Breast Implants: Q&A

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Why Don't Surgeons Use Breast Implants Less Than 250cc?

Breast implants come in all sorts of sizes but in my experience I am noticing that surgeons generally don't like to use an implant that's smaller than 250cc. For whatever reason they always frown upon something smaller. Now they make implants starting at 80cc for Allergan and 100cc for Mentor. Obviously, these sizes were made available for a reason but I can't understand why surgeons don't want to use anything less than 250cc. So can someone explain why they don't like to use 175cc or 150 cc or even 125cc?

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breasts 250-299cc implant size

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20 Doctor Answers | Asked by Star24 in Texas

Doctor Answers (20)
Community Comments (0)

Implants under 250 cc are rare for good reason

If you go to Seattle plastic surgeons on RealSelf and look at patient reviews you can see a patient's photos who is early postop from 200 cc subpectoral implants. I am sure as an athletic person she is initially very relieved not to be too big but I can almost guarantee you that in a year she will feel too small and will dislike the wide gap she is going to have between her two implants. So the reason for rarely using these little implants is that they are not wide enough for most... more

Smaller breast implants vs larger breast implants

Most of the implants we use are in the 210 cc to 360 cc range, so 225 cc is definitely not outlandish. We even occasionally use a 150 cc or 180 cc implant, especially in patients with asymmetries. Every patient is different, and every chest diameter, breast diameter, lower pole, amount of droopiness, size need, etc. are also different. Rather than place very large sizes which require more removal of the chest muscle from the sternum (causing motion artifact), we are much more likely now to... more

Of course we use implants smaller than 250cc!

Where did you get the notion that we don't use implants smaller than 250? I use implants in the 150-225cc range nearly every week! Breast size is distributed across a bell-shaped curve. Most women need implants in the 225-300cc range - if the surgeon is sizing based upon what is appropriate in size for the patients tissues. If a surgeon sizes according to capricious wishes of a patient, then much larger sizes are frequently used. I don't know why the 80 or 100cc implants are made...at that... more

Small breast augmentation

The size of the implant should be selected in general by the patient. You are the one who is going to wear them for next 10 years or so! If you are a very small framed person and simply want a small augmentation then an implant under 250 is the right one for you. It all depends on where you want the surgery to take things. We often use these smaller implants to match the opposite breast if it is a unilateral surgery as well. The reason most don't use implants that are less than 250 is... more

Why Don't Surgeons Use Breast Implants Less Than 250cc

Our judgment is dervied from extensive experience with patients who generally desire larger implants. Having siad that if a patient requests a 150 cc implant augmentation or needs one for asymmetry correction, I have used it with satisfactory results.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

32 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Small Breast Implants

Using breast implants less than 250 cc's

Plastic Surgeons use implants of different projections and sizes. It all depends on the goals of the patient, and what can be done anatomically. During the consultation with the board certified plastic surgeon, this should all be discussed. Good idea to bring photos of what you want. Together you can formulate a plan to pursue your goal.

Smaller breast implants not as popular

It is true that I put in more implants that are larger than 250cc than those that are smaller. It isn't that I don't want to use smaller implants (they are much easier to put in) but women choose the smaller sizes less often. When they do choose smaller sizes, plastic surgeons worry that they may be dissatisfied with their choice, 7 of 8 women who are unhappy with their implant size wish they had chosen a larger size. Communication with your plastic surgeon is... more

Small Breast Implants

Hi, Thank you for your question. This is not necessarily true. I use a wide range of implant sizes in my practice, including sizes smaller than 250cc. It all depends on the patient. Every patient is different. They have different chest diameters, droopiness, nipple postion, symmetry, skin laxity, etc. It all depends on those factors, expectations of the patient, and reality of results. Most women are between a 250-350cc range and most go from an A cup to a C cup. This general rule does... more

