLANTS (“FURRY

BRAZILIANS”)?

These implants, made in Brazil for over 25 years and used in over 30 countries worldwide, were only approved in Australia in 2008. They are SAFER because they’ve been proven to significantly lower the risks of the commonest reasons for repeat surgery: Capsular Contracture and Implant Displacement (implant moving away from its original position). Unfortunately for patients, not all surgeons offer these safer implants because:

• They do require a different technique and presumably some surgeons are not inspired to learn the subtle differences in technique that these implants require.

• Getting the best possible results from them only comes with lots of experience in using them. So if a surgeon has never used them, or uses them only infrequently, their

likely to deliver the best possible result. In turn, this may demotivate the surgeon from continuing to use them.

• Some surgeons try to talk patients out of considering these SAFER

implants on the unsubstantiated reports that these implants have a higher risk of getting infected or are impossible to remove if they need to be. THESE CLAIMS ARE UNTRUE AND ILL-INFORMED AND ONLY SERVE TO DISADVANTAGE PATIENTS BY CONVINCING THEM TO NOT REQUEST THESE SAFER IMPLANTS – THE END-RESULT BEING THE PATIENT IS PREVENTED FROM REDUCING THEIR RISKS OF REPEAT

SURGERY FOR CAPSULAR CONTRACTURE AND IMPLANT DISPLACEMENT!

At Breast Excellence Australia, Dr George Mayson is one of Australia’s largest users of these

PROVEN SAFER Polyurethane Foam-Covered Silicone Implants (“Furry Brazilians”) and to date has not seen a single instance of Capsular Contracture or Implant Displacement with these implants!

Admittedly, “Furry Brazilian” implants may not suit everyone, but at least you should be given the opportunity to consider them and not allow yourself to be talked out of them with incorrect advice and unsupported claims.

Therefore, if you’re not at least being offered the choice of these PROVEN SAFER implants, you’re simply not being given the opportunity to reduce your risks of complications and repeat surgery! So, if the surgeon you are seeing does not use them, or uses them only infrequently, you owe it to yourself to at least get a second opinion from one who does have a lot of experience with them!

“The ‘Furry Brazillians’

are SAFER because

they’ve been proven to

significantly lower the

risks of the commonest

reasons for repeat

surgery: Capsular

Contracture and

Implant Displacement”

“SOME CLINICS BUY ONE

HEAVILY DISCOUNTED

AND LESS POPULAR

BRAND OF IMPLANT

AND THIS MEANS YOU

DON’T GET A CHOICE!

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS

COULD PREVENT YOU

GETTING THE BEST

POSSIBLE RESULT FROM

YOUR SURGERY.”

In contrast, Dr George Mayson does not restrict his patients to only one technique. Instead he’ll recommend whichever techniques he sees as worthwhile choices for

YOU and explain the pros and cons of each.

7. SURGICAL

TECHNIQUE

Some surgeons are familiar with only ONE approach – for example, an incision under the breast or in the armpit - in which case everyone receives that same approach

irrespective of whether it’s the best one for them or not! Avoid any surgeon or clinic that only offers one type of incision location as this may be the only technique they know and it may not be the best one for YOU!

“Avoid any surgeon or

clinic that only offers

one type of incision

location as this may be

the only technique they

know”

At Breast Excellence Australia, we have every size and shape of implant in the top brands for you to insert into a crop-top and actually see in a mirror the ‘look’ each can deliver. Moreover, in the unlikely event that your measurements suggest a totally different shape of implant we don’t have at the time to show you, we’ll get it in for you to look at BEFORE

you make your final decision. We

NEVER just offer you the next best one!

8. WHO CHOOSES

IMPLANT SIZE &

SHAPE?

Some surgeons choose the size and shape of implant for the patient in the belief that THEY better know what will look best for the patient, while others ask the patient to select their implants from a selection on a desk!

“At Breast Excellence

Australia, we have

every size and shape

of implant in the top

brands”

At Breast Excellence Australia, with your safety and comfort foremost in mind, we ALWAYS perform Breast Augmentations with a Specialist Anaesthetist in constant attendance.

9. WILL YOUR

SURGERY BE DONE

WITH A SPECIALIST

ANAESTHETIST IN

ATTENDANCE?

Some doctors perform Breast Augmentations in their offices without an Anaesthetist. This is a very dangerous situation and one you should not even consider no matter what you are told because a doctor can’t be surgeon and anaesthetist at the same time! If you were to suffer an overdose of the injected drugs through inexperience, or a reaction to one of those drugs, or for that matter any unexpected medical emergency, there is NOBODY in that room as qualified as a Specialist Anaesthetist to manage your emergency. Even if you’re told that you’ll be fine with their Nurse giving you the drugs because “they’ve never had a problem” don’t be tempted – you could be the first!

