How Much Smaller Will my Breasts Get Once Swelling Goes Down? Im Worried I Went Too Big?

Thank you for your question.It can take quite a while for patients to see what we as surgeons see in the operating room.  Implants, especially when placed below the muscle, tend to look a little 'high, hard and ugly' immediately after surgery and can take 3-4 months until they have settled and are in the proper position within the breast pocket.  It takes some time for implants to settle because the muscle and skin/tissue has to stretch to accommodate this additional volume that the implant has brought to the breast.  For these reasons I would caution you from judging your results only a few weeks out from surgery.  As your body stretches to adapt to your new implants, everything should settle into place and  you will find that it is during this period that your breasts appearance will continue to change and evolve.  Things always look a little 'odd' immediately following a breast augmentation, but most patients are ultimately happy with the size chosen once they have fully healed and the implants have had time to settle (if anything, patients will wish that they would have gone a little bigger!).  I would recommend following up with your operating surgeon to discuss your concerns and to have your progress evaluated thus far.  Breast massages can help to facilitate the settling process and softening of your implants, and this is something I would encourage that you discuss with your operating surgeon if you have not done so already.  I hope you find this helpful and I wish you the best of luck on your recovery.

Two things happen and seem paradoxical. As as the swelling goes down there will be some shrinkage but at the same time as the muscle relaxes your breast projection grows. In general the breast shape and size proportionality improves..Breast implants initially after surgery when placed in a submuscular position often give superior fullness that corrects itself with time, the "fluff and drop" phenomena. In reality the pectoralis major muscle takes a while to adjust its size to accommodate the implant as well as occasional muscle spasm which keeps the implant projection higher than its final resting shape. Additional variables include:laxity of skin, size difference during prior pregnancies, position of implant,size of muscle, and size of implant.As the muscle relaxes the projection of the implant often increases and the breast shape improves. Massage and use of a superior placed elastic strap can often make this process go faster.

Thank you for your question. During the post-operative period the breast are swollen, and the breast implants appear in a much higher position. Over time they descend and fills out the lower half of the breast. It may take several months for this to happen and can be encouraged with breast massage and compression. After the swelling goes down the breasts will appear smaller.  However, as the implants settle, it may appear that the breast enlarges as the lower aspect of the breast fills out (at the expense of the upper portion of the breast).