Procedures

Can breasts be too big?

DoctorMeade, I want my breast implants to enter the room 10 minutes before I do.” For a moment we peered at each other wondering what the other was thinking and then both laughed. I was fortunate in this particular breast augmentation case that the patient was being completely sarcastic. I think she just wanted to say that in a plastic surgeon’s office one day and did. Unfortunately, there are some breast implant patients that I see with requests that simply can’t or shouldn’t be achieved all at once because of their anatomy.

Keep in mind that every breast augmentation is different. Whether it is saline implants or silicone implants, they are still stretching your tissues out. You can’t compare yourself to someone with different physical features and wonder why her result looks different because it’s not really a fair comparison. Not only is their anatomy different, but the surgery they underwent is probably different that the one you did (or will). If I see a patient that comes in wanting to be a D cup and she has a very small anatomy .. it’s possible that this difference is too big for a single operation. That doesn’t mean she’s going home untouched of course .. there’s always something I can do for them, sometimes I just need to get a little creative. Nobody wants to hear about two surgeries but it is the case when drastic changes are to be made. The good thing is that I can make both surgeries great .. the first one is her normal fitting breast implant surgery and the second one (about 3 months later) we can super size it! Don’t get me wrong, my taste does not support this choice if you’re imagining the giant pair it sounds like I’m describing. In reality, I’m speaking more about those cases where the patient is tearfully small, and not endowed with more than a couple of nipples on her chest. That patient may want to be a D cup and it is just not going to happen in a single surgery. If the anatomy is distorted too much all at once, you can potentially lose those natural tissue ‘anchors’ and then the breast implant starts to drop. Let’s leave that one at that .. but a dropped implant can be a very difficult situation.

For the record to all implant companies out there .. despite their catalogs with exact measurements for each breast implant, you can’t measure elastic structures with a static system. Dr Barton (a mentor or mine) taught me that a long time ago – and even though there are newer implants, newer technologies and young fresh idealistic minds available, that principle will never change. I don’t support the notion that there is a certain implant that fits your body by measurements. Perhaps, and this may seem ludicrous, but a plastic surgeon needs to be somewhat artistic in his creation and will actually need to help create this new body with something other than a 12 inch ruler and a catalog.

I have patients try on implants in the office under a form fitted shirt and then we all look together to see what curves fit most aesthetically. This is a ballpark estimate of what size we’re headed towards. Sometimes they’ll bring in photos of people with their same physical features and that can help as a communication tool as well.

In answer to my own question, can breast implants be too big?

Well, speaking in terms of anatomy, tissue elasticity, artistry, the golden rule of proportions in beauty, measurements, taste, class and as far as appearance goes .. of course.

Posted in Breast Augmentation

Ricardo A. Meade, MD · Dallas Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute · 9101 N. Central Expressway · Suite 600 · Dallas, TX 75231 · (214) 823-1691
Legacy Plastic Surgery Institute · 5425 W. Spring Creek Pkwy · Suite 120 · Plano, TX 75024 · (972) 801-2100

Dr. Meade is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon that specializes in breast augmentation, tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), rhinoplasty (nose surgery), liposuction and facelift. He serves Dallas, Plano, Fort Worth, Tulsa, Houston and San Antonio.