How Much Smaller Will my Breasts Get Once Swelling Goes Down? Im Worried I Went Too Big?

Two things happen and seem paradoxical. As as the swelling goes down there will be some shrinkage but at the same time as the muscle relaxes your breast projection grows. In general the breast shape and size proportionality improves..Breast implants initially after surgery when placed in a submuscular position often give superior fullness that corrects itself with time, the "fluff and drop" phenomena. In reality the pectoralis major muscle takes a while to adjust its size to accommodate the implant as well as occasional muscle spasm which keeps the implant projection higher than its final resting shape. Additional variables include:laxity of skin, size difference during prior pregnancies, position of implant,size of muscle, and size of implant.As the muscle relaxes the projection of the implant often increases and the breast shape improves. Massage and use of a superior placed elastic strap can often make this process go faster.

Thank you for your question. During the post-operative period the breast are swollen, and the breast implants appear in a much higher position. Over time they descend and fills out the lower half of the breast. It may take several months for this to happen and can be encouraged with breast massage and compression. After the swelling goes down the breasts will appear smaller.  However, as the implants settle, it may appear that the breast enlarges as the lower aspect of the breast fills out (at the expense of the upper portion of the breast).

We frequently see patients who express concern about the
size of their breast implants following breast augmentation surgery. In some cases, this occurs in the immediate
post-operative period. The majority of
these patients are concerned that their breasts are too big rather than too
small. As swelling subsides, most of
them are ultimately happy with the breast size.

Immediately
after surgery, it’s hard to make judgements about breast size because of
swelling and muscle spasm. It may take
weeks for the majority of swelling to resolve.
In addition, muscle spasm can increase upper breast fullness and make
the breasts look larger than they really are.
This may also take weeks to resolve.


Many
patients also experience transient adjustment reactions following breast
augmentation. These patients have
difficulty adjusting to larger breasts and often feel as if people are staring
at them. With the passage of time, most
of them are able to adjust to their new implants. Eventually, they may even forget that the
implants are there. The adjustment
process varies from patient to patient but may take months.

Immediately
following surgery, it’s not unusual to see patients who feel that their breasts
are too large. After several months,
they adjust to their new implants. They
feel that their new breasts fit nicely on their body and they are happy with
their results. Occasionally, some of
these patient request even larger implants.

If
you have concerns about breast size following breast augmentation surgery, you
should communicate with your plastic surgeon.
He has dealt with this situation in other patients and can address many
of your concerns. With time, many of
these concerns may resolve without intervention. Ultimately, you may still be very happy with
your breast augmentation.