“Breast Implants Don’t Create Cleavage”
Fashion can be fickle. Trends come into style and move out of style with little rhyme or reason. This is as true for hemlines as it is for cleavage. During the 1800’s, for example, cleavage was created with the help of a corset, but by the 1920’s, the flapper style favored flat breasts and no cleavage. This in and out was par for the course until the advent of the push-up Wonderbra in the early 1990’s. It made cleavage comfortable, affordable and, basically, ubiquitous. This is why one of the first questions that most prospective breast augmentation patients ask me is whether or not a breast implant can create cleavage? The simple answer is “no”. Breast implants don’t create cleavage, and here’s why.
Can Implants Create Cleavage
Cleavage Does Not Exist in Nature
Cleavage doesn’t exist naturally. Instead, it is your breast tissue and fat being smooshed together in a bra or bathing suit top. If you look at your breasts in a mirror without a bra, you won’t see any cleavage. Breasts normally sit on the chest in what we call a “footprint”. Your breast footprint are the lines that can be drawn around the top, bottom and sides of your breasts when you are lying down. Every woman’s footprint is unique. Furthermore, you will find that you, and every other person alive, has an inherent distance between the two breasts.
Intermammary Distance
No one’s breasts meet in the middle. This space between the breasts is called the “intermammary distance”. It can vary from 1 centimeter to 4-5 centimeters. If you have a breast footprint that errs on the closer, 1cm, side, it is going to be easier for you to achieve cleavage when wearing a bra, but cleavage will never happen without a bra or a bathing suit. If your breasts sit further apart, however, it’s going to be harder for you to achieve cleavage regardless of the support garment that you choose. The harsh reality is that whatever you’ve got, you’ve got. There is no way for me to change the footprint of your breasts.
Anatomy Always Dictates
As a breast surgery expert, one of the many things that I try to help my patients understand is that your anatomy always dictates the parameters of your breast augmentation procedure. Going back to your reflection in the mirror, you will notice that your breastbone runs down the middle of your chest. On either side of this bone sits your pectoralis muscles. Since I typically place an implant underneath the muscle as it produces a long lasting, natural result, the muscle acts as a barrier, preventing your implants from moving any closer together as the implant must be centered behind your nipple. So, while an implant will deliver more volume, it will not change your unique intermammary distance. Bottom line, I can only work with what you bring me. My job is to take my years of experience and extensive breast surgery knowledge, assess your unique anatomy as well as the many technologies, techniques and range of implants at my disposal, and then create the best result attainable with your tissues and your body.
To find out more a breast augmentation with Dr. Mark Epstein in Hauppauge, Long Island, contact us today or call 631-689-1100 to schedule a consultation.
