Woke up with High profile implants after asking for moderate. Do High Profile implants drop and fluff?

Question

I had breast implant replacement 4 weeks ago. I originally had saline 280cc with an overfill to 300cc, round moderate profile. They had quite a bit of rippling and were quite asymmetrical after breastfeeding and age. I wanted to change to 350 round silicone moderate. My surgeon and I agreed on a moderate profile because I wanted to remain natural. The next day after surgery I found out he put in 350cc HIGH profile. Why would he have done that? Do they "drop and fluff". I don't trust what he says now.

Tom J. Pousti, MD · Answer

Having followed several thousand breast augmentation patients carefully, I believe that the “drop-in fluff” phenomenon does occur for breast implants placed in the sub muscular position.  I think that this does occur regardless of the profile breast implant utilized. The phenomenon of “dropping and fluffing” occurs several weeks to several months after breast augmentation surgery.  The breasts appear larger as the implants "settle" lower on the chest wall. The nipple/areola complexes appear higher on the breast mounds as this occurs.  In regards to your concerns about the profile breast implant utilized, I would suggest that you raise your questions/concerns  in a calm and constructive fashion with your plastic surgeon. It is very likely that he/she has reasons for the decision-making. Ideally, you'll be able to improve your doctor/patient relationship. Best wishes.

Lars Enevoldsen, MD · Answer

Without the benefit of photos there is not much I can say about your particular case.  What I can say is that the dimensions of your breasts and the size of the implant used will determine the best profile and shape to use.  This is a fairly straightforward determination on a patient who does not have breast implants but can be tricky when implants are already in place as the anatomy may not have been what your surgeon anticipated once he removed your implants in the operating room. Having done over 5,000 breast augmentations myself I can tell you that there have been plenty of times when I have used a different profile than the one I thought I was going to use preoperatively.  Sometimes achieving the best possible result means being willing to deviate from the planned implants. One good way to avoid this situation is to drain saline implants in the office preoperatively so that both you and your surgeon can see what he will be dealing with. I'm not sure what you mean by "drop and fluff".

Michael B. Tantillo, MD · Answer

The healing process in general and the "drop and fluff" in particular is more dependent on the pocket location than the implant profile.  So, yes your implants will drop.  I would suggest that you make an appointment to discuss with your surgeon why different implants were used that you expected.  There is very likely a logical explanation for the implant choice; but either way hopefully you can clear the air and at least allow your surgeon to help you through the recovery process from this operation.

Woke up with High profile implants after asking for moderate. Do High Profile implants drop and fluff?

Answers (3)

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Breast Implant Revision

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.

Woke up with High profile implants after asking for moderate. Do High Profile implants drop and fluff?

Answers (3)

Browse related questions

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Breast Implant Revision

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.