Will 450 Cc's Silicone Implants Make a B Cup to a D Cup?

One of the most important decisions facing breast augmentation patients
is the size of breast implants that will be used. Most patients are striving
for harmony, balance, and proportion with the surrounding anatomic structures.
Typically they want a natural look with some fullness in the upper breast area.Most patients tend to speak in terms of cup size.
Unfortunately cup size is not always helpful because manufacturers of bras
label their products differently and women don’t always wear their bras the
same way. In other words, some women wear their bras snugly, while others wear
them loosely. This creates communication problems when talking cup size. It’s
virtually impossible to translate cup size into CC’s for this reason.In an effort to determine breast size in an objective
manner, we utilize external silicone sizers and the Vectra 3D computer imaging
system. External silicone sizers are designed to sit on top of the patient’s
breasts. They can be held against the patient’s chest or placed inside the patient’s
bra. This technique helps the patient visualize what their breasts will look
like with a specific sized implant. It also gives them a sense of the volume
that will sit on their chest wall and how it feels.The Vectra 3D imaging system is a relatively new
technology that we’ve found to be extremely helpful for determining breast
implant size. This system allows patients to visualize different sized implants
on their actual body. Patients find this to be extremely helpful.The ability to visualize your projected surgical result
alleviates much of the anxiety associated with this procedure. The use of
external sizers and the Vectra 3D imaging system accomplishes this goal. It’s
important to remember that final adjustments in the size of breast implants will
ultimately be made in the operating room depending on anatomic factors.

Thank you for your question. The most important factor when sizing implants, is working closely with your surgeon, in person, to find the implant size that gives you the look that you desire. Careful measurements of your breast and chest wall will help determine which size implants that will fit within your natural breast footprint. Taking into account your desired look, and your measurements, an implant is chosen that specifically fits your body.  Unfortunately, online recommendations are not that helpful. Make sure that you have a good relationship with your plastic surgeon, so that you two can work together to find the right size. In my office, patients try on implants in a bra and clothing. There able to see how they look in the mirror, and in photographs. Most women know they have found the right size when their breasts come into balance with their shoulders, waist, hips and buttocks. Women are also encouraged to bring in wish pictures, so that I can get a sense of the look that they would like to achieve. Good luck with the process! 

Breast implant sizing is a very important aspect of breast augmentation surgery.  There is a lot that we go through at our practice to help determine the size of the implant that the patient desires and also what would work best for our patient.  Our job is to help guide our patients to where they want to be, safely.There is no simple formula as to how many cc's it requires to get from one bra cup to another.  Every body is different, every bra manufacturer is different.  The key is to communicate with your plastic surgeon where you want to be and be open to your surgeons advice/recommendation.Hope that helps.

It is very difficult to determine the exact size and shape implant you will require to best match your ideal breast image without an examination by a board certified plastic surgeon. Not just any board certified plastic surgeon, but one with many years of frequently performing breast augmentation surgery including different approaches, techniques and implant choices. This is because several measurements not to mention your breast characteristics are needed to determine the optimal implant size to obtain your goals. Without knowing these dimensions it would be difficult to make this determination. For example, the existing base width of your breast will determine, in many cases, the maximal volume per implant profile that you can accommodate. To illustrate; a 100 cc difference may make a significant difference with a narrow base width breast, but much less of a difference if you have a wide chest wall and wide breast “foot print”. Therefore, just because your friend may have a great result with let’s say a 450 cc implant to make her go from a “B” cup to a “D” cup size does not mean that you will have the same result with the same size implant. . Further simply placing implants in a bra to determine the size best for you is not always accurate as the bra often distorts the size, is dependent on the pressure the bra places plus the implant is outside your breast and not under it among other variables. Computer software morphing programs that automatically determine the best implant size can be helpful in some but not all cases (e.g. doesn’t work well in my experience with existing implants, sagging or asymmetric breasts). Using “want to be” photos however are useful if simply provided to the surgeon as I will further explain in the link below:

