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Why Do Someone Women Have Large Gaps After Breast Implants?

Doctor Answers 25

Breast augmentation and the space between the breasts

February 1st, 2010
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Breast augmentation is enhancement of the natural appearance and shape of the breast. The variation in chest shape, breast shape and size, can be considerable and you can begin to appreciate the differences after viewing many breast augmentation results on the web.

Some chests are broad, and some breasts will have a wider distance between the nipples with less cleavage. In order for augmentation to appear natural, the implant must fit and contour the natural breast, hand in glove if you will.

The implant should be centered on the nipple, and contour well with the diameter and fold of the breast. This may mean that the breast is still more widely spaced that 'ideal' though again the implant must work with and not against the natural breast. Chest and breast shape do influence the breast implant selected.

For example is the implant base is too narrow as in a high profile implant, the gap or separation between the breasts will become accentuated. The placement of the implant can also be affected, say in a wider chest, an under the chest muscle approach may also push the implant to the side and emphasise the separation.

There are limits as each is unique, though a careful consideration of your unique shape can help you plan for the best result possible.

Best of luck.

Peter E. Johnson, MD
February 1st, 2010

Breast augmentation and the space between the breasts

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

Breast augmentation is enhancement of the natural appearance and shape of the breast. The variation in chest shape, breast shape and size, can be considerable and you can begin to appreciate the differences after viewing many breast augmentation results on the web.

Some chests are broad, and some breasts will have a wider distance between the nipples with less cleavage. In order for augmentation to appear natural, the implant must fit and contour the natural breast, hand in glove if you will.

The implant should be centered on the nipple, and contour well with the diameter and fold of the breast. This may mean that the breast is still more widely spaced that 'ideal' though again the implant must work with and not against the natural breast. Chest and breast shape do influence the breast implant selected.

For example is the implant base is too narrow as in a high profile implant, the gap or separation between the breasts will become accentuated. The placement of the implant can also be affected, say in a wider chest, an under the chest muscle approach may also push the implant to the side and emphasise the separation.

There are limits as each is unique, though a careful consideration of your unique shape can help you plan for the best result possible.

Best of luck.

Peter E. Johnson, MD

Factors influencing cleavage

February 9th, 2010
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There isn't clear consensus on what constitutes great "cleavage" or a close distance between the breast mounds, however most of my patients neither want "butt boobs" or the "grand canyon". To a certain extent, a woman's anatomy, including the width of the breast bone, the shape of the chest wall and the "lie" of the nipples all contribute. An experienced surgeon can guide the choice of implant style and volume, preop and also use excellent intraoperative technique to optimize results. Be direct with your consultant. Review their photos and franky ask them how large your gap may be. Good luck.

Lavinia K. Chong, MD

Lavinia K. Chong, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon
4.8 out of 5 stars 58 reviews

February 9th, 2010

Factors influencing cleavage

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

There isn't clear consensus on what constitutes great "cleavage" or a close distance between the breast mounds, however most of my patients neither want "butt boobs" or the "grand canyon". To a certain extent, a woman's anatomy, including the width of the breast bone, the shape of the chest wall and the "lie" of the nipples all contribute. An experienced surgeon can guide the choice of implant style and volume, preop and also use excellent intraoperative technique to optimize results. Be direct with your consultant. Review their photos and franky ask them how large your gap may be. Good luck.

Lavinia K. Chong, MD

Lavinia K. Chong, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon
4.8 out of 5 stars 58 reviews

Why Do Someone Women Have Large Gaps After Breast Implants?

February 17th, 2011
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Why Do Someone Women Have Large Gaps After Breast Implants? Some reasons listed below:

  1. widely spaced breast mounds
  2. widely spaced nipples
  3. small diameter breast implants relative to breast diameter
  4. pectus carinatum
  5. incomplete pectoralis release
  6. pectoralis strengthening/exercises
  7. excessive lateral pocket dissection.
  8. ,,,,,

Web reference: http://www.bodysculptor.com/breast-surgery-chicago/breast-enlargement/

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
February 17th, 2011

Why Do Someone Women Have Large Gaps After Breast Implants?

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

Why Do Someone Women Have Large Gaps After Breast Implants? Some reasons listed below:

  1. widely spaced breast mounds
  2. widely spaced nipples
  3. small diameter breast implants relative to breast diameter
  4. pectus carinatum
  5. incomplete pectoralis release
  6. pectoralis strengthening/exercises
  7. excessive lateral pocket dissection.
  8. ,,,,,

Learn more: http://www.bodysculptor.com/breast-surgery-chicago/breast-enlargement/

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

Breast Cleavage After Breast Augmentation

February 2nd, 2010
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This is a great question because a lot of women don't understand why they don't have cleavage after breast augmentation. The answer is that all women have an anatomically set medial boarder of the breasts or area over the breast bone. So on some women this boarder can be very close together and therefore after augmentation they have good cleavage.

