Breast augmentation and
augmentation mammoplasty (colloquially known as a "
boob job") are
plastic surgery terms for the
breast-implant and the fat-graft
mammoplasty approaches used to increase the size, change the shape, and alter the texture of the breasts of a woman. As a primary reconstruction, augmentation mammoplasty is applied to effect a post–
mastectomy breast reconstruction, the repair of the chest wound consequent to the removal of a
cancerous breast; to correct
congenital defects of the breast(s); and to correct congenital defects of the chest wall. As an elective, cosmetic surgery, primary augmentation changes the aesthetics — of size, shape, and texture — of healthy breasts. The surgical implantation approach effects the global augmentation of the breast hemisphere using a breast implant, either an implant filled with saline-solution, or an implant filled with silicone-gel; moreover, the surgical augmentation approach can include the application of transplanted autologous
skin flaps harvested from the woman’s body. The fat-graft transfer approach augments the size and corrects contour defects of the breast hemisphere with grafts of autologous
adipocyte fat tissue, drawn from the woman’s body.