Types of Placements For Breast Implants

Breast implant placements are often described as being overs or unders. This refers to whether the implant was placed over the pectoralis muscle or under it. There are three types of placements- the over the muscle placement, the partial unders placement and the complete submuscular placement.

Over the Muscle Placement- This placement is an overs placement because the surgeon places it over the top of the muscle but behind the breast tissue. The over the muscle placement is one of the simplest for the surgeon to perform and it generally causes a lesser amount of discomfort after the surgery has been completed. Another good aspect of this placement is that the patient is likely to have a shorter recovery period. The reason for this is because only fat and skin are taken out of the breasts while the muscle is left alone.

Partial Unders Placement- This placement is medically referred to as the sub-muscular placement. Approximately 2/3 of the top half of the implant is positioned behind the pectoral muscle while the remaining 1/3 is positioned behind the tissue and will therefore be covered by muscle. When this placement is done, the top half of the breasts will have a very natural appearance to them.  Sometimes the 2/3 of the implant is subject to ripples however.

Complete Submuscular Placement- This kind of placement has lots of different names including the totalsubmusculofascial placement, full unders, complete unders and total sub-muscular. This is the most complicated of the three placements and is performed less frequently. When this placement is performed by a plastic surgeon, the upper 2/3 of the implant is placed above the pectoral muscles as well as the serratus muscles. At the same time the lower 1/3 is positioned behind the connective tissue known as the fascia. It is anatomically impossible for an implant to be totally positioned behind the pectoral muscles. Any one of three types of incision sites can be used for this type of placement with the exception of the transumbilical incision.