Breast Augmentation
There are lots of reasons why women consider having breast augmentation surgery. Many tell us they just want to be able to buy a bathing suit that fits!
Despite some Hollywood stereotypes, the majority of women we see in our Knoxville practice increase from one to two cup sizes to obtain the flattering figure they always wanted. Some come to us after they have had children and lost their breast size after breast-feeding. Others need to have a breast lift along with the enlargement.
You may not be surprised to learn that breast augmentation is our most popular plastic surgery procedure. Actually, over 220 women from Johnson City, Cookeville, Cleveland, and beyond chose to use Dr. Reath for their breast augmentation surgery in Knoxville, TN last year. They had lots of questions about breast augmentation that you might be wondering about as well.
That’s why our office staff published the award-winning eBook “A Girlfriend’s Guide to Breast Augmentation”, a 37-page ebook with everything you need to know about breast augmentation all in one place. Plus some fun stuff thrown in. It’s a free download.
A Girlfriend's Guide
to Breast Augmentation
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Breast Augmentation Cost
One thing that nearly everyone asks is how much breast implants cost, so we include our surgery prices right here on our website. Amazing, right? Here’s what you’ll want to know:
The cost of a breast augmentation with Dr. Reath includes both surgical and anesthesia fees, breast implants, post-surgical bra, our exclusive recovery kit and all follow-up visits.
| Implant Type |
Cost |
Cash Price |
| Saline Implants |
$4,865 |
$4,622 |
| Silicone Gel Implants |
$5,865 |
$5,572 |
| SoftTouch Silicone Gel Implants |
$6,365 |
$6,072 |
Cash Discount: Great news! For our patients who would like to pay with cash or check we offer a 5% discount.
How to Know If You’ll Need A Breast Lift
An important thing to realize about breast augmentation pricing- It is possible that during your consultation Dr. Reath may recommend a breast lift along with your augmentation to achieve a pleasing shape and perkiness. It happens most frequently with women who have had children, but not always.
Standing in front of a mirror, look at your nipples in relation to the natural crease of your breasts. If your nipples are lower than your breast crease before surgery, adding implants without removing excess skin will make them more saggy. (Sad, but true.)
If this sounds like you, you may also want to look at the breast lift procedure page for before and after photos. The pictures give you a better idea of when a breast lift is needed and the great results when performed along with a breast augmentation.
Breast Lift pricing ranges from around $6,200 to $8,600 depending on the amount of skin to be removed and the type of implant you choose. Silicone implants cost more than saline.
Note: It is normal for women to have one breast that is slightly larger than the other. However there are many women who suffer from severe breast asymmetry. Finding clothes that fit is a major problem. (Imagine the difficulty picking out a wedding dress.) The good news is that breast asymmetry can be corrected. Breast augmentation on one side and/or a breast lift on the other side can be performed to even out the size and shape of the breasts. Here are photos of how Dr. Reath can correct breast asymmetry.
Some of our Before and After Breast Augmentation Photos
Before & After Breast Augmentation: She weighs 115 pounds and is 5’6″. Here is a 28-year-old who had concerns regarding her breast size. She was very active and thought that her breasts were out of proportion with the rest of her figure. Dr. Reath placed 325cc Mentor saline breast implants, which he filled to 375cc’s on both sides underneath the muscle. She is thrilled with her results and now feels like she is much better proportioned. She is the patient interviewed on the “Today in Plastic Surgery” podcast produced by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons featuring Dr. Reath.
Before & After Photos
WARNING:
This feature contains nudity. Please click OK to confirm you are at least 18 years of age and are not offended by such material.
Before & After Photos
Keep in mind that each patient is unique and your results may vary.
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Before & After Breast Augmentation: She weighs 115 pounds and is 5'6". Here is a 28-year-old who had concerns regarding her breast size. She was very active and thought that her breasts were out of proportion with the rest of her figure. Dr. Reath placed 325cc Mentor saline breast implants, which he filled to 375cc's on both sides underneath the muscle. She is thrilled with her results and now feels like she is much better proportioned. She is the patient interviewed on the "Today in Plastic Surgery" podcast produced by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons featuring Dr. Reath.
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Before & After Breast Augmentation: She is 5'4" and 116 pounds. This patient is a 28-year-old who had a significant reduction in breast tissue after breastfeeding. Dr. Reath used standard profile Mentor 275cc saline breast implants filled differently because the right breast is slightly larger than the left. He placed them underneath the muscle to restore her pre-baby figure.
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Before & After Breast Augmentation: She is 5'3" and weighs 108 pounds. Here is a 31-year-old who told us that she had recently lost weight and was no longer fitting into her bras. She had always wanted to have larger breasts so Dr. Reath used Mentor 325cc saline breast implants underneath her chest muscles and inflated them to 375cc. She is very happy and proudly wearing a D-cup bra.
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Before & After Breast Augmentation: She is 5'3" and weighs 108 pounds. Here is a young medical professional who came to us because she wanted larger breasts. After working with sizers, she chose 300cc moderate profile plus saline breast implants, which were then inflated to 350cc to achieve her new look.
If you’d like to see more before and after photos of our breast augmentation patients, just choose silicone or saline. There are over 80 sets of before and after pictures on our website.
Silicone Saline
David B. Reath, MD
Board-certified plastic surgeon David B. Reath, MD is renowned for his surgical skills and his commitment to public education. Practicing in Knoxville, Tennessee since 1986, his personal approach with patients is what truly sets him apart.
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About Breast Augmentation Surgery
The good news is that breast augmentation is an outpatient procedure and does not involve an overnight stay in the hospital. The entire operation is done under general anesthesia and takes about an hour. At the end of the operation, patients are placed in a special bra to support their breasts. After recovery from the anesthesia, they go home in the care of their family.