Hello! Thank you for your question. In
general, implant size does not
correlate with bra cup size. The cup size itself will vary from
manufacturer to manufacturer as well as who is doing the actual
measurements. Thus, cup size is never a reliable indicator for your
breast size. I typically encourage my patients not to communicate her
desires in cup size but more on the actual look and appearance. Given
your desires, a breast augmentation, with an implant or fat grafting,
would be an ideal procedure that would meet your expectations. Breast
augmentation is now the most popular procedure performed in plastic
surgery today. One tolerated very well by women with minimal downtime
and high patient satisfaction. Good
communication between you and your surgeon of your expectations is
warranted - choosing your surgeon wisely is the first step. Discussion

of your wishes and having an honest and open dialog of your procedure is
mandatory (e.g, implant type, incision, placement, etc). Implant
profile will also make a difference on the projection, which will
influence overall breast/cup size. I have found

that photographs brought by the patient is helpful to get a
visualization of the appearance you wish for in terms of size, shape,
fullness, etc. In addition, your surgeon's pre and postoperative
photographs should demonstrate a realistic goal for you of results.
Sizers are helpful during an in-office consultation. Once this has
been accomplished, allow your surgeon to utilize his/her best medical
judgment during the procedure to finesse the best possible result for
you after preoperative biodimensional planning and fitting the right
implant for your breast width. This is the most important determinant
for the sizing of implants, which will provide the optimal result and
most aesthetically-pleasing result for you.Consult with a
board-certified plastic surgeon well-versed in breast procedures who
will examine and discuss with you the various options and factors to
consider and help you decide which one will be the right one for you.
Hope me that this helps! Best wishes for a wonderful result!

Cup sizes cannot be guaranteed. And the amount of volume to get a woman from one cup size to another varies from person to person.
About 120 - 140 cc’s is a bra cup size. This may be more or less depending on the patient’s measurements.
Imagine lying on your back and drawing a circle around your breast. If you draw a line across that circle, it will be a given length. (The length of a circle is called a “diameter”.) This is a measurement that your plastic surgeon will take. The length of this area of your chest is called the “base width diameter” (BWD).
For women, the base width diameter ranges from 9.5 cm to 16.5 cm (3.75 inches to 6.5 inches). As you can see, there is a very wide range.
A smooth breast implant is circular, and has the same measurement as your BWD. So if your BWD is 12 cm, that tells us that your implant cannot be more than 12 cm. It won’t fit. So the BWD determines the max size of the implant, length-wise.
Think about just how wide a range you see in women’s body types, shapes, and frames. That’s why the base width diameter in women can range from 9.5 cm to 16.5 cm.
A smaller implant gets filled up with less volume. It’s common sense. If your BWD is 11 cm, the high profile implant will have 265 cc’s. If your BWD is 14 cm, the high profile implant will have 605 cc’s.
In other words, 265 cc’s and 605 cc’s will have the similar cup size for a difference in BWD. The cc is relative to BWD.
Therefore, to come close to answering your question, a plastic surgeon needs to measure your BWD. Then you should model how that implant will look on your body.
When I opened my private practice, the first thing I did was invest in a $41,000 device called the Vectra 3D. It is a must-have tool for getting patients ideal results.
The Vectra takes a 3D photograph of your torso and breasts. Then, the 3D photo appears on a computer screen. On the screen, we can create accurate simulations of what your breasts will look like with different implant shapes and sizes. This will give you a realistic image of what you’ll look like after breast augmentation surgery.
You can experiment with the different implant options until you find the one you are happy with. Being able to see the results with your own eyes, beforehand, is the best way to communicate your desired look with your doctor. It takes out so much guesswork, especially about breast implant shapes, sizes, and volume (cc).
Now here’s a fact about describing your goals: words can only take us so far. Very often, what a patient thinks, says, and truly wants are all different. You need to SEE what your implant will look like, on your unique body, to confidently say, “This is the perfect implant for me!”
That’s the beauty of the Vectra. It is a visual tool that creates accurate expectations and ensures the best communication. It will cast away your doubts and fears about choosing the right implant.
That’s why the Vectra is a critical investment for any practice. It is extremely important for giving patients results they know they'll be happy with.
Every patient describes their goals differently, in terms of how many cup sizes they want to go up, or, they have pictures to show.
And, almost every patient tells me, “I don’t want to look fake.” By now, you know that as long as we stay in your measurements, you will have a beautiful, natural result that fits your body.
I hope that answers your question on implant sizes. It’s great that you’re doing this research. I always say that the best patients are informed patients.
You might also want to research your options for breast implants. Choosing the right implant is the number one concern among women considering breast augmentation. Did you know, there’s actually a way to select a implant shape, size, and profile that is perfect for you?
A term that I use with my patients for the perfect implant is the “Pony Implant”.
So what do I mean by “perfect”? Well, a Pony Implant has three qualities to it. First, the implant meets your beauty goals. For example, you want to your breasts to look fuller while still appearing natural.
Second, when you chose your Pony Implant, you walk out of your consultation 100% confident that you’ve chosen the right shape and size for you. In other words, you won’t be second guessing your decision, and you won’t be afraid of having gone too big or too small.
And third, after your procedure, you are thrilled with your results, and say, "I’m so happy. This is exactly what I wanted!"
That’s the Pony Implant. And the great news is that there is a simple process to go about finding yours.
This issue of selecting the right implant is so important when it comes to patient satisfaction or dissatisfaction that, again, I really encourage you to learn more about it.
Thank you for reading and best of luck on your journey!

