Breast
Can I Breastfeed After a Breast Augmentation?
Breastfeeding can remain possible after breast augmentation, but a full milk supply is not guaranteed. The episode explains why both a person's underlying ability to produce milk and the surgical route matter.
In this episode.
Episode summary
Breastfeeding can remain possible after breast augmentation, but a full milk supply is not guaranteed. The episode explains why both a person's underlying ability to produce milk and the surgical route matter.
In this June 26, 2020 episode of Plastic Surgery: Before and After, board-certified New York City plastic surgeon Darren M. Smith, MD discusses the relationship between breast augmentation, milk ducts and incision choice.
Key takeaways
🔎 The baseline may be unknown.
If someone has not previously breastfed, it may be unclear how much milk they would have produced before surgery.
🔎 Ducts can be affected.
Dr. Smith explains how dissection through breast tissue can disrupt the pathways that carry milk toward the nipple.
🔎 Approaches differ.
He compares an incision under the breast fold, one at the areolar border, and an armpit approach in relation to that tissue.
Questions this episode answers
Why does the incision location matter?
The episode connects the surgical route with how much breast tissue and how many milk ducts may be crossed. Dr. Smith describes his preference for the breast-fold approach in this context.
Does an incision under the breast guarantee breastfeeding?
No. The discussion begins with uncertainty about baseline breastfeeding ability. A technique intended to limit disruption cannot promise a full supply for every person.
ℹ️ Current breastfeeding context
The CDC's current guidance notes that breast surgery can affect milk production and recommends monitoring the baby's weight gain. People who have had breast surgery may benefit from lactation support and an individualized feeding plan.
🔗 Related information
Explore breastfeeding after implants, breast augmentation, or request a consultation with Dr. Smith in New York City.
Originally released June 26, 2020. Show notes updated September 30, 2026. This is general education. Current recommendations, suitability, risks and expected results require an individual assessment.
Original show notes
Board certified NYC plastic surgeon Dr. Darren Smith discusses the effects of breast augmentation on breastfeeding.
Read the conversation.
[00:08] I'm board certified New York City plastic surgeon, Dr. Darren Smith, and this is plastic surgery before and after. Your source for the real deal about plastic surgery procedures, news about trends in aesthetic medicine, and candid sessions with industry insiders. We hope you enjoy today's episode. Our patients frequently ask if they'll be able to breastfeed after they have a breast augmentation. There are a few issues that go into answering this question. First of all, an individual must have been capable of breastfeeding before a breast augmentation to be able to breastfeed after a breast augmentation. And because in many cases, we're performing breast augmentations before someone has had children or attempted to breastfeed, we often don't know what their baseline breastfeeding ability is. Now, the reason that a breast augmentation could affect breastfeeding is that during certain approaches for breast augmentation we are cutting through and disrupting the milk ducts that transport milk from the mammary gland out to the surface of the nipple and areola.
[01:18] In the majority of cases, patients are in fact able to breastfeed after having a breast augmentation because the damage to the milk ducts tends not to be that severe. Now there are some approaches to breast augmentation that are more likely to disrupt the ability to breastfeed than others. Specifically, approaches to breast augmentation that require more dissection through breast tissue are more likely to interfere with breastfeeding. So the inframammary approach, which is by far the most popular approach in my practice for breast augmentation, involves an incision under the fold of the breast that lets us get to the plane under the pectoralis muscle for implant insertion in a very direct manner without crossing the breast tissue much at all. So this technique is often believed to have the least possible impact on breastfeeding ability.
[02:14] On the other hand, the periareolar approach to breast augmentation, in which an incision is made at the border of the areola and the regular breast skin, does require dissection through a significant amount of breast tissue. And this approach therefore does place the milk supply at more risk because you are forced to cross through the milk ducts in order to get to the plane under the pectoralis muscle for placement of the breast implant. Finally, in the transaxillary approach, there is also very little risk of damage to the milk ducts, as this approach also does not require much transit through the milk ducts, and as they are left intact, the milk supply is less likely to be interrupted.
[03:06] Thanks for listening, and don't forget to subscribe, share the show, and head over to DarrenSmithMD.com for more real-world plastic surgery talk.
Sources and context.
Original Captivate episode. Original release date: 2020-06-26. The recording is the source for the transcript and episode discussion. Later context in the written summary is identified separately.
Behind the conversation.
Darren M. Smith, MD, FACS