For Bigger or Worse: Selecting Breast Implant Size

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, and it’s the same with breast augmentation and selecting breast implant size. There is no perfect ‘size’ when choosing a breast implant, but in the last few years women do seem to be opting for larger and larger implants. A few factors drive this decision to ‘go big’, but in the end the patient has to be happy with her new look, no matter her initial desire.

What Size Is Right For Me?

It’s a very personal decision when it comes to choosing a breast implant. One woman may desire an eye-popping change to a D cup (think Pamela Anderson), while the next woman may want a more understated, demure result. It isn’t right or wrong, it’s just different.

“It isn’t my aesthetic deal, it’s your aesthetic deal,” says board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Richard Restifo. Restifo, who practices in Connecticut, says he sees it every day in his office: women trying to balance the desire for a spectacular look, with the particular appeal of maintaining a modest look. “I can tell you what is safe and I can tell you what is possible for a good term result – but ultimately you are in charge of the size of your implant.”

Restifo says size is a personal choice, even though lifestyle and body size should play into the decision. “There are certain measurements that you don’t want to exceed, there are anatomical boundaries that you don’t want to violate and a certain size woman can’t accommodate a certain implant,” he says. There are some limitations on implant size – dictated by body size – but Restifo says women still have a huge selection to chose from.

“There are an enormous number of implant sizes for a woman to consider.” – Richard Restifo, MD

What A Woman Wants, She Should Get

Twenty years ago, a woman didn’t have much say in what size implant she received, but today each patient provides a lot of feedback about implant size to her plastic surgeon. There’s always the concern of ‘going too big’.

“I think it’s really important to understand, what the woman wants,” says Dr. Craig Colville of Ohio. Colville says with new imaging technology like Vectra 3D, it’s far easier to give the patient a good idea of what the end result will look like.

Dr. Restifo also uses Vectra 3D imaging to help patients decide on which size is right. “It’s important to use technology to give patients a glimpse at what the end result may be,” he explains.

Pick An Implant For Life

There’s no debating that some implant sizes are better suited for some body types. Surgeons say if you are short, it may be wise to pick a smaller implant. However, if you are tall – a larger implant may fit the chest just fine.

It’s also important to consider lifestyle. If you are someone who is very active and enjoys sports, you may want to scale back on the thought of a large implant. There are bras that help the athlete, but it can be uncomfortable to maneuver a triathlon with very large implants.

Dr. Colville also advises his patients to think about the future and what the body will look like 10-20 years from now. “They need to understand if they are picking fairly big [implants] that their body may not support that and it may not last as long, and it may not do as well in the long term.”

Whatever the desire, a lengthy consultation with an experienced breast surgeon will ultiamtely be the key. Utilizing new technology to decide on the myriad of new implant options and sizes will lead patients to the perfect fit, and they’ll be able to feel they made the most informed decision in the procedure’s history.