Patient Resources
Vectra 3D Imaging
A three-dimensional photograph of you, taken at the consultation, used to plan the operation and to show what a change would look like before anything is decided.
At a glance
System
Canfield Vectra
Used for
Breast augmentation, rhinoplasty
When
During your consultation
Duration
A few minutes
Radiation
None — it is photography
Cost
Included in the consultation
Planning against a measurement, not an impression
Vectra captures your face or torso in three dimensions rather than as a flat photograph. From that capture the surgeon can measure volume, symmetry and projection, and can simulate a proposed change on your own anatomy instead of describing it in words or showing you someone else’s result.
For breast surgery this means implant options can be simulated on your own frame, which is a more useful conversation than a size chart. For rhinoplasty and facial surgery it means a proposed change to a profile can be shown from any angle, including the ones you actually see yourself from.
The value is as much in ruling things out as in choosing. Patients frequently arrive certain about a particular size or change, see it rendered on their own body, and revise the plan. That is the imaging doing its job.
What it is not
A simulation is a planning tool, not a promise. Skin, tissue and healing vary, and no imaging system can predict a surgical result exactly.
Nothing shown in a simulation is a guarantee of outcome. It is a way to align what you want with what is surgically achievable, before you commit.
In the consultation
How it fits into your visit.
Step one
The capture
You stand or sit for a series of photographs taken from multiple angles at once. It takes a few minutes, involves no radiation and nothing touches you. It is photography, not a scan.
Step two
Measurement
The three-dimensional model allows the surgeon to measure asymmetry, volume and projection precisely. Most faces and chests are asymmetric to some degree, and seeing that measured changes the plan more often than patients expect.
Step three
Simulation
Proposed changes are applied to your own model and viewed from any angle. Options are compared side by side rather than described.
Step four
The decision
You leave the consultation having seen the plan rather than only heard it. Nothing is scheduled until you are ready.
Honest limits
Useful, and not magic.
We use imaging because it makes consultations more concrete and reduces surprises. It is worth being clear about what it does and does not do.
A simulation shows an intended result. It cannot account for how your individual tissue will heal.
Nothing in a simulation is a guarantee. Results vary from patient to patient.
Imaging does not replace an examination. Candidacy is determined by the surgeon, not the software.
Not every procedure benefits from imaging, and we will not use it where it adds nothing.
Your images are part of your medical record and are handled under the same privacy rules as the rest of it.
Questions
Commonly asked.
Is there any radiation?+
No. Vectra is a photographic system that captures multiple images simultaneously to build a three-dimensional model. It is no different in exposure terms from being photographed.
Can I see what a specific implant size would look like on me?+
Yes, and this is one of the most useful applications. Options can be simulated on your own frame and compared directly, which is far more informative than reviewing photographs of other patients.
Will my result look exactly like the simulation?+
No, and we would not claim it will. A simulation shows the intended change so you and the surgeon are working from the same picture. Healing and individual tissue characteristics mean the actual result will differ to some degree.
Does it cost extra?+
No. Where imaging is part of planning your procedure, it is included in the consultation.
See it at your consultation.
Imaging is part of the consultation for the procedures where it helps. There is nothing to arrange in advance.