Are there any alternatives to breast implants?

There are no natural "remedies" that I know of. 

There is only one non-invasive way to possible enlarge the breasts by about 150cc's. This is using the Brava system, which is basically a suction cup device that is placed on the chest to recruit adjoining skin ans tissue. 

This requires several hours of wearing each night for many weeks.  To put it in perspective, most patients I treat want an average of 250-500 cc implants in each breast.

There are many pills, devices, and creams available that all claim to increase your breast volume. There are no controlled studies showing that any of these products work.

There is one product called the Brava System that has shown a VERY modest increase in breast volume. It involves wearing a suction apparatus on your breasts 8 to 10 hours a day WITHOUT INTERRUPTION for 6 weeks at least. It is large and cumbersome, and impossible to hide under your clothes. We tried them in my practice when they first came out and not any of the patients could tolerate the vigorous daily regimen. It essentially relegates you to not leaving your house except for work for 6 weeks.

The pills and creams are snake oil at its finest, and likely not good for you at all.

There are three main alternatives to breast augmentation using implants:

1. Pills and creams. There are a large number of hormonal and homeopathic pills and creams that promise breast enhancement, but little existing proof of their effectiveness.
2. The Brava breast enhancement system. Brava is a noninvasive treatment that involves wearing a special brassiere-type device for at least ten hours a day for ten weeks or more. Studies have shown a modest increase in bust size (about 1 cup size) after ten weeks of use, but how long the bust remains enlarged after treatment is stopped remains unclear.
3. Breast enlargement via fat transfer. Fat transfer has been used recently with some success in reconstructing defects in breast cancer patients. There are, however, a number of questions that need to be studied before it gains widespread acceptance for cosmetic breast enhancement. For example, will the injected fat make breast cancer more difficult to detect?

In summary, breast augmentation using implants is currently the best method for achieving breast augmentation. Implants may not be perfect, but because we have a long history of using them, we know what their benefits and complications are.

There have been a number of creams, both hormonal and homeopathic, that promise breast enlargement without verifiable results. The Brava system has been used as well, but has been inconsistent.

Fat injections seem to be gaining popularity, as many plastic surgeons have used fat injections to help breast reconstruction patients with minor, and major, defects of the breast. There are surgeons who take four to seven hours to do one round of fat augmentation, that can usually only increase the breast size by about one half to one cup size (about 150cc). This can cost usually about 20K for this one cup size, and then frequently has to be repeated if it isn't large enough for the patient's wishes.

There are many unknowns currently, such as whether this will hide any cancer, or cause long term effects that may mask cancer by causing calcium deposits. This can be very dangerous if the physician just squirts fat into the breast and doesn't really do fat grafting, as it can lead to lumps in the breast of fat necrosis, and scar.

There is much more that we need to do to study this to make sure that we are doing the best thing for our paitents in the long run and are not harming them long term.

Implants currently are our best means of breast augmentation, as imperfect as they may be, because we have been doing them for almost 50 years, and know the types of complications and benefits that come with the implants.

Not really. Pills, lotions and potions don't work and actually maybe dangerous. Some of them maybe based on hormonal products and therefore can really affect your health.  Moreover, if there are ANY effects, these are only temporary.

I tried, a few years ago, the BRAVA system but it really did not rise to the promise and we abandoned this idea. Fat injections can potentially cover breast cancer changes.

Surgical breast augmentation remains the only reliable and safe way to predictably increase the size of the breast. Safety and satisfaction is reflected in the numbers. It is the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery (this is true for my practice as well).

The main alternatives to breast augmentation include:

• Bra padding
• BRAVA external breast augmentation system 
• Fat injections to the breast

The BRAVA system was invented by a plastic surgeon, Dr. Roger Khouri. The BRAVA uses an external suction device that looks like a large bra to create engorgement in the breast tissue and new breast tissue growth. This device has to be used for several weeks to months for at least 12 hours a day. Results that I have seen presented were mild at best and the longevity of the result was questioned.

More recently, fat injections to the breasts have become a hot topic in plastic surgery. Dr. Khouri has presented at several meetings in plastic surgery his use of fat injections to the breasts after they have been prepped for several weeks ahead of time with the BRAVA system.

Additionally, around the country there are centers conducting research concerning the safety of fat injections to the breast for cosmetic surgery, including theoretical risk of increased breast cancer, impaired mammogram and fat necrosis (death of the injected fat cells).

At this point, I would only recommend fat injections to the breast for cosmetic augmentation if it is done as part of a clinical research protocol at one of the major centers in America, to minimize your risks.

The only device on the market to nonsurgically enhance breasts is the BRAVA system. This has been shown in clinical trials to increase breast size by an average of 150cc or 1/2 to 1 cup size. The long term results are not yet known.

The device is not meant to replace implants since it only gives a small increase in size but may work for women who are looking for a small increase in volume or for women who have had some deflation of their breasts after pregnancy/breastfeeding and are looking to return to their previous breast size.

For a larger increase in size and more predictable results, breast implants remain the only option.

None proven to be effective at this time.

While there are a number of alternative methods for augmenting the size of your breasts, none are truly as effective as the use of a breast implant. Fat injections have been used for years to plump up facial lines and wrinkles and shape facial contour but have never really caught on for breast enhancement. The problem is that fat is relatively unreliable in how long it lasts. In addition, the amount of fat required to effectively increase your cup size is dramatic. The BRAVA device has also been promoted as an effective breast enhancer but its results are also disappointing and often temporary.