XL breast implants: I am wanting to go to 1200/1400 from my current 800cc size.

Thank you for your questions. If opting to go that route, you will definitely need to decide which is most important for you, size or feel. You would be giving up the softness of a silicone implant for the size you want. Saline implants, in essence, would feel like a water balloon that you continue to overfill. The more you overfill it, the firmer it will get. With that being said, I perform about 3-5 overfills per month. Cost of this procedure varies and depends upon if any pocket or capsule work is required and if general or local anesthesia is performed. My overfill patients are extremely happy with their results. I wish you the best of luck!

Saline implants do feel different than silicone implants, with silicone implants feeling more like actual breast tissue. If you have a lot of your own breast tissue in addition to the implants, than the difference is less noticeable, but in the size range you are considering, they will feel obvious as implants regardless. Also, the largest sizes are 800 for implants, and for most patients this is not a reasonable size (exceptions being patients with wide breast diameter/larger frame/post-mastectomy). There are a lot of risks to placing oversized implants, and I personally choose not to do an elective procedure that puts my patients at risk for complications or problems. Therefore I would say yes, you would have to find a surgeon who feels comfortable with putting in extra large implants. Please seek a surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and as the surgeon how the complications are managed, including the cost of revision procedures.

Going up to greater than 800 cc is certainly risky for some patients depending on the amount of natural breast tissue for camouflage and the quality of the skin. Saline implants feel firmer but many patients seeking these giant augmentations don't care about the feel as much as they do getting supersized. Silicone implants greater than 800cc are generally not available except in custom situations for breast reconstruction in postmastectomy patients with wide breast diameters who need more projection (e.g., obese patient has implant reconstruction because she is a poor candidate for flap surgery). You'd need to ask the surgeon if (s)he is comfortable with larger implants and you may still not be able to go quite as large as the 1200-1400 range you are looking for as it depends on your breast measurements and tissue quality.

Generally speaking, saline breast implants will feel firmer than silicone gel breast implants.  Most of my patients seeking "extra large" outcomes do not have concerns about the firmer feel.I would encourage you to make your decisions carefully; "medical tourism" may not be the safest way to proceed. Select your plastic surgeon based on the quality/safety record. Ask to see lots of examples of his/her work and preferably communicate with some previous patients as well. Make sure you also consider factors such as follow-up and treatment of complications that may occur, even in the best of hands. Best wishes.

The largest saline implant can be overfilled to 1200cc’s but it will feel very firm and unnatural and I would not recommend going that big.  Gel implants larger then 800cc’s are not approved by the FDA because of the inherent problems being that large.  Stay safe and be evaluated by a board certified plastic surgeon here and discuss your desire for larger implants and ultimately have surgery hereDr Corbin