The Secret Scar approach for Breast Augmentation

Washington: Seattle, Everett, Bellevue, Tacoma

Shhh, Only your plastic surgeon will know

Breast augmentation was the most popular cosmetic surgery in 2006, with more than 325,000 procedures carried out in the United States according to statistics compiled by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Breast Augmentation is also the most commonly performed procedure by Dr. David Pratt at our Seattle area surgery center.

Patients are usually concerned about how visible the scar will be for their breast augmentation. Many patients come in to see Dr. Pratt with preconceived notions of what the best incision to use based on what they have heard from friends or have read on the internet.

Options for the placement of the incision include the armpit or the areola (dark skin around the nipple). Some surgeons also place the implant through an incision placed in the belly button (TUBA).

Dr. Pratt feels in most cases, the transaxillary (armpit incision) or TUBA methods of breast augmentation increase the difficulty of placing the implant in the proper position to produce a natural result.

Even doctors who place the implant thru the areola will admit that it is possible to have a noticeable scar, which unfortunately, is right in the center of the breast.

The Secret Scar technique is the result of Dr. Pratt’s refinements of the traditional inframammary crease incision performed by many surgeons. The subtle yet important difference of Dr. Pratt’s approach from the traditional crease incision helps keep the scar in the crease where it belongs.

The goal of this technique is to prevent the scar from riding up onto the breast skin where it can be quite noticeable or dropping down to an abnormally low position. Dr. Pratt’s scars typically are nicely tucked in the crease beneath the breast and fade quite well with time. So shhhh, your scars will be a secret between you and Dr. Pratt!