Preventing Stretch Marks After Breast Augmentation?

Choosing an implant that is appropriately sized will minimize the chance for stretch mark formation.  To further reduce your risk you can use a cocoa butter such as Palmer's stretch mark formula to keep the skin supple and reduce the chance for formation of stretch marks.  Lastly, fractional laser can be used to reduce the appearance of stretch marks once they appear.  Nothing can completely remove a stretch mark but this type of laser has shown promise.  

Hi and thank you for your question. Stretch marks are very rare with breast augmentation, but your skin as well as the size of the implants can affect the risk. I would recommend asking your surgeon's opinion based on your anatomy and implant choice and, although not proven to actually help, you may also apply a moisturizing cream after surgery if you clear it with your surgeon. As with any surgery, there are risks, but with proper advisement and a skilled and experienced surgeon your risks are reduced.

For unknown reasons it is rare in my experience to see stretch marks following a breast augmentation, even going from small to large.

Stretch marks, also called striae, occasionally occur from breast implants.  In most cases, however, we don't see them.  The only time I have seen it occur is when using very large implants on under breast skin that is really tight.

While some patients may form new stretch marks after surgery, I do not see this very often.   Many times patients have small, pale stretch marks already (that may not have been very noticeable before), and the swelling after surgery makes them much more obvious for a while.  The pressure from the implants can then cause the marks to appear wider and therefore larger.  Puttting in very large implants for your breast dimensions could result in a higher chance of new stretch marks, and there are always tissue/skin factors that we can't completely predict.   I would keep your skin hydrated with moisturizers preoperatively, and be conservative with implant size to minimize the risk.