Young Mastectomy Patient - 800cc. Can I Go Larger?

Question

Double mastectomy: reconstructed with 800cc/high profile/gel/below muscle. Even with such a large implant, it's NOT close to my size before surgery. I have a large amount of rippling. Are there ANY custom made implants? I am only 26, and NEVER expected a mastectomy so young, so it's important to be as close to what I was before surgery: a 38DD. Now I'm a C. Ideally I want to be a DD again. I'm 5'5 160 lbs, large frame by elbow breadth measurement. can this be done? Or is this impossible?

Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, MBA · Answer

800 cc implants are the largest you can get.  If you have some extra fat, liposuction can be performed and fat grafted to get you closer to your original size.  Talk to your plastic surgeon.

	Dr. ES

Richard Greco, MD · Answer

There is great news for patients whom have had breast reconstruction, but 800 cc is not enough projection or large enough to reach the size they were hoping for.  There are now 8 sites where patients can enroll in the Mentor "Large Ultra High Silicone Implant Study".  Implants as large as 1445 are available.  We have performed secondary revisions on multiple patients that needed a larger implant to fit their body and get the projection needed.  Finally we have a solution for patients unhappy with their reconstruction at 800cc.Mentor logo    
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mentor Worldwide LLC, a global leader in breast reconstruction, today announced that it has received a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval to initiate its ATHENA clinical trial. The trial is designed to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of new sizes of MENTOR® MemoryGel® Breast Implants for breast reconstruction patients with larger chest widths, larger breast sizes, higher BMI or greater amounts of removed mastectomy tissue.
"There is a clinical need for breast implants larger than those currently available in the United States," said Dr. David Caplin, Board-certified Plastic Surgeon and President of Parkcrest Plastic Surgery Associates in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] "The size options for breast implants today are not adequate, especially when performing reconstructive surgery on large-breasted women diagnosed with breast cancer."  The largest implants currently available in the U.S. are 800cc.
Mentor expects to begin enrolling primary and revisionary breast reconstruction patients in the ATHENA clinical trial by April 2016. The ATHENA trial plans to enroll 600 patients at up to 35 sites nationwide and test implants manufactured using the same shell and gel as Mentor MemoryGel® Breast Implants. They will  range in size from 750cc to 1445cc.
"Obtaining IDE approval for the ATHENA clinical trial and the investigation of these larger implant sizes as part of the Mentor® MemoryGel® Breast Implant product family underscore our commitment to reconstruction," said Luis Davila, Vice President, Research & Development, Mentor Worldwide LLC. "We hope this study will contribute to a broader patient access to reconstruction surgery and address a long-standing patient need."  
As the leader in breast reconstruction, Mentor has launched multiple reconstruction solutions over the past 18 months, including new MemoryShape® Breast Implant styles and the ARTOURA™ Breast Tissue Expander. Mentor Breast Implants are backed by substantial clinical data demonstrating safety and effectiveness in primary augmentation, reconstruction and revision patients.[2][1] Dr. Caplin is a paid consultant to Mentor Worldwide LLC.
[2] Mentor Core and Continued Access studies for round and shaped breast implants.

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

Unfortunately, 800 cc implants are the largest that the US manufacturers make. There are no available custom implants in the US

Barry L. Eppley, MD, DMD · Answer

The largest stock silicone gel implants are 800cc, which you have. Custom breast implants are no longer made by any manufacturer. If 800cc implants only brings you to a C and you want a DD, then you would have to have implants that are at least 1200ccs if not larger. So even if a 900cc or 1000cc implant size existed, you would still be far away from your goal. This is a breast reconstruction result which can not be improved in size.

David Bogue, MD · Answer

The largest size of silicone gel implants are 800cc. There is the option of an 800cc saline implant filled with greater than 800cc of saline, however, you are unlikely to have an implant reconstruction return you to your preoperative size/shape. In certain patients, a combined autologous reconstruction (ie. TRAM or DIEP flap) in addition to an implant can provide for larger size, however this is an unusual circumstance. Other options include fat grafting in stages to achieve larger volumes.

Young Mastectomy Patient - 800cc. Can I Go Larger?

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Answer: 800cc Silicone Gel Breast Implants Are The Largest That Are Made

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Young Mastectomy Patient - 800cc. Can I Go Larger?

Answers (10)

Answer: 800cc Silicone Gel Breast Implants Are The Largest That Are Made

Answer: 800cc Silicone Gel Breast Implants Are The Largest That Are Made

Answer: Breast reconstruction options for extremely large breasts

Answer: Breast reconstruction options for extremely large breasts

Browse related questions

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Breast Reconstruction

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