Breast Volume and Implant Volume
With over three decades of experience performing breast augmentation, if there is one single aspect of the surgery that women are the hyper-focused on, it is implant size. After that, it is recovery. Many of the other equally important aspects such as implant type, pocket location and incision do not seem to be as important to my patients, although they should be.
Women come into consultation with an idea of how many cc’s they need that is not based upon any objective measurements – just what they see in social media posts or hear that other women with “similar” breasts (probably not so similar) are getting. This can be counterproductive and even dangerous!
Every breast has a certain volume, and like an implant, this is expressed in cc’s. When you place an implant into the breast, the final volume is the direct sum of what you have initially and what you add with an implant.
Starting Breast Volume + Implant Volume = Final Breast Volume
Let’s look at another analogy: Let’s say you are thirsty. If you have a glass partially filled with water and you add more water, the volume of water you add will be that amount until the glass is filled to where you want. You are not going to add a specific volume of water without knowing what is already in the glass to start, would you??? So why is this different with a breast?
The Opinion of Friends and Family
In over three decades, I have never had a woman ask me what their starting volume is. So after consultation, the patient and I come up with a plan for what is a good implant size considering the volume of her unaugmented breast. She walks out happy with our choice, but then all hell breaks loose! She talks to her friends and family who tell her “oh, no, that implant sounds too small!” It is amazing what these people must know considering that they have never performed a breast augmentation surgery, never conducted a consultation for such a surgery and probably never saw your bare breasts! But these people all seem to know that I selected too small an implant!!!
The Impact of Social Media
At the writing of this section, there is a trend where women with implants are disclosing on social media their implant brand, type and size. I think that this is wonderful! I am beyond thrilled that women are so comfortable with their surgery to go public to give other women the confidence to go forward with surgery. On social media, you can see numerous photos of women with augmented breasts, or breasts that you think might be augmented. These photos are not taken in standardized poses, there is usually a bathing suit top or clothing covering some of the breast and before surgery photos are not available, no less any measurements of the breast, preoperative volume measurements or tissue assessment. And so much of what is on social media is filtered and not real anyway.
Now, let’s get back to the glass of water analogy. Would you let someone else tell you how much water to add to a partially filled glass of water so that it is the amount that you want to drink? Of course not! Same thing here.
Total Breast Volume – A New Paradigm
I am going to suggest a new way to think about recommendations for volume in breast augmentation. Rather than think about things the way we have for the last 60 years, that is, in terms of what size implant we are going to use, let’s rethink this. As your goal as a woman is to have a certain breast size, let’s make that our goal. Unfortunately, cup size does not work because there is no definition of a standard volume for each cup size so that does not work. What will work is to think about final breast volume. This makes the most sense.
Why This New Paradigm is Better
Small differences in starting breast volume, breast diameter or elasticity of breast tissue can have profound effects upon what size breast implant is best for a woman. One day I performed breast augmentation surgery on three different women, all by chance using the exact same size implant. It just worked out that way. All three women were quite pleased with the results of their surgery. One was a B cup, one was a C cup and the last one was a D cup. Prior to surgery, if any of these women had told their friends and family what implant I was planning upon using, how relevant and accurate would a friend/family member’s comment be that the implant was too small, just right or too large?
If you are instructed to take a pill with 8 oz of water and your 8 oz glass is only partly full, what is more important-knowing how much water you need to add to fill an 8 oz glass or the 8 oz final volume that you will need to drink?
Topics - What Size Implant Should I get
- Achieving a natural look with breast augmentation
- Types of Breasts
- Choosing the Proper Implant Volume (Size)
- Soft Tissue-Based Planning to Determine Implant Size
- 3D Computer Simulation Of Breast Augmentation With Vectra® 3D
- Social Media, Friends/Family & Implant Size – Why Total Breast Size is Better
Prev Section: What Implant Type Do I need? »
Next Section: Pocket location – Above or below the muscle? »
Sections – Five Key Decisions You Need To Make
Chapters – Breast Augmentation Guide
- Intro to Breast Augmentation
- Preservation Breast Augmentation – A New Era!
- Motiva Implants – What You Need to Know
- Five key decisions you need to make
- One-Day Recovery Breast Augmentation
- Anesthesia – General, Sedation or Local?
- Breast Lift (Mastopexy) with/without Implants or Fat
- What else should I know about breast augmentation?
- Important Things to Consider When You Decide to Move Forward With Breast Augmentation
- Revision of breast augmentation
- ALCL and Breast Implant Illness
