Will 450cc HP Silicone Gel Implants Unders Make Me into a Full C/ Small D?

At size 34 each 100 cc's of implant corresponds to 1 cup size change.  Since you are a 34 A and want to be a D, 300 cc's would be adequate.  I recommend silicone gel placed retro-pectoral since they look and feel more natural and are less likely to ripple.  I do not believe you can accommodate 450 cc under the muscle and they will extrude inferiorly and laterally and you will require revisions.  The goal of breast surgery is to achieve beautiful breasts.  Beauty is determined by skin tone, symmetry, cleavage, position on the chest wall and least of all volume.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

In general, silicone implants are much less likely to cause rippling than are saline breast implants.  Unfortunately without an exam, I cannot accurately predict your final size or your risk for rippling.  I recommend that you try on the breast implant sizes that you are considering in your surgeon's office prior to surgery so that you can make sure that this is the right size for you.  Good luck.

Thank you for your question.  This is a common question and area of angst with patients.  Yes, a 450HP silicone will generally get you to a C/D with your current chest size.  As others have stated, more important that the actual cc's of the implant is the dimension or width of the implant and how this will fit on your chest or within the "footprint" of your breast.  If the implant width is wider than your  breast width, then the implant will tend to hang over the side of your chest, where you rub your arm against the side of your breast.   This can give a very different look.  Ultimately, the size of the implant should not only be based on your goal cup size, but also on the dimensions of your breast and the "look" you are going for--whether you want a more natural look or an augmented look.

Good luck!

 

450 cc implant is a large breast implant, and you may be able to achieve your goal with a smaller implant. However, the size of the implant generally does not correlate to the frequency of rippling. The size of the implants are based on a combination of a patient's goals
and objectives and her anatomy. In order to provide a natural looking
augmentation, the surgeon needs to evaluate many factors including soft
tissue coverage, skin laxity, chest wall width, breast imprint width,
the shape of the breasts and relative level of constriction to ensure
that the breast implants are appropriate for your body. Consult in
person with 3 experienced and expert board certified plastic surgeons to
understand your objectives.

I do not think implant size with silicone will affect your chance of rippling.  In order to make an accurate size recommendation, I would need to assess your chest wall and breast mound measurements and characteristics.  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

Thank you for the question.
 As you can imagine, despite your good description of body type and goals, it is not possible to give you precise  advice online.
The best online advice I can give to ladies who are considering breast augmentation surgery is:


1. Concentrate on choosing your plastic surgeon carefully.  Concentrate on appropriate training, certification, and the ability of the plastic surgeon to achieve the results you're looking for. Ask to see lots of examples of his/her work.



2. Have a full discussion and communication regarding your desired goals  with your plastic surgeon. This communication will be critical in determining  breast implant size/type/profile will most likely help achieve your goals. 
In my practice, the use of photographs of “goal” pictures (and breasts that are too big or too small) is very helpful. I have found that the use of words such as “natural”  or “full C, small D cup” etc means different things to different people and therefore prove unhelpful.
 Also, as you know, cup size varies depending on him who makes the bra; therefore, discussing desired cup  size may also be inaccurate.



3.  Once you feel you have communicated your goals clearly,  allow your plastic surgeon to use his/her years of experience/judgment to choose the breast implant size/profile that will best meet your goals.  Again, in my practice, this decision is usually made during surgery.




I hope this helps.

Only you can decide that and you should have had the opportunity to use sizers in the vicinity of 400 cc's to give you an idea of what a 450 cc implant would do to your breast volume.  And gel implants do not guarantee no rippling.  If you want to minimize ripples, consider form stable implants but this would change your game plan and those implants don't more or shift when you lay down.  Talk to your doctor about your ripple concerns and see what advice your surgeon will have for you.

I don't think any size or type of implant will guarantee you might not be able to see some rippling or a fold in your implant is unusual positions. Get a bra you want to wear after surgery and put the implant in the bra with your breast and see how you like the weight, bulk etc. You can expect a better shape when the implant is behind your breast and your breast adds a nice shape. But this is the best way I've found for you to judge what bra you will wear after surgery. I think with a 450cc implant you will likely wear D or larger bras if you stay with 34. You might want to try some 36 bras before surgery and see how you like that look. Seeing some rippling or an occasional fold in and implant in certain positions is possible no matter the size or type of implant, or where the placement is. It's usually not a major problem and can usually be avoided by staying  away from unusual positions of your breasts. I would expect your breasts to be at least 2X as large as they are now. Best wishes with your new look.

Usually rippling happens more commonly in patients with thin soft tissue coverage over an implant. This can happen more commonly in subglandular placement and with saline.

What size implants?

Short answer: that size and style implant should give you your desired result.

Long answer: Bra sizes are confusing. More often than not, a woman is not wearing a correctly fitted bra, doesn't know her bra size, or doesn't know how a bra is fitted.

Cup size is dependent on the "number" part of the bra size... a D cup in a 34 bra is a different size from a 42 bra.

Outward projection is further determined by the "profile" of the implant. High school geometry: Height (projection) times Width (base width). A Higher Profile implant will give you a larger cup size for less volume than a Moderate Profile implant.

Furthermore, a saline implant looks bigger than a silicone implant of the same volume. That is because a saline implant is more oval (round on both top and base), while a silicone implant is flat on the base.

Some plastic surgery books have proposed the following parameters for breast augmentation:

32 bra: 100-200 ml per cup size34 bra: 150-250 ml per cup size
36 bra: 200-300 ml per cup size38 bra: 250-350 ml per cup size
Using that as a guide line you will likely be within the C cup range postoperatively.