Breast Implants. Is bigger always better?
Posted by Dana Aulicino, MPM, Director, Premier Plastic Surgery & Brian Vassar Heil, MD FACSHave you ever noticed Americans love big. We think that bigger is always better. Big cars, big houses, supersize portions of food. However, is bigger always better when it comes to breast implants?
I answered this question just recently from a patient that came in to see Brian Vassar Heil, MD FACS for a breast augmentation consult. She was AA all her life. She remembers in college always wearing padded bras and being very self conscious about her body image. Now at 32 years old, she is successful in the business world, but still feels when she looks in the mirror there is a young girl looking back at her.
She is now going to undergo a Pittsburgh breast augmentation with Doctor Heil. Now the exciting part – What size should I go? Well, she felt the cost is the same regardless if she decided to get 500 cc silicone implants instead of 350cc silicone implants. Bigger is always better, right? This was going to be her first and last time to get the body she always dreamed.
Well, this is what I told her –
Breast implants come in many varieties, including:
Implant surface: smooth or textured
Implant shape: round or shaped
Implant filler: silicone or saline
Implant profile: how far the implant protrudes
The correct size of an implant is determined not by the size, A, B, C, D etc. Instead, implants are measured in cc’s. The cc’s tells you the number of grams the implant weighs. The heavier the implant the more it will weight and overtime you may droop. The weight of the implant may also cause back pain and neck pain if you are a small framed women. This is why so many women get lifts and reductions. Do not consider the size implants by comparison of your friends or celebrities; you don’t know where they started. Their body shape, chest size, and breast size are not exactly yours. Computer simulation is not good either. Pictures are good to bring into your consult because it is helpful to get an understanding of your thoughts about size and proportion, but pictures are a poor way to decide on implant size.
The whole point of a breast augmentation is the final result. So think about PROPORTION, using your OWN body to demonstrate. You don’t necessary want them to look unnatural, round or fake. If you think you want large, try wearing them for a while, try exercising, or buttoning up your favorite white blouse. This is just advice from one girlfriend to another. We do see many oversized implants coming into our Cranberry and Upper St. Clair office. The have droopiness, back pain, and they want to DOWNSIZE. So take a long-term view not just for the here and now. Besides, in Pittsburgh, we don’t see many FAKE breasted women. If you wish to look a little fuller on those “special nights” just wear a great push up bra. Go for pretty and natural. GO for Medium size. Isn’t more fun to keep people guessing? How does she look so good???????? Now that turns heads!
Doctor Heil will discuss all your options during the consultation. I will be adding more information on breast augmentation in Pittsburghon this blog, but if you want more discussion, please see one of Doctor Heil’s collegues blogs. He is from New Jersey and his blog is rather detailed. Visit him at http://www.drbrianglatt.com/blog/breast-surgery/part-1-of-series-frequently-asked-questions-about-breast-augmentation-surgery/.