However, on other women this distance can be quite wide, 3-4 cm. So after surgery this distance is still there and the only thing that will create cleavage is an excellent bra.

This distance cannot be decreased. Violation of the medial breast boarders can result in a "mono breast" or more properly "symmastia." This is a VERY difficult problem to fix and therefore preventing it from happening in the first place is of the utmost importance.

Christopher L. Hess, MD
February 2nd, 2010

Breast Cleavage After Breast Augmentation

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

This is a great question because a lot of women don't understand why they don't have cleavage after breast augmentation. The answer is that all women have an anatomically set medial boarder of the breasts or area over the breast bone. So on some women this boarder can be very close together and therefore after augmentation they have good cleavage.

However, on other women this distance can be quite wide, 3-4 cm. So after surgery this distance is still there and the only thing that will create cleavage is an excellent bra.

This distance cannot be decreased. Violation of the medial breast boarders can result in a "mono breast" or more properly "symmastia." This is a VERY difficult problem to fix and therefore preventing it from happening in the first place is of the utmost importance.

Christopher L. Hess, MD

Women just HATE gaps between their breasts!

February 1st, 2010
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Almost every patient says to me that they don't want the wide gap between their breasts. Rarely, if ever, is the problem due to the surgeon simply placing the implants too wide.

It is almost invariably due to some combination of : a prominent breast bone that somewhat sticks forward, a rib cage that is angled in such a way that the breasts point out to the sides rather than straight ahead, and very little fat overlying the breast bone.

The biggest mistake surgeons and patients make is thinking that a larger implant will help the situation. In fact, the opposite is usually true. A breast implant will never sit atop the breast bone; an implant does not in and of itself create cleavage where there is no natural soft tissue. So when going ever larger, it just makes the breasts seem disproportionately large relative to the gap, which emphasizest he gap. The best thing to do if a patient has this sort of configuration is to avoid overly augmenting the breasts, so that the widish gap does not look odd relative to very large breasts.

The surgeon evaluating you should be able to tell you whether you are or are not at risk for having this type of appearance.

Hope that helps.

Web reference: http://www.drteitelbaum.com

Steven Teitelbaum, MD
February 1st, 2010

Women just HATE gaps between their breasts!

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

Almost every patient says to me that they don't want the wide gap between their breasts. Rarely, if ever, is the problem due to the surgeon simply placing the implants too wide.

It is almost invariably due to some combination of : a prominent breast bone that somewhat sticks forward, a rib cage that is angled in such a way that the breasts point out to the sides rather than straight ahead, and very little fat overlying the breast bone.

The biggest mistake surgeons and patients make is thinking that a larger implant will help the situation. In fact, the opposite is usually true. A breast implant will never sit atop the breast bone; an implant does not in and of itself create cleavage where there is no natural soft tissue. So when going ever larger, it just makes the breasts seem disproportionately large relative to the gap, which emphasizest he gap. The best thing to do if a patient has this sort of configuration is to avoid overly augmenting the breasts, so that the widish gap does not look odd relative to very large breasts.

The surgeon evaluating you should be able to tell you whether you are or are not at risk for having this type of appearance.

Hope that helps.

Learn more: http://www.drteitelbaum.com

Steven Teitelbaum, MD

Breast implants. No one wants the big gap in between.

August 21st, 2010
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There is a dynamic interaction between hard tissues, (chest wall, sternum, etc), soft tissues, (the breast tissue), and the implants themselves.  Often the surgeon will aggressively dissect out the mid-line between the breasts, but the body will pull the implants apart. 

During the consultation, review with your doctor your particular anatomy.  Is your chest like a bird or a valley?  How far apart and what shape are your breasts now?  Together you can then make the best plan to reach your goal and avoid things that you don't want.

Web reference: http://www.jjrothmd.com

Jeffrey J. Roth, MD, FACS
August 21st, 2010

Breast implants. No one wants the big gap in between.

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

There is a dynamic interaction between hard tissues, (chest wall, sternum, etc), soft tissues, (the breast tissue), and the implants themselves.  Often the surgeon will aggressively dissect out the mid-line between the breasts, but the body will pull the implants apart. 

During the consultation, review with your doctor your particular anatomy.  Is your chest like a bird or a valley?  How far apart and what shape are your breasts now?  Together you can then make the best plan to reach your goal and avoid things that you don't want.

Learn more: http://www.jjrothmd.com

Jeffrey J. Roth, MD, FACS

Gaps in cleavage

February 7th, 2010
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The gap in cleavage is due to your anatomy. The pectoral muscle inserts into the sternum in different ways for different individuals. This can only be "cheated" a bit with the implants.

