Shim Ching, MD: Asia Pacific Plastic Surgery
1401 South Beretania Street #888
Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: (808) 585-8855
Monday–Friday: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
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Breast Augmentation
Women who come to our Honolulu, Hawaii, practice for breast augmentation from Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and beyond each have their own personal reasons for wanting to enhance their breasts. Most consider their breasts an essential expression of their femininity. Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Shim Ching works to customize each breast augmentation by listening closely to the patient’s unique cosmetic goals. Using advanced surgical techniques, he then helps make those goals a reality.
If you’re thinking about getting breast implants and are looking in Hawaii or Kuwait for a breast augmentation specialist, request a consultation with Dr. Ching online or call our office at (808) 585-8855 and one of our helpful staff members will schedule your appointment.
Breast Augmentation Benefits
Women considering breast augmentation often want to feel a greater sense of confidence in their bodies. Getting breast implants can do a number of things:
- Increase the size of naturally small breasts
- Restore volume lost after pregnancy or weight fluctuations
- Improve breast shape
- Correct asymmetrical breasts
- Elevate mild to moderate breast drooping
The key to getting the results you want is selecting a talented and experienced plastic surgeon who has a keen sense of aesthetics such as Dr. Shim Ching.
Customized Breast Augmentation
Your breast augmentation consultation is very important. First, it’s the time to get your questions answered about breast implants. It is also Dr. Ching’s opportunity to give you feedback and guidance on achieving the best breast augmentation results for you. Is your goal to restore some lift? Do you want to move up a cup size or 2, or have significantly larger breasts? Whatever the goal, you should be clear about what you want to accomplish and be ready to communicate that to Dr. Ching. As your plastic surgeon, he needs to clearly understand.
During your consultation, Dr. Ching creates a surgical plan that’s ideally suited for you by carefully considering a variety of factors, which include your:
- Existing breast size and shape
- Overall body dimensions
- Personal preferences
- Lifestyle
Your breast augmentation options include the size, shape, and type of implants, the location of your incisions, and placement of the implant pocket. With the help of Dr. Ching’s recommendations, you can feel confident that the breast implants and surgical approach you choose will be the combination that best meets your aesthetic goals.
Dr. Shim Ching
Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Shim Ching is one of Hawaii’s most renowned physicians for aesthetic procedures of the face, breast, and body. His attention to detail, skill, and mastery of surgical techniques produce remarkable, natural-looking results.
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Specialized Techniques for Asian Patients
Asian women make up a significant portion of Dr. Ching’s patient population. He specializes in surgical techniques for Asian women and takes a unique approach to breast augmentation for Asian patients to provide an enhanced, natural look that is not conspicuous.
Incision Locations
Dr. Ching offers you a choice of incision areas and techniques. He clearly explains the options and why one incision location may be the best suited for you based on your cosmetic goal and body type. Dr. Ching is one of the few plastic surgeons in Hawaii who specializes in the transaxillary technique – sometimes called the “no scar on the breast” procedure because the incision goes in the underarm area.
For more specifics on the transaxillary technique and other incision locations, visit our Breast Augmentation Incisions page.
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After making an incision, Dr. Ching creates a small pocket where he inserts the implant. This pocket helps keep the implant in place. The implant can be placed either on top of the chest muscle (subglandular placement) or under the chest muscle (submuscular placement).
Over the Muscle Implant Placement
Under the Muscle Implant Placement
Your Procedure
Dr. Ching provides detailed instructions to make sure you are well prepared before your breast augmentation surgery.
Dr. Ching performs breast augmentation as an outpatient procedure. The surgery takes approximately 1 hour to perform. He makes small incisions to create a space for each breast implant. If there is any preexisting asymmetry of the breasts, Dr. Ching may use different implant sizes for the left and right breasts for a symmetrical result. He also places patients in the seated position during surgery to ensure symmetry between their breasts before the surgery is completed.
Dr. Ching uses an innovative device called the Keller Funnel® when inserting the implants. This enables him to position the implants without touching them, providing an added measure of safety.
He closes the incisions with absorbable sutures, reinforced with skin adhesive. This type of dressing allows the patient to shower right away, if desired. Additionally, we do not do postoperative wrapping of the chest or use pressure garments, so patients can return to their daily activities as quickly as possible.
Recovery
Although the post-surgery process typically follows a common pattern, your unique qualities and those of your procedure influence your recovery as well. Some of these factors include your age, body shape, and the surgical technique used for inserting the breast implants. For example, placing breast implants underneath the chest muscle can cause pain and swelling, and therefore may increase recovery time. Implants placed over the muscle may cause less pain and swelling. However, the correct surgical technique should be selected based on the patient’s unique characteristics, rather than the time for recovery.
Dr. Ching discusses each step of the recovery process during your initial consultation and provides detailed instructions to follow after your surgery. It’s important that you know what to expect to help ensure the best possible results:
- Your breasts may feel sore and will probably be swollen. Swelling usually reaches its peak 3 to 5 days after surgery and then gradually subsides as your breasts’ new shape and size emerges.
- It’s normal for your implants to take a few weeks to settle as the body begins to heal.
- Implants typically feel hard at first, but soften over time.
- Dr. Ching recommends avoiding strenuous exercise for the first 4 weeks after surgery. Taking the time to fully recover helps reduce the risk of complications.
- You will need to sleep on your back for at least the first few days after your breast augmentation. Prop yourself up on pillows or sit in a recliner. This keeps you face up and makes it easier to get in and out of bed during those first 48 hours, when you may be moving more slowly and deliberately.
Tips for Recovery
There are some steps you can take before the surgery that will help the recovery process go smoother, as well:
- Clear your schedule. You don’t want to be running around or doing errands while recovering. Give your body the time it needs to begin healing.
- Fill any prescriptions for pain medications or antibiotics so you have them ready and at hand upon your return after surgery. We always give our patients prescriptions at the preoperative appointment.
- Arrange for a friend or family member to give you a ride home from the surgery.
- Lay out your clothes, and choose garments that make dressing easier. For example, you’ll want to wear button-up shirts, not pullovers. Pullovers require raising your arms, which you need to avoid during this time.
- Place anything you need or want quick and easy access to within reach at your bedside table, such as your phone or other mobile device, the television remote, and books.
Common Questions
What’s the difference between a breast lift and breast augmentation?
The differences between breast lift and breast augmentation procedures can be confusing. Both procedures focus on the appearance of the breasts, but they address different concerns.
A breast lift elevates breasts that are sagging due to natural aging, pregnancy, breastfeeding, or other factors. It changes the shape and form of your breasts, and raises the breasts’ position. In some cases, a breast lift can be combined with augmentation to simultaneously elevate and increase the size of the breasts.
Breast augmentation only adds volume to the breasts. If you have mild breast sagging, implants may provide the appearance of a subtle lift, but moderate to severe sagging cannot be corrected by inserting implants without a breast lift.
Is breast augmentation revision possible?
Yes. Breast implant revision procedures require a plastic surgeon such as Dr. Ching, who has the expertise needed to perform what is typically a more complicated surgery than the initial breast augmentation.
If you have concerns about the results of a breast augmentation performed by another surgeon, and are experiencing complications, please be sure to clarify when you schedule a consultation with Dr. Ching.
Directions for Our Fly-in Patients
Dr. Shim Ching's exceptional qualifications and results draw patients to his Honolulu plastic surgery practice from across the Hawaiian Islands including Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island. Select a location for driving directions to our practice.