How Easily Will my Breast Implant Move?

Question

I had BA 10 days ago. I had 375cc silicone implants placed above the muscle. They came out bigger than I expected. I am 5’3 125 lbs and a thin frame. I am wondering how easily they could move. Will jogging or heavy bouncing cause them to move, rotate, or bottom out?

Jerome Edelstein, MD · Answer

Please wait 3-4 months before assessing your results. By that time, your breasts will have adopted a more natural breast contour and you'll probably be able to move them around. More movement can be done with submammary implant placement. You should wear a good supportive bra anytime you are up and about, and this is particularly important when exercising. This is to minimize the rate of sagging.

Pablo Prichard, MD · Answer

Dear blondie,Thank you for your post. I am very protective of my patients with augmentations who are runners. I recommend that they buy the athleta underwire sports bra with the front adjustable straps. My patients really like this bra for running and find that it holds them very stable. It is cupped instead of compressing the breasts together. Some patients use an additional regular sports bra on top of this for extra security. Some like it for everyday wear in the initial post-operative period. Using a regular sports bra that just compresses the breast together rather than cups that keep their shape can cause flattening of the breasts especially in the early post operative period and wearing a bra that doesn't have enough support, especially when running or any bouncing type activity, can cause bottoming out or stretching of the breasts. I would, however, wait 6 weeks before starting running.Best wishes,Pablo Prichard, MD

Robert Stroup, Jr., MD, FACS · Answer

Once the capsule (lining of the implant pocket) has formed the implants are unlikey to move to any significant degree.  Capsule formation begins in the first week, and the capsule is well-established by 3-4 weeks.  That is why, in my practice, we begin to remove activity restrictions and start patients on an implant massage program at that point.  I do not allow high impact activities ("jogging, bouncing") for about one month from the surgery date.  And, when high impact activities begin, it is very important that you wear a good support bra.

	Though all of the above is true, occasionly we do see some shifting of breast implants.  Women at highest risk for this problem are those with thin soft tissues, very large implants, and implants placed above the muscle.  From your description, if you follow your doctor's instructions, your risk should be minimal.

Remus Repta, MD · Answer

Hello,

	Regardless of what location the breast implants are placed gravity will always want to pull them down over time. Factors that affect how much this occurs include:

	1) Strength of the breast tissue (breast with excess laxity before surgery will have less integrity).  The thinner the tissue the less strength it is likely to have.

	2) How heavy the implant is.

	3) How the breasts are supported.  ( good support, especially during impact activity will help)

	Make sure you wear support the majority of the time and especially during impact activity and you should be alright.

	All the best,

	Dr Repta

Peter E. Johnson, MD · Answer

If your breast augmentation has been well done and the implant fits the breast envelope and pocket well, breast implants seldom move. Many have a concern that without a support bra, or with exercise that the implant will drift out the side, or fall under the breast. Let your implants heal and settle in for six to eight weeks and exercise should be just fine.

	Best of luck,

	peterejohnsonmd

Mario Diana, MD · Answer

Breast implants work as breast tissue expanders as well as fillers.  By stretching the breast tissues, the implants make the breasts bigger and more round in shape.  Necessarily this process takes time.  Breast implants will make the breasts:

	
		Larger and more round
	
		Usually firmer - and heavier, causing more pull from gravity
	
		Fuller in the "upper pole", the area of the breast above the nipple


	The breast tissue will respond to the message of stretching and growing over time.  The kind of exercise that will give a patient the most trouble is running/jogging and weight lifting in the first 6 weeks but up to 3 months from surgery. 

	Exercises that cause bouncing and jarring of the breast will send a message of stretch to the lower aspect of the breast envelope and eventually cause the implant to settle lower in position than planned.

James Tang, MD · Answer

I recommend waiting three weeks before beginning normal activities following breast augmentation either subglandular or submuscular. For submuscular implants it will take up to three months for the muscles to relax enough for the implants to come down in the pockets and begin to look and feel more natural. Subglandular implants will look and feel natural much sooner. I recommend wearing a good support bra for at least two weeks after surgery and limited activity for at least the first week.

Beverly Friedlander, MD · Answer

Breast implants tend to feel rather firm and have little mobility right after surgery. In a few weeks they will feel more natural. I believe your question has to do with the pocket. Once the pocket is formed, jogging and heavy bouncing generally does not lead to bottoming out. The implants however will move as the breast tissue moves. A natural C/D cup breast will bounce around with jogging. Likewise, an augmented C/D cup will bounce around. That's why you should plan on wearing a good sports bra when participating in these activities. The breasts should feel and look natural, so take care of them as if they were natural.

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

Over time., the breasts will move around a bit differently than they do now. The tissues will stretch and accomodate better to the implants.

Peter A. Aldea, MD · Answer

Re:" had BA 10 days ago. I had 375cc silicone implants placed above the muscle. They came out bigger than I expected. I am 5&rsquo;3 125 lbs and a thin frame. I am wondering how easily they could move. Will jogging or heavy bouncing cause them to move, rotate, or bottom out?"

	As we all know the longer we live, the more gravity pulls on various parts of our bodies causing them to sag. Some parts are more prone to sagging than other parts. There are very few women who at age 40 have the breasts with the same shape and position that they had at age 20. The larger / heavier the breast, the greater the pull and the greater the sagging. The addition of volume / weight to a breast (as in growth in pregnancy or the addition of a breast implant) INCREASES gravitational pull and hastens the process of sagging.

	The breast is attached to the chest wall by many fibrous anchors called Cooper's Ligaments. They go from the breast tissue into the lining of the underlying chest muscles. In creating a pocket for the implant under the muscle, some of these ligaments are cut. In creating a pocket under the gland (over the muscle) most of them are cut thereby allowing a greater pull of the breast inferiorly.

	So - "Will jogging or heavy bouncing cause them to move, rotate, or bottom out?" - YOU BET.

	Now that you added more weight to your breasts and increased their likelihood of sagging you should protect your investment by wearing proper breast support ALL the time. You need to be fitted for a bra by a professional and wear it whenever up and especially when working out.

	Peter A Aldea, MD

How Easily Will my Breast Implant Move?

Answers (14)

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