Thanks to special instruments, special training, and modern technology, it is now possible for surgeons to perform many kinds of surgery through very tiny incisions. Prior to the development of endoscopic surgery, these operations could only be accomplished using much larger incisions. These endoscopic procedures are also known as "minimally-invasive surgery" or "bandaid" operations.
Some examples of operations that used to require large incisions, but which are now done through tiny endoscopic incisions, are: tubal ligation, appendectomy, gallbladder removal, hernia repair, knee joint procedures, carpal tunnel, hiatus hernia correction, gastric stapling, ileal pouch creation, many types of intestinal surgery, and of course breast augmentation through the underarm or through the navel.
All of these endoscopic procedures require a surgeon who is comfortable operating without looking directly at his/her hands, watching instead a video monitor to have complete control over the procedure. Many surgeons, while skillful, are just not comfortable with endoscopic surgery. Every one of the endoscopic procedures mentioned above has come under criticism from the surgeons who never trained to do the operation endoscopically. Usually they try to convince people that the procedure is just too difficult to do through a tiny incision. Sometimes a few surgeons have even invented false objections to disparage the endoscopic surgery techniques. That certainly has been the case with the endoscopic transumbilical breast augmentation, which has been the target of such false commentary.
For through-the-navel breast augmentation, the surgeon makes a narrow tunnel beneath the skin, from the navel up into the loose tissue behind the breast. (It is important to note that the operation is done just under the skin, there is no cutting of muscle or penetration into the abdomen.) A temporary salt-water expander-implant is used to open the space to make room for the implant. After removing the temporary expander, the implant is slid up into place, and there it is filled with salt-water. The thin filling tube is then removed, which allows the implant valve to close and seal. A few stitches are used to close the incision at the navel. The operation takes about an hour under general anesthesia, and the patient does not usually need to stay overnight.
Dr Dowden has been doing this special endoscopic technique since 1992, and has found it to be an excellent method, with extremely few complications, and very high patient satisfaction. It is expected that more Plastic Surgeons will eventually learn the technique, but as the training and equipment are expensive, it is understandable why many Plastic Surgeons don't want to bother learning how to do the TUBA procedure.
Keywords: Breast implants through the navel; Transumbilical breast implants; Belly-button breast implants; Through-the-navel breast enlargement; Through-the-navel breast augmentation; Trans-umbilical breast augmentation; Trans-umbilical breast enlargement; Belly-button breast enlargement; Belly-button breast augmentation; Breast enlargement through the navel; Breast augmentation through the navel; Navel breast enlargement; Navel breast augmentation; 'Scarless' breast enlargement; 'Scarless' breast augmentation.