Doctors who perform Breast

Augmentations in their offices without an Anaesthetist do so in order to

reduce the total cost and thus attract more patients on price – but this is always at the expense of patient comfort and safety!

We always leave this choice up to the patient and the Anaesthetist. As Anaesthetists charge on a time basis, whether you choose Twilight Sedation or General Anaesthesia, your Anaesthetic fees will be the same. It is the DURATION of your surgery that will determine the Anaesthetist’s fee.

10. TYPE OF

ANAESTHESIA

performed either under Intravenous ‘Twilight Sedation’ or General

Anaesthesia.

Whatever the reasons some clinics operate this way, we at Breast Excellence believe this can never be in the best interests of patients because it does not allow them enough time to give everything due consideration. Moreover, an inadequate pre-operative preparation can only increase the risk of something going wrong either during or after your surgery! Also, what if they don’t have in stock, or can’t have delivered in time, the implants that will give you the best possible result? Will they insert the next closest from what they have? We call this the ‘near enough is good enough’ approach and it’s something we NEVER do!

MISTAKE TO AVOID NO. 11

11. PRE-OPERATIVE

PREPARATIONS

Avoid any clinic that is happy to see you one day and operate on you the next! Rushing you into surgery this way leaves no time for you to:

• Properly digest and consider all the medical information before proceeding; AND

• Decide whether you in fact wish to go ahead; AND

• Have blood tests to check you’re healthy enough for surgery; AND

• Have any other tests that the doctor may deem necessary after he/she has seen you; AND

• In the event the doctor finds a breast lump at your pre-operative check, what do they do? Still operate

Is this rush to get patients into surgery because they may change their mind? Whatever the reasons, it certainly does not allow the patient time to give everything due consideration. Moreover, an inadequate pre-operative preparation can only increase the risk of something going wrong at or after your surgery!

Also, what if they don’t have in stock the implants that will give you the best possible result? Will they insert the closest one to it from what’s on their shelf? We call this the ‘near enough is good enough’ approach and it’s something we NEVER do!

12. BEFORE/AFTER

PHOTOS

13. TESTIMONIALS

14. PRE-PAYMENTS

Avoid doctors with either very few or no Before/After photos. This may mean the doctor hasn’t done many Breast Augmentations, or his results are not impressive, or BOTH! Insist on seeing photos of the doctor’s results, and hopefully he/she should have lots! If they don’t have an extensive array of before/after photos to show you, or they are not what you would consider ‘beautiful’ results, ask yourself why!

Be very wary of Cosmetic Surgery Forums and other Social Media outlets which have only glowing

testimonials about a Clinic or Surgeon without a single negative comment to be found. This may mean that they are not genuine or that all negative ones are being edited out.

Avoid any clinic requiring you to pre-pay your surgery BEFORE they’ve even seen you! Unbelievably, such clinics do exist!

“BE VERY WARY OF

COSMETIC SURGERY

FORUMS AND OTHER

SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS

WHICH HAVE ONLY

GLOWING TESTIMONIALS

ABOUT A CLINIC OR

SURGEON WITHOUT

A SINGLE NEGATIVE

COMMENT TO BE

FOUND.”

If you need to finance all or only part of your surgery, we at Breast Excellence Australia recommend you contact our preferred financier or your own Bank. With only your best interests in mind, we strongly urge you to not even consider offers of finance with 6 months zero interest for all the above reasons.

Avoid clinics which offer interest-free financing for 6 months because these could end up financially crippling for you. They lock patients into tempting loans which have zero interest for the first 6 months BUT THEN “ratchet” up to a rate of 20% after 6 months! In addition, they usually charge a hefty Application Fee PLUS a monthly

Administration Fee and usually include the option to increase your interest rate after the 6 months as well.

15. FINANCING

TRAPS

“With only your best

interests in mind, we

strongly urge you to not

even consider offers of

finance with 6 months

zero interest”

“Our advice to patients

is to always choose

on quality (and this

doesn’t mean paying

high prices)”

IN CONCLUSION

performed in Australia causing us to receive 2-3 calls per week from desperate patients unhappy with their results. Unfortunately for these patients, they chose a clinic purely on low price and not on standards or surgeon-reputation. To make matters worse, most such patients now don’t have the money to fix the problems. Our regular advice to patients is to always choose on quality (and this doesn’t mean paying high prices) and if you can’t afford it now, or can’t afford to borrow for it, don’t do it until you can!

Never choose on price alone. Cheap surgery can end up very expensive surgery if something goes wrong or the result is not as you had hoped! © Breast Excellence Australia & Dr George Mayson 2014

1800 BREASTS

1800 273 2787

www.breastexcellence.com.au

BRISBANE

Level 1, Suite 9, 245 Albert Street

MELBOURNE

17 Erin Street, Richmond

SYDNEY