How Can I Guarantee a C Cup After Breast Lift With Augmentation?

First of all, a "C" cup image is not the same as bra manufacturers label them differently and women have different opinions. It is very difficult to determine the exact size and shape implant you will require to best match your ideal breast image without an examination by a board certified plastic surgeon. Not just any board certified plastic surgeon, but one with many years of frequently performing breast augmentation surgery including different approaches, techniques and implant choices. This is because several measurements not to mention your breast characteristics are needed to determine the optimal implant size to obtain your goals. Without knowing these dimensions it would be difficult to make this determination. For example, the existing base width of your breast will determine, in many cases, the maximal volume per implant profile that you can accommodate. To illustrate; a 100 cc difference may make a significant difference with a narrow base width breast, but much less of a difference if you have a wide chest wall and wide breast “foot print”. Therefore, just because your friend may have a great result with let’s say a 350 cc implant to make her go from a “B” cup to a “C” cup size does not mean that you will have the same result with the same size implant. . Further simply placing implants in a bra to determine the size best for you is not always accurate as the bra often distorts the size, is dependent on the pressure the bra places plus the implant is outside your breast and not under it among other variables. Computer software morphing programs that automatically determine the best implant size can be helpful in some but not all cases (e.g. doesn’t work well in my experience with existing implants, sagging or asymmetric breasts). Using “want to be” photos however are useful if simply provided to the surgeon as I will further explain in the link below.

Hi, The answer to your question is that we can NEVER guarantee a bra cup size ! We can estimate the best way to augment and lift but if you like the look, then who cares what bra cup you wear. This is the reason that I do not discuss a bra cup during a consultation. How can we look at pictures and have the first question "what is the bra cup size?". We are not shopping for a bra. We are looking at pictures and see what you like. Then you add or subtract to the implant size used in the pictures you like according to the differences in your compressed breast volume and adjust the implant size accordingly. I think you are in the right range of implant to get your desired size but NO GUARANTEES. Bras come in all types and styles. One final note: you are thinking of a 200 cc implant and your doctor is thinking of a 275 cc implant. Try to realize that 15 cc is a tablespoon and therefore the difference is 5 tablespoons !! Put that much in a saucer (you need to see it on a surface with the diameter matching the 200 cc implants...or so) and you will see that you are both in the same range. I personally think that the rice deal is okay to try to estimate at home but if your doctor pulls out a rice bag in the office, personally, I would be out of there in a flash. Doctors have different ways of pinpointing the correct implant but we need to be guided by your comments. This is the reason for showing your ps pics of cases you like...and viewing cases that the doctor did ..and come to a conclusion. Good luck with it all. The lift although it seems to make you smaller merely compacts you. For this reason, your visit needs to have your ps estimate your compressed volume to figure out how much of an implant to add to your volume to give yout the visual desired look.

How to get the right size;

1- No guarantees can ever be made.

2-Lifts lose volume - the more sag, the more volume lost.

3-Implants typically increase cup size by 1 cup for every 200 cc's of volume.

4-Implant dimensions are about as important as the volume.

5- Rice test is a great way to determine your desired size. Warning: add 10% voume after coming to a size.

You are to be applauded for both your weight loss as well as choosing a breast cup size that is appropriate for your appearance. Because of your recent wight loss, your tissues are more likely to be loose, thus making a preoperative exact breast implant choice a difficult one. While your surgeon can't guarantee you a particular cup size, you can work together by reviewing examples of other patients, models, etc., that allows the both of you to arrive at a common goal. The better practice, and one I believe is more successful, is to not select the implant size, but rather discuss with your surgeon the goal. Things often change in the operating room accordingly to the thickness of your breast muscle, breast gland, and the elasticity of your breast skin. Allow your surgeon some flexibility in selecting an implant range that will give you the aesthetic goal that you're striving for. 

Congratulations on your weight loss.  No one volume implant can guarantee a breast volume.  The discussion of breast shape and volume with your Plastic surgeon is critical to achieving a happy patient post op.  You might state pre op a range that you "feel" comfortable with and let your surgeon make the call on the table.  A 275 cc implant from the photos you sent would probably not overwhelm your frame.  Communication is key.  Good luck

Although no promise of final cup size can be made, it is important to communicate your size goals with your surgeon.  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 “C cup” means different things to different people and therefore prove unhelpful.
Also, as you know, cup size varies depending on who makes the bra; therefore, discussing desired cup  size may also be inaccurate.
I use  intraoperative sizers and place the patient in the upright position to evaluate breast size. The patient's goal pictures are hanging on the wall, and allow for direct comparison.
I have found that this system is very helpful in improving the chances of achieving the patient's goals as consistently as possible.
I hope this helps.

It is impossible to guarantee a certain bra size because even bra manufacturers are different.  You just need to make sure you have expressed your wishes to your surgeon.  Make sure you have looked at pictures to make sure you both are in agreement as to what a C cup is and then you need to trust your surgeon.  If you do not trust him you should pick another surgeon.  Just make sure you are seeing a physician that is Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Gary Hall, MD

No surgeon will or can "guarantee" you a cup size after breast implant surgery.  All you can do is have a very open conversation with your doctor about the look you want, be examined and try on some implant sizers and move forward.  If you put the same implant in you under the muscle that you have tried on in a garment, the result after surgery generally will be smaller than what you looked like in a garment. Most surgeons feel that there is about 200 cc's in a bra cup size I believe.