If you have concerns regarding your breast size, shape or symmetry, there are a variety of surgical procedures that can help address this. Breast implant profile and projection play a big role in the outcome of breast surgery. These include breast lifts, breast reduction, or breast augmentation using breast implants.
Specialist Plastic Surgeon, Dr Mark Doyle performs breast surgery and he has been in practice for 30+ years.
Breast implants tend to be the most reliable way of adding volume and shape to the breasts. This is because the profile and projections of the implant can ensure a consistent breast size.
However, while breast implants make your boobs (breasts) larger, without a breast lift, the breasts cannot be lifted in position with breast implants. If you have breast ptosis, a breast lift with implants is often recommended.
The choice of breast implants depends on your cosmetic surgery goals and may also be influenced by factors such as skin laxity, body composition, existing breast tissue, lifestyle, and more. Remember, getting preferred results depends on a variety of aspects of your surgery. It’s important to plan the surgery carefully, but also to follow pre-surgery and post-surgery instructions. This includes not smoking, eating well, resting, not exercising or doing too much too early, and understanding the healing and recovery processes and time frames.
There’s a lot of information you’ll want to be aware of and ready for before moving on to the surgery. So be well-versed with the above questions, and begin to consider your options before your initial consultation with Dr Doyle. You can also look into recovery after breast augmentation surgery.
Silicone implants, as the name suggests, contain silicone gel inside a bag made from silicone. They give a more authentic look and feel depending on size and profile. These are the most prevalent breast implants used by Dr Doyle at Gold Coast Plastic Surgery. They do not deflate, and even in the case of a rupture, the silicone tends to remain within the capsule (scar tissue) surrounding the implant.
Saline implants have a rubberised silicone outer shell and contain sterile saltwater inside them. These implants come empty and are filled during the procedure. While they were hugely prevalent two decades ago, silicone breast implants have now replaced them in terms of recommendations by surgeons.
Saline-based implants have the advantage that if they leak inside the body, the body can absorb the implant filling with minimal complications. Another benefit is that, since surgeons fill them after placing them in the breast pocket, they often require a smaller incision, resulting in a less noticeable scar.
A drawback of saline implants is that they can sometimes cause a ripple effect, which may become visible through the breast skin. This is particularly true if you don’t have a large amount of natural breast tissue on top of the implant. They also don’t feel as authentic as silicone implants.
Breast implant sizes come in different shapes and sizes.
The size of your breast implants is chosen from the options presented by Dr Doyle during your initial consultation. It’s fairly common to use different size implants on each side to correct small asymmetries between the breasts.
You may have the common question, “How many cc of breast implant do I need to achieve a B cup, C cup or D cup bra size?”
Most plastic surgeons measure breast implant size in cc or cubic centimetres of liquid volume, so it can be quite confusing to estimate your needs. Cup size measurements can be unreliable as they rely on the amount of natural breast tissue you have before surgery.
As a rule of thumb, it takes around a 200cc breast implant to increase from an A cup to a B cup and may take 250cc for a full B cup. If you are a full B cup and want to enlarge your breasts two cup sizes to a D cup, then you will need at least 350cc – 450cc of breast implant size to achieve that enlargement with an organic breast shape.
Learn more about implant sizes in our blog, How to Choose the Right Breast Implant Size.
The texture of the breast implant can range from smooth to textured surfaces with a variety of shapes, sizes, and fillings. Textures can include:
Sometimes their smooth surface cannot grip onto the tissue surrounding the implant, and advanced surgical techniques are required to keep them in the correct position.
Nanotextured breast implants have been shown to act the same as smooth surface implants. They have been specially designed to lessen the risk of chronic infection in the breast. They have a very low risk of capsular contracture and are not associated with breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
Textured implants are cautioned against and are no longer used by Dr Doyle due to the link between textured implants and breast implant-associated lymphoma.
The projection of breast implants refers to how far the breast implant extends forward in front of your chest. As the profile increases, so does the cup size.
Breast implant profiles can be categorised as:
A low-profile breast implant gives you the least projection or extension from your chest and the least amount of implant fill. They are most commonly used when a woman wants a small and subtle increase in breast size.