This is a very common question. The reality is there is no way to determine what YOUR cup size will be for a few reasons.
First, cup size is determined by each store and even in each store you will find different cups that fit you. For example, Victoria's Secret has different lines and each line has a slightly different fit. There is even a store in Manhattan that will tell you you are a C cup even if you are flat chested just to give you an ego boost.
Second, each patient likes a cup size that fits HER best in her own opinion. I've had patients who are clearly in the A cup range who don't mind "swimming" in their big bras filled with "chicken cutlets" and I've had other patients who were clearly in the D cup range who like the look of "popping out" of their bras so they wear B cup bras.
Since cup size is both made up by stores and based on the individual style of the patient, it is impossible to predict.
With that said, I use cup size as an idea of what style patients want. Meaning, if a patient is an A cup and says "I want a D," it's a certain implant, whereas the same patient saying "I want a B" is a different implant.
Hope that helps.
Dr. Freiman

There is not a direct correlation between breast implant size and cup size as the cup size varies greatly among companies and even within the same company. Moreover, cup size can vary based on who is performing the measurement. The size of the implants are based on a combination of a patient's goals and objectives and her anatomy. In order to provide a natural looking augmentation, the surgeon needs to evaluate many factors including soft tissue coverage, skin laxity, chest wall width, breast imprint width, the shape of the breasts and relative level of constriction to ensure that the breast implants are appropriate for your body.Consult in person with 3 experienced and expert board certified plastic surgeons to understand your options.

Unfortunately, there is not a general rule of thumb or objective criteria to implant selection.
Your plastic surgeon will perform several measurements of your chest wall and breast anatomy and determine a range of implants that both fit your chest wall and reach your desired goals.
The next step is to try on this range of implants in the office with your doctor.   The key to this success is showing your surgeon the body proportion you desire with a bra sizer and allowing your surgeon to guide you to the right implant.   It will be much easier to communicate in implant cc's than cup size when determining the appropriate implant for you.
I wish you a safe recovery and fantastic result.
Dr. Gill

The more breast surgery I do the more I realize that there is no correlation between the size of implant and resulting cup size.  This may have to do with several factors including: the amount of breast volume the patient starts with, the shape of the patient's chest wall (concave or convex), the type and model of breast implant selected (saiine/silicone  and low/moderate/high profile), bra  manufacturer variance  in cup sizes, the  degree  of filling of the cup  with breast tissue,  and the subjective differences in patients perceptions of cup size. 
 

It will be very important to communicate your size goals with your surgeon.  In my practice, the use of photographs of “goal” pictures (and breasts that are too big or too small) is very helpful. I have found that the use of words such as “natural” or “C cup” or "fake looking" means different things to different people and therefore prove unhelpful.

Also, as you know, cup size varies depending on who makes the bra; therefore, discussing desired cup  size may also be inaccurate.
I use  intraoperative sizers and place the patient in the upright position to evaluate breast size. Use of these sizers also allow me to select the press implant profile (low, moderate, moderate plus, high-profile) that would most likely achieve the patient's goals. The patient's goal pictures are hanging on the wall, and allow for direct comparison.
I have found that this system is very helpful in improving the chances of achieving the patient's goals as consistently as possible.
By the way, the most common regret after this operation, is “I wish I was bigger”.


I hope this helps.