Plastic surgeons use ALL Breast Implant volumes

As Plastic surgeons in the search of the breast possible and look possible, we match the woman's anatomy and her breast size wishes. As such we use nearly ALL breast implants. Although the smaller sizes are NOT used as frequently as the 275 - 300cc implants, they are used whenever indicated. Dr. P. Aldea

Why not use tiny Breast Implants

The choice of implant size in my practice is dependent on the chest wall size, other physical characteristics of the chest, and the desires of the patient. Basically, implants less than 200 cc's would be used in a very tiny patient (as a guess, ~ 26' band size?). The most common bra size in my practice is is 34, so very little need for such a small implant -- it won't look good or do the job. And yes it is true that we like things bigger here in Texas, but, when it comes to implants, we... more

Small Breast Implants

The size of the breast implant is directly related to the base width of the breast. This is the distance measured from the lateral breast boarder at the anterior axillary fold to the medial breast edge at the sternum. Generally speaking any implant that is less then about 2cm less then the breast base width will not support the breast appropriately and will cause gross deformity. Most breast base widths for augmentation run in the 11-15cm area. Therefore, the base width of say a 100cc... more

Small breast implants

Breast inplants do come in many shapes and sizes. The volume berlow 150 cc's is not commonly used. Most patients that come in for breast augmentation will often want a cups size or greater increase. 150cc's or lower will not achieve this goal.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

When are breast implants too small

You are correct that the average implant size is above 250 cc, but it is not at all rare to go smaller. There are a couple of reasons why you may have the impression that 250 is the smallest that is used. Part of it is that experience generally shows that women who choose very small implants are more likely to wish they had gone larger after some time (there is a whole different set of reasons why going too large is a bad idea). For most women, an implant smaller than 200 cc is a fairly... more

Breast implants smaller than 250cc are used all the time

When reviewing questions on RealSelf and other plastic surgery sites, we frequently see questions such as; will 450cc high profile implants be right for me. Breast implants come in such a large range of shapes and sizes because women come in all shapes and sizes. Certainly there is an average, say about 300-350cc for a 'typical' breast augmentation, however it is a fact that in any given week we use quite a range of implants depending on a particular breast and chest size, and the... more

Small breast implants

I guess they like them big in Texas. But in reality, the surgeon should use whatever fits the patient's anatomy and goals. Surgeons tend to upsize implants because statistics show that women more often wished they went larger. However, I think this can be dangerous in that women with implants that are too large tend to be more unhappy than women with implants that are too small. In the end, it behooves both the surgeon and the patient to have an in-depth conversation about what the goals and... more

Robin T.W. Yuan, MD

4 reviews

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Smaller breast implants

Hi Star 24, Surgeons will generally use a size implant that will achieve your goals AND fits the size of your body. I often use smaller implants, especially for very slender women who want a modest increase in breast size. Models and yoga instructors are in this category. When looking at websites, talking to other patients, it may seem that only larger sizes are used but this is not the case. If you have spoken with a physician who recommends a size larger than you want, keep looking for... more

Average female breasts need at least 250 cc implants

Because a more average female breast needs at least 250 cc's to change a cup size. The other sizes are more for very very petite females. The worst thing is if you received a 100 cc implant and paid for the operation, than you realize the sizing is TOO small. Another operation with additional fees. Go see 3 boarded plastic surgeons. BTW, a newer technology is Fat Transfer Breast Enhancement. Using up to 200 cc's of fat from sterile liposuction injected into the deep breast tissue and... more

Small implants for breast augmentation are not too common

It is true that the implant companies make implants as small as 100cc. However, it is very uncommon for surgeons to use such small breast implants in average breast augmentations. This is mainly because that small of a size increase from a 80 - 100 cc implant may be difficult to appreciate the change from the pre-operative breast. Many of my patients want to have noticeable change in the appearance of their breasts if they are undergoing the expense and risk of introducing a foreign body... more

Small implants

We do use small implants; however, if you ask what our most common complaint is after surgery it is "I wish I were bigger". Most patients want larger implants -- but if you want small, you can get it.