Nursing Global Conference

Breast implants are one of the most common procedures that women may opt for in order to beautify themselves or re-form their breasts after surgery. Among the various professionals making a crucial contribution towards the care of those women who choose or are undergoing breast augmentation, nurses stand out as significant. This article provides some of the best guidelines by and for nursing professionals who care for women and breast implants.

The Role of Nurses

They play a primary role in the evaluation of a patient seeking breast implants. They need to be aware of the various types and surgical techniques of breast implants as well as their risks and potential benefits. An educated patient helps in making decisions based on information, which builds confidence in the nurse-patient relationship.

Pre-operative Education

Preoperative teaching is a very important step to be undertaken while preparing a patient for surgery concerning augmentation mammoplasty. Nurses should communicate with the patient about the procedure, the expected outcomes of the surgery and how he or she will recover from the surgery. Some most important topics to be discussed include;

Choosing the Right Implant: The nurse should make a clear point between saline and silicone. Other essential points are size and shape of the implants.

Surgical Techniques: They should express the difference between the two main approaches in the surgical method. One is a submuscular approach and the other is the subglandular approach which makes a difference in recovery as well as in the aesthetic outcome.

Expectations and Goals: Encourage patients to be able to put down some expectations and goals from the procedure, wherein expectations should be placed with the right perspective of the outcome.

Informed Consent

Informed consent is a vital aspect of patient care. Therefore, the patients should be well informed and appreciative of all risks and benefits resulting from breast implants. This may include communicating possible complications such as the infection, capsular contracture, and future surgeries. Clear and easily accessible information helps the patients in appropriate decision-making and may be a reinforcement of their autonomy.

Post-operative Care

Unless the patient experiences post-operative complications, her prime role after surgery will be that of a recipient of care. The nurses must inform the patient concerning post-operative care. The following are some post-operative guidelines for the patients to aid recovery and prevent complications:

Wound Care: Educate the patient on the proper technique for wound care and the appearance of infection to be monitored.

Pain Management: Explain measures taken for pain management and instruct the patient to inform health professionals if the pain worsens or does not improve.

Activity Limitations: Inform the patient to observe activity restriction in the immediate postoperative period in order to avoid risk

Monitoring for Complications

Nurses should carefully monitor the patients following surgery for all potential complications that might occur. Some of these signs include,

Change in appearance or shape of breasts

Swelling or pain becoming worse with time

Infection signs such as fever or foul drainage

Emotional Support Role

The breast augmentation patient's mental health is also of importance. Nurses should administer caring support, where concerns or fears about surgery and recovery are identified and heard. This form of open communication tends to help patients feel more comfortable the entire time.

It is in these guidelines that care about women and breast implants mandate education before surgery, informed consent after, post-operative care and emotional support. In this manner, these guidelines indeed allow nursing professionals to better significantly improve patient experiences whilst ensuring the best outcome with safety and satisfaction for those women intending to have breast implants.