Help! - 'Small' implants (180 and 220cc under muscle, round textured, moderate profile) but they look so big! (Photo)

Hello, it is common for breasts to be swollen and for implants to be sitting high for some time after surgery.  They usually drop and soften significantly after several months.  It is important to be patient and continue to have ongoing assessments by your surgeon to ensure you are healing normally.

I appreciate your question.



Right now, you are very early on in the
post op recovery period. It will take 3-6 months for you to feel comfortable
having implants in your body and for them to settle. This time allows for you
to physically and psychologically adapt to your new body image. There are many
variables that contribute to a breast augmentation's final result. Preop size
and shape, IMF location, location of the implants and type of implant. Patients
heal at different rates and each breast will sometimes heal at a different
rate. Rest, relax, recover and heal. Express your concerns to your surgeon so
he/she can examine you. Then reassess final result at 6 months.



The best way to assess and give true
advice would be an in-person exam.

Please see a board-certified plastic
surgeon that specializes in aesthetic and restorative breast surgery.



Best of luck!Dr. Schwartz

Hello, there will be swelling at 4 days out and the implants will be high. This will improve. In a few months you will likely be very happy. Most patients report similar feelings directly after implant surgery. They are shocked by the volume and cleavage but as the swelling goes down over the next several weeks and the implants lower, you will likely be very pleased. Just give it time. 

Since you are ONLY 4 days out from your breast augmentation, it is way too early to worry about size.I predict that in several months you will be very happy with your new breast shape and size.At 4 days out it is expected that you will have a lot of swelling and your implants will ride high.Over the next few months your implants will slowly stretch out your lower breast skin (inferior pole), the implants will settle into place and the swelling will dissipate. In this day and age, we always expect to see immediate and gratifying results, but with breast implants it usually takes a few months until everything looks more natural and beautiful. Hang in there!Thanks for sharing!

You are well on your way to having beautiful breasts.  It is normal for you to feel that they are too big at this stage as the implants are sitting high.  This will all improve as the implants settle during the next 3-6 months.  You will see a significant change during the first few weeks so please do not be alarmed.Best Wishes,Nana mizuguchi

Your implants are not enormous by any standard, neither they look so, to be completely honest. You are just at that very delicate postoperative stage when it is very easy to get concerned about the result. I remember one particular patient of mine that for her first postoperative week called every day worried that her implants were too big, and then called every day of the second week because she became concerned they were too small. Eventually she was very happy with the final size, but it took a couple of months to get there. I am sure that everything, with a bit of support from your surgeon during this particular time, will be fine.

 I'm sorry to hear about the concerns you have after your procedure.
You should be aware that a significant percentage of patients at your stage of recovery will feel that they are too big or (more commonly) too small.I routinely ask my patients to wait at least 3-6 months before evaluating the end results of the breast augmentation surgery. This waiting time allows patients to (usually) physically and psychologically adapt to the new body image.
There are both physiological and “psychological” reasons to wait on having revisionary surgery. From the physiological standpoint, it takes many months ( and even up to one year) to see the final results of surgery. factors such as swelling, tissue contraction, skin redraping, implant shifting etc. come into play.
From the psychological standpoint, patients undergo an “adaptation period" during which time they get used to the changes that the surgical procedure has brought about. Severe emotional swings can also occur after any type of surgical procedure.
Obviously, it is best for patients not to be making important decisions ( for example about the results of surgery and/or the need for additional surgery) while they are experiencing these emotional “ups and downs”.
In your case, I would suggest continued patience. Continue to follow-up with your plastic surgeon.
Best wishes.

Inflammation and swelling is typically at its maximum 48hrs after surgery.  Don't be too alarmed at this stage as the swelling has only begun to subside and your implants have not nearly begun dropping from their initially high sub muscular position.  I typically use tensor wraps for my patients to help reduce swelling in the immediate post op period and allow my patients to start ibuprofen 48hrs after surgery.  Significant swelling typically subsizes around the 2 week mark but generally hasn't completely disappeared allowing for final new bra fitting until 6 weeks.   The implants after that will continue to drop with relaxation of the tissues into a more natural shape after that over the next 6-8 months.  Warm regards,Dr Quinton Chivers MD FRCSCPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery

You have a normal post operative look. You have more upper pole fullness right now which is normal at this stage. Over the next couple of months your breast will soften and settle. You are going to have an amazing result.