Reviewed by Dr. Michele Koo, MD, FACS
Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon
The answer is no! A breast augmentation with breast implants can simply fill in your skin envelope and take up the slack in your breast skin.
If you see yourself as an athletic person, and you’ve always had smaller breasts but now after children, you don’t have any roundness or shape to your breasts, you can have a breast augmentation and still have small but now rounded, more firm and more pleasing breasts.
The key to remember is that breast augmentations are not always about size! It is about the look!! Some of my patients do want very large “fake” breasts and they are very comfortable with that look and I make sure I achieve their perfect world desires.
For those who want a change in shape but not much of an increase in size I feel it is important to address the following issues with your plastic surgeon:
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- How much roundness you want
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- How high on your chest wall you want your breasts to start, how full on top
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- How much “side boob” curvature you want
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- How much cleavage you want
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- And especially important is how noticeable you want your breasts to be on your body
A small volume breast implant with the appropriate projection and fill ratio (firmness) can create soft, natural, well proportioned breasts that are well balanced and elegant for your body size and compatible with your lifestyle.
I try to discuss all of these points with my patients and try to understand your lifestyle to help direct your ultimate decision for the size, shape and LOOK you want. I find it much more important to discuss the look rather than the size. There is too much variability in bra cup sizes to finalize a breast augmentation based solely on cup size. In my communication with my patients, it is imperative I understand the LOOK of your breasts you want to achieve.
Furthermore, if you haven’t finalized the shape and look that you want, it would be impossible for your plastic surgeon to pinpoint it for you at the time of surgery. This must be discussed and agreed upon prior to your surgery.
Take home point: breast augmentations are very safe and you should be able to achieve whatever size and look you desire, but you must have that LOOK well defined in your mind and show your plastic surgeon that LOOK before the surgery!
TAKE HOME POINT
Breast augmentations are very safe and you should be able to achieve whatever size and look you desire, but you must have that LOOK well defined in your mind and show your plastic surgeon that LOOK before the surgery!
Ready to Achieve the Breast Shape and Look You Want?
If you are considering breast augmentation, choosing the right implant is about much more than cup size. Dr. Michele Koo is a board-certified plastic surgeon serving patients in St. Louis and the San Francisco Bay Area. With decades of experience in aesthetic breast surgery, she works closely with each patient to understand the shape, proportion, projection, fullness, and overall look they want to achieve. She then develops a surgical plan tailored to the patient’s anatomy, lifestyle, and aesthetic goals.
If you are ready to explore your breast augmentation options, contact Dr. Koo to discuss the approach that may be right for you.
