What would happen if you went over your breast implant maximum CC?

As I explain to all patients, you’re first implant surgery is not likely to be your last. Be it for a change in size, implant movement, rippling, rupture, or capsular contracture...you’re likely to undergo another procedure at some point in your life. When implants are too big, the force they impart on the breast tissue covering them can really do harm/overly thin your breasts. You also run the risk of implant motion into an abnormal position into the armpits when you have your breasts try to support an excessively large implant. Do your homework, and please consult with a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. 

Going too large can cause a number of complications, many of which would require corrective surgery. Here are some of the more common complications:
incision separation
overly thin skin
stretch marks implant migration 
unnatural appearance
overly firm breasts (in the case of saline implants)

Hello and thank you for your question.  Although there may be some implant warranty issues, rippling, or skin stretch concerns from excessive fill in saline breast implants, I think an important question is why you are choosing saline implants to begin with.  Your question brings up the overall process of ideal breast implant selection which can
be quite involved, as breast augmentation involves a number of different
issues.  The first step would be to clearly define your desired
breast outcome goals – this would include the size you would like to achieve,
and your ideal breast shape.  I would then select the best breast implant
for you based on:
(1)   Volume of the implant – actual
implant sizers that you try on during your consultation can help with
this.  I commonly used the Mentor volume sizing system for this purpose. In
general, 150-200cc is necessary for an increase in a single cup size.
(2)   Contents of the implant –
saline vs silicone, saline tends to be a little stiffer, rounder and can cause
rippling of the skin as mentioned above.
(3)   Shape of the implant – round
or anatomic; I would show you how both round and anatomic can provide a natural
shape.  Different profiles of an implant would
also affect the projection of your breast.
(4)   Position of the implant – if
it is over or under the pectoralis muscle; each location would provide a
different shape and projection.  The advantage of going “under the muscle”
is that it provides a lower risk of capsular contracture, lower risk of skin
rippling, and better visualization on future mammograms.  Also, many
patients describe the appearance as more natural, and describe the feel as more
consistent with that natural breast.
(5)   Skin stretch of your breast –
younger patients tend to have more taught skin with more… SHOW MORE resilience,
and respond well to an implant; compared to an older breast with more stretch
marks, which would typically requiring a larger volume to fill the breast
(6)   Degree of breast ptosis
(sagging) – a significant sag would benefit from a breast lift
(7)   Breast diameter and overall
chest circumference
(8)   Native breast tissue volume –
the amount and distribution of the natural breast tissue.
(9)   Any history of prior surgery
or trauma to the breast
The next step for you is to seek out a
board certified plastic surgeon who specializes in aesthetic plastic
surgery.  In your consultation, be sure your surgeon addresses all your
concerns and discusses the surgery details including the position and size of
the incision used (with actual photographs), the type of breast implants
available, the risks and benefits of the procedure, recovery time, and
post-operative course.  Also, be sure to see plenty of before-and-after
pictures in women who have a similar breast appearance to yours, and preferably
at different time frames (3 weeks out, 3 months out, etc) to more accurately
predict your own surgical outcome.
And lastly, I think the most important
component of the consultation is to establish a good connection with your
plastic surgeon.  It’s the connection that allows you to clearly define
your desired breast outcome goals, the first step of this whole process. If you
don’t feel you have a good connection with your plastic surgeon after your
consultation, he/she may not be the best surgeon for you.
For more information on breast augmentation,
please refer to the link below.
Good luck.
Mark K Markarian, MD, MSPH
Harvard-trained Board Certified Aesthetic
Plastic Surgeon

 I’m  not sure I am in total agreement with the other doctors. If an implant is designed to hold 300 mL to 330 mL, and the doctor puts in 340 mL… Not much happens. It’s a little more full and it does not void the warranty. In fact my knowledge going over there till volume never voids the warranty only going under. So it is common practice still to overfill slightly in many cases but too much overfill causes the implants to be very tight,  more like a ball, and wrinkle on the side. 

Maximum implant size is less a function of volume and more a function of base width. You are limited by the space of your chest and the footprint of the breast mound when selecting implants. Exceeding these measurements typically results in malposition of the implants (migration into the armpits).Excessive sizing is also associated with a higher risk of complications and decreased longevity of result (not to mention less satisfying aesthetic results i.e. the "fake" look).As always, discuss your concerns with a board certified plastic surgeon (ABPS).

Here's what may happen:1.  The manufacturer may decide to not honor their warranty, since you exceeded the design parameters.  In practice, this is rare.2.  The implant shape gets increasingly rounder, and the implant becomes progressively firmer.3.  Tightness rippling may occur around the "equator" of the implant.4.  Increased implant weight, and possibly, tissue stretch.

Hello sweetie_chandra,  
It’s a pleasure to answer your questions! With regards to size, the maximum implant size would depend on the base diameter of your breasts which will be measured by your plastic surgeon. Going beyond the recommended size based on your breast parameters is associated with higher risk of complications, including poor scarring, bleeding, breast sagginess, implant mal position, thinning of the overlying breast tissue, rippling, palpability, and implant exposure and extrusion. Hope this is helpful! Dr. De La Cruz.   

It is no longer done.  There is an ideal fill volume based on engineered specs of the implant.  Similarly, underselling them (as used to be in vogue) leads to higher rupture rates.  Just work with your surgeon of choice to find the write size.

Thank you for the question.  If I understand your question correctly, you are asking about filling saline breast implants past their upper limits of manufacturer recommendation's fill volumes. Some general thoughts may be helpful to you. Saline breast implants are usually filled within a range provided by the breast implant manufacturer. Utilizing saline volumes in the upper range of the manufacturer's recommendations helps cut down on concerns such as breast implant rippling. Sometimes, patients who are looking for a certain "round, fake look" benefit from the use of overfilled saline implants.  This involves filling the saline implants past the range provided by the manufacturer.  I have found, through significant experience, that for the appropriately selected patient,  very nice outcomes can be achieved safely.   The clinical downside associated with overfilling saline breast implants is firmness of the breast implants. My best advice: select your plastic surgeon carefully. Make sure that he/she has significant experience achieving the types of outcomes you will be pleased with. Then, communicate your goals carefully, as well. Working together you will come up with a good plan to achieve your goals.  
 Best wishes. 

I assume you are asking about saline implants, which are filled by the surgeon at the time of implantation.  Recommendations are for no more than about 15% volume overfill.  This amount of excess saline will limit implant rippling and wrinkling.  Fluid used in excess of this amount will results in a firmer implant.  This will lead to more discomfort, less natural look and feel, and early fatigue of the shell with a higher incidence of early rupture.