Breast Augmentation Recovery
Helping our patients manage a speedy recovery is one of our primary missions. Most patients are up and about the day after a breast augmentation or breast lift but instructed to rest and avoid any lifting. About a week after the operation patients are seen in the office to check their surgical sites and instruct them in massage and stretching exercises. Expect the stitches to be removed in about a week.
Most women are able to return to normal activities in 7 to 10 days and usually need no more than a week off from work.
Breast Augmentation Recovery Kits
Our Surgical Recovery Kits are a great personal touch. Patients tell us that the recovery kits we include with their surgeries are an area that really sets us apart. Each recovery kit contains items hand-picked to make your recovery faster and more pleasant. We put together everything you’ll need after surgery so you don’t have to. People who have had surgery with other doctors are amazed that we include these kits at no charge for all of our surgery patients.
New! We now include medical-grade silicone shapes (which are medically proven to aid in healing and reduce the appearance of scars) in all of our breast augmentation recovery kits.
Not our patient? No problem! We’ll be happy to send you your very own recovery kit to make recovering so much easier. Just visit our new online store.
Breast Augmentation
Recovery ProductsVisit our online store.Shop Now
Breast Implant Sizers: The Best Part of Your Consultation
During your consultation with Dr. Reath, you’ll be able to try on breast implant sizers in order for Dr. Reath to understand the results you want to achieve. Our patients say it is very helpful to them to visualize the way different implants will look and feel in their favorite clothes. We find that taking the extra time to work with breast implant sizers is far more helpful to patients than a computer imaging program like VECTRA which we don’t use. If you’re curious about computer imaging versus sizers, Dr. Reath wrote a blog about it:
Why Sizers Are Better Than VECTRA For Choosing Your Breast Implant Size
Without a doubt the most important question in the mind of women anticipating breast enlargement is what they will look like with a certain size implant. And, therefore, the choice of implant size is critical to being happy with the final result of your surgery. I mean, let’s face it: that’s what it’s all about. …
Read more »Your Breast Implant Choices
Some of the breast implants Dr. Reath uses are filled with a saline solution (saltwater) and can be placed either over or under the chest muscle wall. However, over 80% of our patients are choosing silicone breast implants which are now available. Silicone breast implants have a much more natural feel to them and are among the most studied devices in medical history.
Saline breast implants are FDA-approved for breast augmentation in women 18 years or older and silicone breast implants are FDA-approved for augmentation in women 22 years and older. You can read more about silicone implants and highly cohesive gel implants (gummy bear breast implants) on the silicone breast implant page.
Breast Augmentation Incision Sites
Dr. Reath mainly uses the inframammary incision placement (along the under side of the breast) for breast augmentation surgeries that don’t involve a breast lift. This allows the best view of the implant pocket for the plastic surgeon and makes the scar much less noticeable because it lies in the natural crease of the breast. It is by far the most common incision site used in breast augmentation.
Dr. Reath never uses the trans-axillary incision (under the arm) or the tran-umbilical incision (through the belly button). They are not recommended by the breast implant manufacturers either. We have more information about breast implant incision placement in our eBook or you can check out Dr Reath’s blog:
Breast Augmentation: The Incision Decision
There are many important questions to answer and decisions to be made when considering breast augmentation. Such as saline or silicone? Over or under the muscle? What size implant? And, where to place the incision. This last question is one that I have been asked a lot, but as of yet I havent explained my …
Read more »How Long Breast Implants Last
Another question we hear all the time is about how long breast implants last before they need to be replaced. Many people are under the mistaken impression that breast implants need to be switched out every so often like getting your oil changed in your car. This is actually not true. The number of wrong answers on a recent Truth-O-Meter Tuesday question showed how many people are confused by this.
Basically, if you are not having any problems with your implants, there is no need to replace them. In fact the most common reason to replace breast implants seems to be when women change their mind about their breast size. Here Dr. Reath explains more:
Breast Augmentation: Helpful Pages On Our Site
Guess who the American Society of Plastic Surgeons interviewed when they produced their podcast on breast augmentation?
Dr. Reath and one of his patients! If you or someone you know is considering breast augmentation, you’ll want to hear the “Today in Plastic Surgery” podcast. Click on the podcast icon to listen.
In this twenty minute podcast:
- Dr. Reath discusses various breast augmentation options, what to expect during the consultation with your surgeon, and safety and recovery issues to consider.
- A patient of Dr. Reath’s describes her reasons for having the procedure, how she prepared for her consultation, and how long it took to return to her normal daily routine.
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Meet Mandi Millsaps, M.A.
If you have a breast augmentation with Dr. Reath, prepare for Mandi to become your new BFF. Whenever you read a glowing review of our practice online, it’s likely that you will see Mandi mentioned by name. Kind, caring and detail-oriented, Mandi has been a patient favorite since she started with our practice in 2002. Working side by side with Dr. Reath, Mandi takes the time during clinic to listen to our breast augmentation patients while kindly and expertly guiding them through the surgery process.
Mandi is famously known as a “sizer sister” because of her close work with our breast augmentation patients. She has literally helped thousands of women pick out the size of their breast implants. She will not steer you wrong. Where she really shines is in our pre-op appointments. Mandi is the one who will help you finalize all the details prior to your surgery from what vitamins to take to when you can shower afterward. Her experience, patience and hand-holding are so reassuring to patients who are a little nervous just before and right after their surgery.
Mandi received her degree in Health Care Administration in 2001, has been a member of the American Registry of Medical Assistants since 2003 and is an active member of the American Society of Plastic Surgical Nurses.
“I feel very blessed to work for such an honorable physician. Seeing amazing results and positive changes in our patients makes my job so fulfilling.”
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