Virginia Beach Cosmetic Breast Surgery

Virginia Beach is Back on the World Stage for Cosmetic Breast Surgery with Dr. Hubbard’s TIIM Technique.

Dr Hubbard’s former associate, Dr. Richard Mladick, put Virginia Beach on the world map for breast implant surgery in the 1980s. With his “No Touch Technique”, he developed the first method for keeping bacteria off breast implants. Dr Hubbard was his associate for almost 6 years and has now taken that concept and applied it to a breast augmentation with full lift.

Now, Virginia Beach is back on the map, this time with breast implants performed at the same time as breast lift. Until now women with significant sag who wanted a breast lift with implants had 3 choices:

1. Two separate operations, one for the implant placement and one for the lift
2. The old, less effective method for lifting the breast-skin tightening with implants or
3. The most effective breast lift/augmentation surgery with one major disadvantage: the technique allowed excessive bacteria on the implants.

The problem is now solved; there is no longer a dilemma. Dr. Hubbard developed a method to block bacteria from the implant.

Why is this important? Because once implants are exposed to bacteria, they are there for life. These bacteria can lead to chronic inflammation and play a role in allowing a tumor to form on the textured implants that were recently removed from the market by the FDA. With smooth implants, these bacteria can lead to capsular contracture or hardening of the breast.

Dr. Hubbard developed this solution over 10 years ago but had to follow the patients for years to document safety, results and satisfaction. The breakthrough is unique steps during surgery that “isolate” the implants from bacteria. Now, the most optimal method of breast lift can be done with minimal risk of bacteria on the implants. This is considered a true advancement in cosmetic breast surgery and was professionally recognized in the field of plastic surgery with publication in a peer reviewed journal.

His experience with 105 sequential patients was just published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, June 2019. Because it is an “open” publication, everyone has full access, not just surgeons. To appreciate the results, one must understand a surgeon’s dilemma with the old techniques. Basically, 25 years ago a much better breast lift technique arrived from Europe that removed the hanging breast tissue and lifted the breast more effectively than the simple skin tightening methods of the past. It is called the vertical technique for the vertical wedge of tissue removed from the lower breast. The results were far superior to just tightening skin which tends to stretch and lead to more sag. Although the vertical approach was a superior breast lift, it led to complications when an implant was placed at the same time. The problem was that cutting the breast ducts during the procedure allowed seeded bacteria from the breast ducts onto the implant. Hardening (also called capsular contracture) or infection could result.

Most surgeons continue to use this outdated method or recommend 2 separate operations. Dr Hubbard’s patients greatly benefit from his technique in which the bacteria problem is solved. By keeping a natural layer of tissue intact during surgery, Dr. Hubbard isolates the implant from any bacteria. In fact, he introduced the concept of “implant isolation” at an international presentation of this technique.

The TIIM method was also developed to provide superior scars. Too often, breast lift with implant techniques have high tension in the closures. High tension does not help the result, it actually hurts it. Both the shape and the scars are worse. Dr. Hubbard developed “tension management” to avoid this and the result is an extremely high rate of fine line scars.

What does it all mean? Implant isolation with no bacteria on the implants, tension management for superior scar- it all means high satisfaction for patients.

Dr. Hubbard was so confident of this that he completed two satisfaction surveys. The goal of the first survey was to duplicate the only other survey of its type, which was over 10 years ago using the old skin tightening technique. Dr. Hubbard’s results showed superior results in every parameter of patient happiness: size of the breasts, amount of lift achieved, scarring, nipple/areola position and softness and feel of the breasts.

The second measurement performed was called a Breast Q Survey, which is the most respected, validated satisfaction survey in plastic surgery. Although it has been used worldwide for 10 years, no surgeon has provided this with any publication for augmentation mastopexy. Dr. Hubbard’s results show a very high satisfaction rate.