MANY WOMEN yearn for perkier, youthful breasts which are in proportion to their figure. However, most express concerns about the risks of breast augmentation surgery. You can now get shapelier breasts using a non-surgical method called breast fillers. This method involves injecting hyaluronic gel to enhance the shape of the breasts. Hyaluronic acid is a substance that the body produces naturally. In fact, it is one of the chief components of the extracellular matrix – a network of tissue which provides support to cells. This semi-permanent hyaluronic acid produces more natural and stable results, with a high level of safety, and over time, the injected fillers will be absorbed by the body naturally.

For most patients, the procedure requires one injection below each breast, and 100 ml to 200 ml of gel injected into each breast to give an increase of one to one-and-a-half cup sizes. As the whole procedure of breast fillers is done with an injection needle, it is minimally invasive and the patient goes home with mild discomfort.

The procedure is performed in the clinic and takes about an hour – thirty minutes of preparation time and thirty minutes to inject the filler. The filler is injected under the breasts and smoothed into place. It can be injected into the top of the breasts too, if required. It is virtually painless with anaesthesia and patient can return to normal activities right away, or after anaesthesia wears off. No post-treatment time off work is required.

Results are visible immediately. Mild swelling may occur, which usually subsides by one week. Soft tissue fillers give you a modest enhancement, and an increase of only one cup size. For a bigger effect, you can return for another session after a month.

Being biodegradable, hyaluronic acid is eventually eliminated by the body, so the result is only semipermanent. It lasts for two to five years, but that is the very limit. Some patients do a top-up after only a year.