Tuba Vs. Trans-axillary Breast Augmentation

Having small, sagging or uneven breasts can cause some self-consciousness or low self-esteem. The advent of breast augmentation has allowed millions of women around the globe to dramatically improve the shape and size of their breasts through saline and silicone implants. Throughout the years, there have been many advances in breast augmentation techniques that help reduce the appearance of scars and give breast implant patients more natural-looking results. Two of these techniques are called transumbilical breast augmentation and trans-axillary breast augmentation.

TUBA
Transumbilical breast augmentation, now known as TUBA, was first developed by Texas-based surgeon Dr. Gerald W. Johnson in 1991 to help eliminate obvious scarring and decrease complication rates. Using this technique, cosmetic surgeons can insert breast implants through your belly button or navel using a slender instrument that passes under the skin to where the implant will sit.

Before the implant shell is put into place, a tissue expander is inserted to create the correctly sized pocket the implant will sit in. Then, an empty implant is placed into the pocket before it is filled to the pre-determined size with saline. The implant can sit either in front or behind the chest muscle, depending on the patient’s preference. When the implant is placed behind the pectoral muscle, they tend to look more natural and interfere less with future mammograms. At the end of the surgery, the incision is generally closed with a few small, dissolvable stitches.

The advantages to TUBA include a shorter procedure time, minimal tissue trauma, a faster recovery, less risk of nerve damage to the breast or nipples and a very small, undetectable scar that is not near the breast.

Trans-Axillary Breast Augmentation
Trans-axillary breast augmentation is similar to TUBA in that there are no scars on the breast following the surgery. Using the trans-axillary method, implants are placed behind the pectoral muscles using an incision in the armpit. This incision is usually an inch or so in length and can be easily hidden within the folds of the armpit.

The advantages to using this technique over TUBA include that the incision is closer to the breast area and it is usually easier to perform a sub-muscular placement using this technique. There are more surgeons trained in this method overall and patients aren’t restricted to saline implants that are filled after placement; pre-filled silicone implants can also be used.

As you can see, there are many advantages to both TUBA and trans-axillary breast augmentation over other the techniques that leave visible scarring. But, sometimes other methods are the only option. This would be true if you needed a breast lift as well as augmentation. Lifting breast tissue and relocating the nipple higher up on the breast is not possible using either of these methods.