Steven Wallach, MD
February 7th, 2010

Gaps in cleavage

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The gap in cleavage is due to your anatomy. The pectoral muscle inserts into the sternum in different ways for different individuals. This can only be "cheated" a bit with the implants.

Steven Wallach, MD

Breast Cleavage, Implant Placement, and Body Type

February 2nd, 2010
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The answer to this question is not as simple and straight forward as it may seem. Breast Augmentation can result in the gap being larger, smaller, or about the same as before surgery. If a narrowing of this gap is desired, usually placing the implants above the muscle allows the surgeon to narrow the cleavage gap to a certain degree. Placing the implant under the muscle substantially limits this capability because the area where the muscle attaches to the chest wall becomes effectively the new medial margin of the breast.

The location of this muscle insertion is quite variable among women. If this muscle insertion is more lateral than the medial margin of the breast, the gap between the breasts will most likely widen after surgery. Your particular muscle anatomy is something that needs to be discussed before surgery so that your goals are met and there are no surprises post operatively.

Robert C. Bledsoe, Jr., MD

Robert C. Bledsoe, Jr., MD
Grapevine Plastic Surgeon
4.0 out of 5 stars 4 reviews

February 2nd, 2010

Breast Cleavage, Implant Placement, and Body Type

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

The answer to this question is not as simple and straight forward as it may seem. Breast Augmentation can result in the gap being larger, smaller, or about the same as before surgery. If a narrowing of this gap is desired, usually placing the implants above the muscle allows the surgeon to narrow the cleavage gap to a certain degree. Placing the implant under the muscle substantially limits this capability because the area where the muscle attaches to the chest wall becomes effectively the new medial margin of the breast.

The location of this muscle insertion is quite variable among women. If this muscle insertion is more lateral than the medial margin of the breast, the gap between the breasts will most likely widen after surgery. Your particular muscle anatomy is something that needs to be discussed before surgery so that your goals are met and there are no surprises post operatively.

Robert C. Bledsoe, Jr., MD
Grapevine Plastic Surgeon

Gap Between Breast Implants

February 2nd, 2010
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Patients with a rounder rib cage often have breasts that naturally lie or point outwards. The width of the breastbone may vary as well, and smaller or narrower breasts will have more space between them.

Keep in mind that your surgeon can "remodel the house" and make your breasts fuller, but not "move the whole house" to a new place on the hill!

John LoMonaco, MD, FACS
February 2nd, 2010

Gap Between Breast Implants

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

Patients with a rounder rib cage often have breasts that naturally lie or point outwards. The width of the breastbone may vary as well, and smaller or narrower breasts will have more space between them.

Keep in mind that your surgeon can "remodel the house" and make your breasts fuller, but not "move the whole house" to a new place on the hill!

John LoMonaco, MD, FACS

Why some women have unnatural gaps between their implants

February 2nd, 2010
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Hi there-

There are several things that can lead to an unnatural gap between breast implants and poor cleavage:

Patient anatomy- there are definitely some (but very few) women in whom the creation of lovely cleavage is not possible because of the shape of their chest wall and/or the insertion point of their chest muscles.

Poor implant pocket creation at the time of surgery.

Poor choice of implant. This is BY FAR the most common issue in patients I see for correction of unsatisfactory results from prior surgery elsewhere.

How can you avoid this problem? Choose a surgeon wisely, and never based on price. You WILL get what you pay for- pay a little, get a little... With regard to choosing a surgeon, you should read this:

http://orlandoplasticsurgery.blogspot.com/2009/11/choosing-plastic-surgeon-part-2.html#f550

Also, make sure you understand the following:

tp://www.realself.com/article/achieving-beautiful-breasts

Web reference: http://www.DrArmandoSoto.com

Armando Soto, MD, FACS
February 2nd, 2010

Why some women have unnatural gaps between their implants

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

Hi there-

There are several things that can lead to an unnatural gap between breast implants and poor cleavage:

Patient anatomy- there are definitely some (but very few) women in whom the creation of lovely cleavage is not possible because of the shape of their chest wall and/or the insertion point of their chest muscles.

Poor implant pocket creation at the time of surgery.

Poor choice of implant. This is BY FAR the most common issue in patients I see for correction of unsatisfactory results from prior surgery elsewhere.

How can you avoid this problem? Choose a surgeon wisely, and never based on price. You WILL get what you pay for- pay a little, get a little... With regard to choosing a surgeon, you should read this:

http://orlandoplasticsurgery.blogspot.com/2009/11/choosing-plastic-surgeon-part-2.html#f550

Also, make sure you understand the following:

tp://www.realself.com/article/achieving-beautiful-breasts

Learn more: http://www.DrArmandoSoto.com

Armando Soto, MD, FACS

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.