I have a small dent in my muscle on my left breast, right by my sternum. Is this normal during the healing process?

Question

I had my breasts augmented three weeks ago yesterday. Pre-op I was measuring a 32A in bra size, after breastfeeding my daughter for six months. I appeared completely "deflated" and my tissue was very thin. I have an excellent plastic surgeon, and he placed 435cc mod+ silicone implants submuscularly. I have been massaging my implants twice a day since having sutures removed, but I noticed I have a small dent on my left breast, right next to my sternum. Is this rippling & will it go away?

Jerome Edelstein, MD · Answer

Hello,Contour irregularities at the midline/sternum can be normal and usually temporarily while healing. Give your breasts at least a few months to soften and settle before evaluating results.All the best

William Andrade, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question.  Sometimes minor contour irregularities will resolve over time, but sight unseen it is not possible to tell what is causing the dent or know if it will improve.  Your surgeon will be the best source of advice.  I hope you have a nice result.

Giovanna Ghafoori, MD · Answer

Hi, Ms. Morado.  Congratulations on your surgery, and sounds like you have had a good experience outside of the small dent that you mentioned.It is not uncommon to have a dent on one breast or the other, following breast augmentation.  A not uncommon cause of indentation of the breast after augmentation is persistent constriction banding on the deep surface of your tissues or a remnant of the inframammary crease bands that may have been released in order to create the pocket for your implant.  Another not uncommon cause of indentation, especially with submuscular placement and near the sternum in the lower portion of the breast, is attachment/partial re-attachment of the cut distal pectoralis muscle edge or pulling due to incomplete muscle release.  Having thin tissues increases the risk of this type of healing problem, as well as makes any irregularity more noticeable.Generally, these indentations will improve, and often times resolve, over time, particularly with focused massage and heat.I would strongly encourage you to follow up with your surgeon to make sure that there is nothing more serious going on, and to help guide you how to best manage the indentation, so that you have a fantastic result.  Good luck!

Vasdev Rai, MD · Answer

This dent needs to be evaluated in person to be able to answer this question.  This can be caused by many different issues, some temporary, some permanent.  Seek definitive answer from your surgeon at your next visit.

Robert Brueck, MD · Answer

It could be due to some soft tissue atrophy and with time it may go away but if not perhaps your surgeon can do some fat grafting to help this out.

I have a small dent in my muscle on my left breast, right by my sternum. Is this normal during the healing process?

Answers (5)