Can 450cc Breast Implants Look Natural? Will They Affect My Running?

Thank you for your question. You definitely want to follow your own surgeon's post-op activity instructions. This is a general guide I give to my patients:
1) No heavy lifting or strenuous activity for 6 weeks.
2) Resume walking at a leisurely pace right after surgery (e.g. 2 mph)
3) At 2 weeks, you can walk 2 miles at 2mph
4) At 3 weeks, you can walk 3 miles at 3mph
5) At 4 weeks, you can walk 4 miles at 4mph
6) At 5 weeks, you can jog 5 miles at 5mph
7) At 6 weeks, you can resume all activities, but listen to your body and use discomfort or tightness as a guide so you don't over do it.With respect to size and working out, you will feel more heaviness in the chest.  I would make sure that have a comfortable and supportive workout bra.  I would also discuss this with your plastic surgeon.

With a good support bra, the implants should not be affected by working out or running after 6-8 weeks.  Unfortunately, there is not a general rule of thumb or objective criteria to implant selection.

Your plastic surgeon will perform several measurements of your chest wall and breast anatomy and determine a range of implants that both fit your chest wall and reach your desired goals.

The next step is to try on this range of implants in the office with your doctor.   The key to this success is showing your surgeon the body proportion you desire with a bra sizer and allowing your surgeon to guide you to the right implant.   It will be much easier to communicate in implant cc's than cup size when determining the appropriate implant for you.

I wish you a safe recovery and fantastic result.

Dr. Gill

450 cc's are fairly large implants but it does not mean that they won't look great.  I couldn't tell you without an exam. If you are pretty active and do not want to be too large, you may be better off with smaller implants.

Your concern is understandable, however many factors should be taken into consideration by your plastic surgeon and you. Laxity of the skin and breast tissue will be important in obtaining "natural' looking breast. The base  width will also tell the surgeon what sizes are possible. The most important maneuver is for the surgeon to show you on your pictures (Computer Generated Imaging) what different sized implants look like on /in your body. I especially find that  the photos that include the upper torso and sometimes the hips can let you see what kind of balance or proportion you will be achieving with the proposed size.

As far as running, you will need a great running bra. I often recommend that may patients double up on the sports bra when running.

Choosing a breast implant size should be done by both you, the patient, and your surgeon, together.  The way I help my patients choose an appropriate size is to provide them with a stretch bra, and then have the patient try on a variety of sized implants in the bra.  I will make suggestions as to what I think would be best, and then ultimately allow the patient to choose the size that she would be most comfortable with.  Since I practice in South Florida, the aesthetic here seems to be a bit larger than other parts of the US.  Therefore it is not unusual for a woman who is 5'10" with broad shoulders to select a 450 cc implant. However, larger implants such as this will be prone to more complications due to weight, and may ultimately cause the breast to sag more.  Also, it will most definitely affect your running, as the weight of the implants will alter the biomechanics of your core and posture.