I had a breast augmentation in April 2021 with no lift. My BDW was 18cm. My implants fitted under the muscle have a diameter of 11.75 cm (475cc Motiva ultra high profile). I have bottoming out mostly in the left breast and animation deformity in both. There was a gap between my breasts before surgery which is evident now. My surgeon has said he didn’t need to use a wider implant as I have 3cm of muscle and breast tissue either side to contribute to breast width. Was this the correct approach?
February 4, 2022
Answer: Breasts You need a lift and no lift was done. Implants cannot make up for the made of a lift. Going wider with implants will not help.
Helpful
February 4, 2022
Answer: Breasts You need a lift and no lift was done. Implants cannot make up for the made of a lift. Going wider with implants will not help.
Helpful
February 4, 2022
Answer: Submuscular Breast Augmentation with Implants of Less Diameter than Anatomic Base Width Considering what was done for you, and depending on what your overall goals were going into surgery, your result is reasonable. Your preoperative photos - I am assuming the first two - demonstrate a significant breast asymmetry with ptosis (drooping) on your Left side (assuming your phone did not flip the image on "selfie" mode). In my hands, I would not have offered augmentation alone with the discussion of a concomitant versus staged mastopexy (breast lift). A common move - or mistake - that surgeons do (sometimes at the express request of the patient) is to offer breast augmentation with implants alone in the hopes of filling out a sagging breast. This can work for mild (Grade 1) ptosis but not the situation that I see with your Left breast, which arguably shows Grade 2 ptosis on the 3/4 (oblique) view photograph. You are right that the implants have exacerbated your wide cleavage that was apparent preoperatively. Your surgeon's implant choice was not unreasonable - selecting a very wide implant may have compromised on projection, whereas your surgeon selected a narrower implant which enabled a high profile (projecting) to instead account for the 475cc volume. The bottoming out on the Left is not unexpected as you had a ptotic Left breast to begin with. The animation deformity is also not unexpected, but I wonder if your implants were placed with complete muscular coverage or instead placed in a Dual Plane fashion (muscle coverage along the upper portion of the breast, and subglandular coverage along the lower portion - the extent of Dual Plane depends on the extent of breast pocket dissection). The more muscle stays intact over the implant along the lower aspect of the breast, i.e., along the inframammary fold, the greater the likelihood you would experience animation deformity postoperatively. Again, your result is not unreasonable, having undergone breast augmentation alone without a mastopexy. I would live with your current implants before considering an implant exchange and revision mastopexy at a later time in your life. Whatever you ultimately do, stick with a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon who is familiar with a variety of techniques to address your breast anatomy and current set of implants.
Helpful 3 people found this helpful
February 4, 2022
Answer: Submuscular Breast Augmentation with Implants of Less Diameter than Anatomic Base Width Considering what was done for you, and depending on what your overall goals were going into surgery, your result is reasonable. Your preoperative photos - I am assuming the first two - demonstrate a significant breast asymmetry with ptosis (drooping) on your Left side (assuming your phone did not flip the image on "selfie" mode). In my hands, I would not have offered augmentation alone with the discussion of a concomitant versus staged mastopexy (breast lift). A common move - or mistake - that surgeons do (sometimes at the express request of the patient) is to offer breast augmentation with implants alone in the hopes of filling out a sagging breast. This can work for mild (Grade 1) ptosis but not the situation that I see with your Left breast, which arguably shows Grade 2 ptosis on the 3/4 (oblique) view photograph. You are right that the implants have exacerbated your wide cleavage that was apparent preoperatively. Your surgeon's implant choice was not unreasonable - selecting a very wide implant may have compromised on projection, whereas your surgeon selected a narrower implant which enabled a high profile (projecting) to instead account for the 475cc volume. The bottoming out on the Left is not unexpected as you had a ptotic Left breast to begin with. The animation deformity is also not unexpected, but I wonder if your implants were placed with complete muscular coverage or instead placed in a Dual Plane fashion (muscle coverage along the upper portion of the breast, and subglandular coverage along the lower portion - the extent of Dual Plane depends on the extent of breast pocket dissection). The more muscle stays intact over the implant along the lower aspect of the breast, i.e., along the inframammary fold, the greater the likelihood you would experience animation deformity postoperatively. Again, your result is not unreasonable, having undergone breast augmentation alone without a mastopexy. I would live with your current implants before considering an implant exchange and revision mastopexy at a later time in your life. Whatever you ultimately do, stick with a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon who is familiar with a variety of techniques to address your breast anatomy and current set of implants.
Helpful 3 people found this helpful