I'm 5'1 and 118 lbs. What would you recommend; 550cc or 400cc?

Thank you for asking. This is a common issue. The best way is to determine this in person with a board certified plastic surgeon. Height and weight alone are not sufficient information to make a solid decision. Many in office simulations are possible. If needed, have a second opinion. Good luck

When trying to pick the correct implant size, it is important for you surgeon to understand how you would like to look.  Most surgeons will perform measurements at your consultation, and use sizers that you can try on with a tight sports bra or t-shirt that can simulate what the additional volume would look like in clothing.  In general, this approach, along with seeing photos of your desired look, is often more helpful than having you select an exact implant size.  Your surgeon should ultimately be able to give you a recommendation, and/or select the final implant size that will best accomplish your desired look.

Your breast augmentation consultation should have included breast measurements to determine appropriate implant sizes for your body type.  Keep in mind that larger and larger implants increase the risk of complications which can include thinning and stretching of the tissues and undesirable malpositioning.  Good luck with your decision making!  Jonathan Kramer, MD

Hello! Thank you for your question. In general, implant size does not correlate with bra cup size. The cup size itself will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer as well as who is doing the actual measurements. Thus, cup size is never a reliable indicator for your breast size. I typically encourage my patients not to communicate her desires in cup size but more on the actual look and appearance. Good communication between you and your surgeon of your expectations is warranted - choosing your surgeon wisely is the first step. Discussion of your wishes and having an honest and open dialog of your procedure is mandatory (e.g, implant type, incision, placement, lift, etc). I have found that photographs brought by the patient is helpful to get a visualization of the appearance you wish for in terms of size, shape, fullness, etc. In addition, your surgeon's pre and postoperative photographs should demonstrate a realistic goal for you. Once this has been accomplished, allow your surgeon to utilize his/her best medical judgment during the procedure to finesse the best possible result for you after preoperative biodimensional planning and fitting the right implant for your breast width. Hope me that this helps! Best wishes for a wonderful result!

I would go with the smaller size recommendation doctor. 550 is a random number that was likely just chosen without regard to your frame and tissue qualities. At your height 400 is going to be right around the maximum safe size for you. Lots of people want to go bigger than their body allows for ,and many do. This will increase your risk of complications, immediate and long term. Our tissues do not get any better as we age and a bigger implant will be a bigger tax on your tissues. The enemy of good is better.

Hi and thanks
for your answer, because the wrong breast implants for your frame will make
them look unnatural and the dissatisfaction with the final result. As a Doctor
we examined, and always recommend to the patient a size by her chest dimensions
and the type of implant to be procedure. I recommend in this case gel implants
of 400cc.

Thanks so much for your question. It ultimately comes down to your choice. It would likely be helpful if you went to a Dr who had a sizing system in their office so you could try the different implants on with your clothes. That would possibly help you to visualize how the sizes would look on you're frame.  You are fairly petite, so going larger than 400cc will look fairly large on your frame. However, if you are well informed and understand the risks associated with the larger implants than it's fine. 

Given the information provided I would probably recommend the 400cc implant. However, implant size should be based on your measurements and goals. Remember that  bigger  implants will result in thinner soft tissue coverage over the implant and likely more problems.

Breast implants of this size will likely look unnatural on your fame. They make also make you look heavy. Find a plastic surgeon who uses biodimensional planning principals to determine the appropriate size and position of breast implants for you. Also, be sure to look at many, many photos to be certain you and our plastic surgeon share the same aesthetic sensibilities. 

Hello, thank you for your question. It is nearly impossible to give you a good assessment without at least some pictures. I will tell you, that in my opinion anything more than 430 cc is big, way big. I rarely use anything bigger than 445, but it depends on a lot of variables, like the amount of skin you have (skin envelope), the quality of the skin, the breast diameter, amount of breast tissue available to cover the implant (as a big implant without enough cover is more likely to get a capsular contracture). Again, I cannot give you any recommendations on size, as measurements need to be taken, but think through about going for a too big implant. Hope to have been of some help. good luck