Cosmetic Breast Surgery in Sarasota, FL
Change the Size, Shape, or Balance of Your Breasts
Cosmetic breast surgery covers a range of operations that all answer the same question in different ways: what would you like your breasts to look and feel like? For some women that means less weight and less back pain. For others it means lifting what's already there, evening out a difference between sides, or adding fullness. The right procedure depends on where you're starting from, not on what's popular.
Dr. Alissa Shulman has been a board-certified plastic surgeon since 2002 and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (F.A.C.S.). She has practiced since 2000 and opened Sovereign Plastic Surgery in Sarasota in 2009. She's also a trained sculptor, which is not a marketing line so much as a description of how she plans an operation. She tends to aim for proportion rather than size, and she's open about the fact that she's a poor fit for anyone who wants an obviously operated-on result.
If you're not sure which procedure fits, that's exactly what the consultation is for. Request an appointment with Dr. Shulman and she'll walk you through the options herself.
Breast Augmentation in Sarasota
Add Fullness With Implants or Your Own Fat
Breast augmentation increases breast size, either with an implant or with fat moved from elsewhere on your body. Implants give a larger and more predictable change. Fat transfer gives a softer, more modest one with no device involved. Dr. Shulman performs both and will tell you plainly which one matches the result you've described.
Breast Lift Surgery in Sarasota
Raise and Reshape Without Necessarily Adding Size
A breast lift, or mastopexy, removes loose skin and repositions the breast higher on the chest. It changes position and shape rather than volume, so a lift alone won't make you larger. Women often consider one after pregnancy, breastfeeding, or weight loss. A lift can be combined with an implant or with fat grafting if you want size back as well.
Breast Reduction in Sarasota
Relieve the Weight You've Been Carrying
Breast reduction removes breast tissue, fat, and skin to bring the breasts into better proportion with the rest of your body, and it includes a lift as part of the same operation. Most patients come in describing neck, shoulder, and back discomfort, grooving from bra straps, or difficulty exercising. Reduction is the one cosmetic breast procedure insurance will sometimes cover, but only when it's documented as medically necessary, and that's a high bar many women don't clear. Sovereign Plastic Surgery bills insurance only for breast reconstruction after cancer, so plan on a reduction here being self-pay.
Breast Asymmetry Correction
Even Out a Difference Between Sides
Nearly everyone has some difference between their two breasts, and a noticeable one can be corrected. Breast asymmetry correction may involve reducing one side, lifting one side, adding volume to the other, or some combination. Because each case is different, this is one where Dr. Shulman will spend real time measuring and talking before she recommends anything.
Choosing Between Implant Types
Compare Saline and Silicone Before You Decide
Dr. Shulman prefers saline implants placed under the muscle, though she places silicone as well. Whichever you choose, it's worth understanding that breast implants are not lifetime devices. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now requires a boxed warning on implant labeling stating that the chance of complications rises the longer an implant is in place, and that some complications require more surgery. You can read the agency's patient guidance on what to know about breast implants. Dr. Shulman would rather you hear that during a consultation than after.
If You Already Have Implants
Consider Removal as Seriously as Placement
Not every patient who comes in about their breasts wants something added. Dr. Shulman is a vocal advocate for breast implant removal for women who want their implants out, and she treats that as a legitimate goal rather than a change of heart to be talked out of. If that's why you're here, you'll get a straight conversation.
