To schedule a free consultation with Dr. Newman, call 951-698-3344.

Breast enhancement is one of the most gratifying procedures offered in Plastic Surgery and more than twenty million women have had the procedure. Breast implants not only enlarge but even more importantly enhance a patient’s shape to make the breast more natural appearing, more youthful and gives a sense of vibrancy and energy. That is no truer than in Temecula where Temecula breast augmentation surgeons seek to gain the best shape possible for every patient but also understand that it’s important to get back to normal daily activities as soon as possible and to get back to exercise and outdoor activities. 

Size and Shape are Married

Preoperative planning is of utmost importance in getting patients to their goals and at the top of the list in that department is a discussion about size: what patients wish and the effect of size on a patient’s shape. Many think that different sized implants will keep the shape the same but it’s the opposite. Going larger affects the shape and there comes to be a “sweet spot” in the sizing where breast shape is the best it can be. Going larger is good but “too large” doesn’t mean big but rather that there are negative effects on shape, both initially and over the long term. So it’s important to understand what the implant is doing to improve shape in order to understand how going beyond the sweet spot can detract from breast shape.

What Breast Implants Really Do

When the implant is placed under the pectoralis (pec) muscle, the muscle acts like an internal bra and pushes the implant upwards. This creates fullness in the upper part of the breast and gives a natural and youthful appearance. The skin of the breast doesn’t give this support and that’s why plastic surgeons use the muscle to gain support and to protect the implant. A space for a moderately large implant can be made under the muscle at surgery but in order to place a larger implant, space must be made past the muscle. Sometimes that space is made beneath the muscle and this requires muscle release with a resultant loss of support. The muscle is no longer acting as an internal bra and the pressure of the implant is brought to bear on the skin. A space can also be made to the side beyond the outside edge of the pec muscle but this also results in a loss of support of the implant. In the short term patients see that there breast is large and there can even be fullness in the upper pole of the breast but over time the implant can fall downward. When that happens, the upper pole becomes empty and the breasts take on an aged appearance. 

More is Better But Not A Lot More

So it behooves patients to work to achieve their “best size” and this is done in discussion with a plastic surgeon. Patients should feel free to say what size they wish. In turn, the doctor can discuss how the breast might look on them and what effect that size might have on the shape of the breast. Patients should also “try on” different sizes of implants which doesn’t inform one much about the shape but can give a lot on information about the ultimate size and whether the patient likes the size on them. 

Breast augmentation is a very gratifying procedure and the process of surgery and experience of going through the surgery should also be enjoyable too.