Breast Implants: Q&A

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Rules for Matching Breast Implant Diameter to BWD?

How closely do you try to match the diameter of the implant to measured BWD (Breast Width Diameter)? Within .5cm? 1.0cm? Do you ever go over, and if so, by how much? What other factors affect the match between Breast Implant diameter and measured BWD?

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breasts BWD diameter

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7 Doctor Answers | Asked by JKL in USA

Doctor Answers (7)
Community Comments (0)

Implant Sizing

BD is a good way to determine what implant size would work for a particular patient. I do not like to go beyond the BD of a patient. But this is not the only thing to consider. There are many other factors involved as well as surgeon judgement. It is not always as simple as a formula, but that is a good place to start. Hope that answers your question.

The implant diameter should not be bigger than the breast width.

Hi! Ideally, the implant diameter in breast augmentation should be about 1.0 centimeter less than the width of your breasts, to allow for the thickness of your tissues. This can be exceeded a little bit, if you want to be larger. But the implant diameter should not be larger than the width of your breasts, because your skin would be badly stretched.

Breast implant diameter compared to BWI

There are many factors that go into the decision making process and cannot be boiled down to a simple formula. Generally I am willing to go up to the BWD if the paitient has more than a 1.0cm skin pinch as well as a relatively modest amount of breast tissue. In exceptionally thin patients I may go no larger than 1 cm less than the BWD to minimize visibility of the implant.

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Breast implant sizing

Thank you for the question. The more breast surgery I do the more I realize that there is no correlation between the size or model (profile) of implant used and resulting cup size. This may have to do with several factors including: the amount of breast volume the patient starts with, the shape of the patient's chest wall (concave or convex), the type and model of breast implant selected (saline/silicone and low/moderate/high profile), bra manufacturer variance... more

Chest anatomy

There is no hard and steadfast rule regarding base diameted and choice of implants but it does guide me to decide how wide the implant will look on the chest.

Steven Wallach, MD

13 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

How to choose an appropriate sized breast implant

I think the diameter of the breast is a key factor in choosing an appropriate sized implant. All other measurements aid in this decision, but the main goal is to choose an implant that will "fit" in your current breast. That said, I stay as close to the breast diameter (within 0.5 cm) without going larger. Ultimately, it is the patients goals and willingess to compromise that yields the final implant size chosen.

Breast implant diameter matching with BWD depends

Hello, This usually depends upon the patient's other dimensions - height, weight, soft tissue thickness, etc All things do not easily reduce themselves to one measurement. The patient's desires regarding implant position can also come into the decision. Does she want fullness at the sides? Some do and others do not.

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