My doctor wants me to have 350 cc, but I want 450 cc. Am I allowed to refuse his recommendation and get the size I want?

Breast augmentation is an elective surgery. You as the patient have the ability to choose the surgeon that you want to perform your procedure and can choose the implant size that you want. But the surgeon also has the ability to decide if you are a good candidate for surgery and if he feels comfortable using the type of implants that you prefer. If you have a surgery, your result is somewhat a reflection on your surgeon's decision making and surgical skill. If you want to have a implant size that is likely to result in problems or dissatisfaction, it is not in your surgeon's best interest to follow through with the procedure. In the end, you need to find a surgeon with whom you feel comfortable and who you feel will be able to provide you with the service that you wish to have.  

If you're not happy with your plastic surgeon and his recommendations, you should seek out a second opinion.

There are many factors that come into play when a plastic surgery chooses a breast implant size for their patient.  The chest wall diameter is one of the most important considerations, as well as the patients desired outcome.  It is a good idea to get several opinions on an implant size that best suits your anatomy. 

As the patient, you have all right to refuse what your surgeon recommends, however please note that the surgeon also has the same right to refuse what the patient requests, and this is based on their medical expertise. Your surgeon probably thinks that your result will not be satisfying for you and perhaps even cause undue problems, such as a longer recovery rate. If you do not like what your surgeon is saying, then you have the option of going with one of the other surgeons who said it was okay. Best of luck. 

My doctor wants me to have 350 cc, but I want 450 cc. Am I allowed to refuse his recommendation and get the size I want?This is difficult to answer without seeing the photos or examining you in person.Here are some general suggestions:1. focus on choosing your plastic surgeon wisely, ask questions and tell him/her about your goals and desires.2. Make sure you have a good communication with him/her.3. use in office tools such as implant in bras, try them and computer imaging can also be helpful.Best wishesDr Sajjadian

Hello!  Thank you for your question!  You should certainly discuss your concerns and desires with your surgeon.  With an elective aesthetic procedure such as a breast augmentation, or any procedure for that matter, a trust and understanding is certainly required from both parties. Your surgeon should also serve to inform you of the risks and benefits of the procedure as well as help YOU to decide which is the right decision for YOU after discussion of everything that s/he can offer. It is your decision to decide who you will enter that agreement with, and vice versa. If you do not feel comfortable, consult with others and choose the one you feel most comfortable with who will meet your expectations.  Hope that this helps!  Best wishes!

If you want to have implants larger than your body can accommodate, have frequent revisional surgeries and appear unnatural, that's certainly your right.However something with the doctor must have resonated with you for you to choose him over others who wanted to place a larger implant.When significant doubts arise before an elective cosmetic surgery, it's best to postpone the surgery until you decide what you really want, and take the time to understand the doctor's concerns about going with a larger size.  It possible that the doctor may actually have a pretty good reason for his recommendation.

There are often clinical reasons why one size implant may be a better choice than another. Without evaluating you in person it is not possible to recommend a size. But your surgeon has examined you and feels that 450cc is too large. That may or may not be an appropriate recommendation, but his or her concerns should be explained in a way that makes sense to you. The long and short of it is that you have to trust your surgeon and understand why he or she might be making a certain recommendation. If you still don't agree, don't have surgery with that surgeon.  It is probably not a good idea to try to get something from your surgeon that he or she does not believe is in your best interest.

There are already a lot of great answers here but I am going to put in my 2 cents worth.  Usually the only way you can refuse a surgeons recommendation is to find another surgeon.  I have to wonder why you have scheduled surgery with the one surgeon who does not want to give you what you want.  I am going to guess that it is either because he has a great reputation or is charging a lot less than the other surgeons.  There are several reasons that your surgeon may be recommending a smaller implant.  The first, and in my opinion, the most important is that your breast dimensions will not allow a larger implant without dissecting a pocket beyond the actual breast.  This is why the other doctors have said the larger the implant the more the problems.  Many of the revision procedures I do are the result of implants that were simply too big to fit the patients anatomy.  The next reason would be that your tissues are simply too tight to accommodate a larger implant.  If the surgeon jams an oversized implant under the muscle it is actually possible to deform the ribcage over time.  If you have very little space between your breasts then it is possible to cause the skin over your breast bone to tent up creating a "uniboob" that can be very difficult to fix. The last reason would be that some surgeons simply don't like to put in implants over a certain size no matter what.  That doesn't seem to be the case based on what your surgeon told you.  I do exactly what Dr Chasan does in this situation in that once we determine the largest implant that will fit the patients dimensions I will go to the operating room with the plan being to put in the largest implant that works using sizers with the understanding that the patient may wake up with a much smaller implant than she wanted.  It is always going to be easier and less costly to go back later and put in a bigger implant once your tissues have stretched out than it would be to repair any of the many problems caused by implants that were too large.  You should be htankful that you have a surgeon who seems to want to protect you from yourself and not one who is willing to give you what you want just to get your money. If you still have doubts then you need to do what the other doctors have recommended and postpone your surgery.  If you plan to go through with it I hope that my answer has made you more comfortable with what your surgeon has recommended.

This is not something you should be concerned about the day prior to your surgery. The size, type, profile etc of your implant should have been discussed way ahead. There is a reason why your surgeon decided on this size for you. The decision of what size is done mutually. The patient may desire a certain size but her anatomy will not be able to accommodate that size implant without compromising the overall aesthetic results.The point being is that you really have to question your relationship to the surgeon if at this late stage you are still debating the size. I wish you the best and good luck.