Do breast get bigger after implants settle or do they get smaller because they are swollen? (photos)

Thank you for your question. During the post-operative period the breast are swollen, and the breast implants appear in a much higher position. Over time they descend and fills out the lower half of the breast. It may take several months for this to happen and can be encouraged with breast massage and compression. After the swelling goes down the breasts will appear smaller. However, as the implants settle, it may appear that the breast enlarges as the lower aspect of the breast fills out (at the expense of the upper portion of the breast).

Two things happen and seem paradoxical. As as the swelling goes down there will be some shrinkage but at the same time as the muscle relaxes your breast projection grows. In general the breast shape and size proportionality improves..Breast implants initially after surgery when placed in a submuscular position often give superior fullness that corrects itself with time, the "fluff and drop" phenomena. In reality the pectoralis major muscle takes a while to adjust its size to accommodate the implant as well as occasional muscle spasm which keeps the implant projection higher than its final resting shape. Additional variables include:laxity of skin, size difference during prior pregnancies, position of implant,size of muscle, and size of implant.As the muscle relaxes the projection of the implant often increases and the breast shape improves. Massage and use of a superior placed elastic strap can often make this process go faster.

It is unlikely that your breasts will look bigger once they have settled. The final consistent size will be apparent at about 3 months, after the swelling has gone down and the breasts have 'dropped' a little. At that point, they will most likely appear smaller and lower than they are currently, but not by a huge amount.  

Implants will unlikely appear larger when they drop, in fact they may look smaller when the swelling subsides.

I would not venture a guess as to the possible appearance after settling to a larger size. In fact I doubt it. But we will have to wait and see...