Breast Implants in Oklahoma City: The Surgeon's Answers

What a breast implant actually is

A breast implant is a soft shell filled with either salt water (saline) or silicone gel. It sits behind the breast tissue or behind the chest muscle. The goal is to add size and shape to the breast in a way that fits your frame.

You and your surgeon choose the implant size and placement together at your visit. There is no standard answer — the right implant depends on your chest width, your tissue thickness, and what you want to see in the mirror. That conversation is the point of the consultation.

One fact we state plainly: implants do not last a lifetime. Plan on more surgery someday. That is not a failure of the device. It is the nature of any implant in a living body.

How surgery works in our Oklahoma City operating rooms

You receive anesthesia — medicine that makes you sleep. The surgeon makes a short incision, most often in the fold under the breast. A pocket is created behind the breast tissue or behind the muscle. The implant is placed, checked for position, and the incision is closed in layers with dissolving stitches.

Surgery takes about an hour. You go home the same day. Our facility at 12400 Saint Andrew's Drive in Oklahoma City has two operating rooms and is AAAHC-accredited. Free parking is on-site, and your driver pulls directly to the entrance for drop-off and pick-up.

If you live in Edmond — about seven miles from the practice — or anywhere in the Oklahoma City area, the drive home is short. A responsible adult must drive you and stay with you for the first twenty-four hours after anesthesia.

Recovery, honestly

The first few days bring chest tightness and soreness, similar to a hard workout. Walk the same day. Sleep on your back. By one week, most people with desk jobs return to work. No lifting over ten pounds during that stretch.

By two weeks, soreness fades and light lower-body exercise is usually fine. At six weeks, full exercise — including chest workouts — is typically cleared. Implants soften and settle over months. The shape you see at six weeks is not the final shape.

In any emergency — chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, sudden confusion, or a leg that swells or hurts more than the other — call 911 first. For concerns that are not emergencies, call us at 405-751-0042, day or night.

The honest risk list

Every surgery has risks. A firm scar shell can form around the implant — called capsular contracture — which can change the shape and cause discomfort. Surgery can fix it. An implant can leak or break over time; broken implants are replaced or removed. Nipple sensation can change. Breastfeeding may be affected for some women.

A very rare cancer of the scar tissue around some implants has been reported. Some patients report body-wide symptoms they link to implants. Removing implants is always an option. We go over every risk with you in person before you decide anything.

Other surgical risks include bleeding, infection, scars that stay raised or wide, numb skin near the incisions, blood clots, anesthesia complications, uneven results, and the possible need for another surgery. None of these are common, but all of them are real.

Your surgeons and your choices

Breast augmentation at Oklahoma Surgical Arts is performed by the surgeons of the Tulsa Surgical Arts program. Dr. Angelo Cuzalina — past president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery — leads the practice. Dr. Carisa Champion and Dr. Chase Nelson operate here through the week, and Dr. Trent Fogleman practices in Oklahoma City full-time.

Consultations are virtual or in person. Surgery can be scheduled in Oklahoma City or Tulsa — your choice of city. Your records and photography follow you between locations. We want you to meet your surgeon, ask every question, and leave the consultation feeling informed — not pressured.

Individual results vary. This article is general education, not medical advice.