It is one of the main reasons why women go back to the plastic surgeon after getting breast implants: dissatisfaction with the size.  According to the Food and Drug Administration, nearly half of the patients who come back for a change after surgery say the implants were too small.

North shore board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Elizabeth Kinsley even has a video on the internet to help women make that decision.  She says that the more involved a patient is with her decision, the more likely she will like the outcome.

In fact, Kinsley recommends her patients try wearing a special bra at home for a week or so around friends and family.  The Envision has naturally-feeling implants built into it, so that women can get used to the new look.  She says it works better than the baggies filled with rice or hair gel that some patients have tested in their bras.

But now there is something new being tested in Metairie: technology that actually lets a woman see what her actual body will look like after the surgery.

"Until now one of the hardest parts for breast augmentation was the size,” said plastic surgeon Kamran Khoobehi. “Patients come for consultation and they have a friend or somebody they know, who has had an implant, and they have used a certain size and they want to use the same size without understanding that their anatomy is different than their friend’s.”

Khoobehi is testing the Axis 3 imaging camera and software.  The machine takes a picture of the patient and then the software shows how her specific skin tissue and breast will look at all different sizes.  It's more realistic in showing a woman how the nipple and areola of the breast will shift when the size changes, what the shape and cleavage will look like, and it gives all views from the top, bottom and sides.

“With this new machine you can take a picture and immediately show the patient what they are going to look like,” he said.  “Also during a consultation with them, I can use different sizes to go smaller or bigger.”

The Axis 3 also takes away some of the guess work in the operating room since most women are asymmetrical, having breasts that are different in size.  The computer will tell the surgeon how big each implant should be.  In some cases, one breast needs more saline or silicone in the implant to make it match the slightly larger breast.

“It makes it more predictable and also during the surgery you set up the patient and make adjustments at that time, but before surgery having this instrument helps us communicate with the patient and show them the differences,” Khoobehi said.

The Axis 3 will not be out for about 6 more months, and while Dr. Khoobehi says he is getting positive feedback from patients, other doctors tell us that it works best on women with small breasts. 

Khoobehi says he has not had the Axis 3 long enough to compare what the computer said the patient would look like and what she actually did look like after all the swelling went down after surgery.