Transumbilical breast augmentation surgery (TUBA) is a kind of plastic surgery performed in a manner that allows a surgeon to insert breast implants through the belly button or navel. The surgery has the benefits of affording women scar-free, natural-looking breasts. With TUBA breast augmentation, women are able to achieve larger breast sizes with fewer risks. Furthermore, women who undergo TUBA have less risk of losing nipple sensation than women who elect for other methods of breast augmentation.
According to the journal, Seminars in Plastic Surgery, TUBA has a very low rate of complications and is considered to be one of the safest methods of breast augmentation—provided that the plastic surgeon performing the procedure is skilled and experienced.
In medical literature, time and time again, TUBA is repeatedly shown to be safe, effective, and results in fewer complications for patients. However, many plastic surgeons continue to claim that the procedure is dangerous.
Why?
Dr. Leonard Grossman, M.D. is an acclaimed plastic surgeon who has been performing the TUBA procedure since 1996. He was personally trained by the plastic surgeon who initially developed and popularized the procedure. Dr. Leonard Grossman has performed over 6,000 TUBA procedures where the saline implants were placed under the muscle. In the entire course of his tenure as a medical professional, he explains that he has never had a single infection when performing the TUBA procedure.
TUBA is actually incredibly safe. When performed by a skilled and well trained plastic surgeon, the tunneling device that is used to insert the breast implants goes under the skin and poses no risk to internal organs. According to Aesthetic Surgery of the Breast, there have been no deaths and no instances of organ damage as a result of the TUBA procedure.
Some plastic surgeons claim that the TUBA procedure can result in unsightly tracks on the abdomen. Dr. Grossman has not experienced this side-effect in the 20 years of his plastic surgery practice in NYC. That said, when TUBA is performed by doctors or surgeons who are not appropriately trained or experienced, the patient’s risk of complications increases.
Many plastic surgeons don’t understand the procedure fully, don’t know how to properly use an endoscope, or may not have the very expensive equipment in their offices to perform TUBA. As a result of this, some plastic surgeons may try to dissuade patients away from TUBA, when the reality is that, in the hands of a skilled plastic surgeon, TUBA is the best way to have breast augmentation performed using saline filled breast implants.
Patients who choose TUBA enjoy the benefits of having no incisions on their breasts or the arm pits, they have faster recovery times, they have no limitations on the size of the implants and the results are more natural looking than in the traditional breast. Ideal candidates are patients with smaller breasts who are 18 years of age or older.
Patients who are considering TUBA should take the time to learn about the procedure by consulting with plastic surgeon who is skilled in TUBA.
Dr. Leonard Grossman takes the time to sit with patients, explain the procedure, and even offers patients the opportunity to speak to his patients who have already undergone the TUBA procedure.
For patients who are candidates for saline breast augmentation in NYC, TUBA is simply the best method for placing implants.