A moderate profile implant gives projections between a high and low profile and has a moderate implant fill. These are the most commonly used breast implant profiles as they can provide a more authentic look, with a reasonable amount of cleavage.
These implants give the highest amount of projection from the chest and will have the greatest volume of implant fills. These are more commonly suited for women who are looking for a more projected look from the side profile and a large cup size.
These are the basic breast implant shapes that come in various sizes:
Round implants create a soft, well-rounded appearance, giving a fuller look at the top portion of the breast and a higher projection. Because the implants are symmetrical, if they rotate, their shape does not change.
Teardrop implants, as the name suggests, share the shape of real breasts both in looks as well as feel. Dr Doyle generally recommends teardrop implants with a nano surface. They rely on gravity shifting the silicone in the implant to create a teardrop shape.
Breast implant placement is another important factor to consider when getting breast implants. To put it simply, the surgeon is going to make an incision in your breasts, create a pocket and place the implant in the pocket. Placements are most commonly done in the following 3 ways:
Under the muscle type of placement helps achieve a more authentic look. The implant is placed underneath or behind the pectoral muscle, which allows the soft tissue to cover the breast implant. Submuscular implant placements usually have a slightly longer recovery but more authentic-looking results.
These are placed in front of the pectoral muscle. Over the muscle breast implant placements are generally suited for breasts with a high volume of breast tissue. Having enough breast tissue helps to hide the outline of the implant and can protect you against rippling. These are more comfortable and have faster recovery and procedure times.
These placements are partly behind the pectoralis muscle and partly behind the breast tissue.
The dual-plane technique comes in very handy in cases of breast deflation with ptosis, which occurs after having children, breastfeeding, losing weight, or naturally with time. In the dual plane approach, the upper muscle coverage of the implant reduces the risk of rippling and implant visibility in the upper part of the breast. It also reduces the risk of capsular contracture and disruption of cleavage (symmastia), with improvement in mammography accuracy. The lower part of the breast implant, covered by breast tissue, benefits from a smoother implant-breast transition, increased shape, and a more organic look and feel.
The incision is performed under general anesthesia and is made in one of 3 places. They are:
Breast implants do come with risks and complications that may be short-term or long-term.
Short-term complications can include pain, post-surgical infection, excessive bleeding, anesthesia, and silicone-induced hypersensitivity reactions.
Long-term complications may include
Also, the FDA recommends that women who have silicone gel-filled implants should get an ultrasound five to six years after the implant surgery. Then, it is recommended to have MRI scans about every two to three years to check for any silent ruptures.
Breast implant profiles should be chosen by considering your body proportions and the final result you want to achieve. They need to fit your body frame.
If you have a narrow rib cage or chest, you can use high-profile implants, but if you have a larger chest measurement, you would want to have moderate-profile implants.
If you want to achieve an authentic look, your implant should be equal to or smaller than your breast width.
Low-profile breast implants give you the least projection or extension from your chest and the least amount of implant fill.
Yes, full profiles are the same as high profiles. The full profile name is mostly used by manufacturers of the implants, whereas the high profile is mostly used by surgeons and the patient.
A breast implant projection means how far the breast implant extends forward, i.e. in front of your chest.
A low-profile breast implant gives you the least projection or extension from your chest and the least amount of implant fill. A high implant gives the highest amount of projection from the chest and will have the greatest volume of implant fill. Low-profile implants give a small cup size, and high-profile implants a larger cup size.
No, the ultra-high profile implants look more bubbly, fuller, and more fake. They contain a very soft gel, which isn’t very stable. The higher implants you opt for, the more augmented your breasts will look.
Low implants give you a wide and flat look. It gives you more of a realistic look and also requires less amount of implant fill.
The most common breast implant size is currently a 350cc implant.
The most common breast implant sizes vary from 350cc – 500cc, which is similar to a C cup size. The 700cc is a very large stretch, so the implants are higher than the full D cup size. Unnecessarily big implants tend to cause more problems, such as the artificial look, back pain, larger scarring due to large incisions and stretching of the breast tissue.
Full profile breast implants are those implants that give you a between moderate to extra full projection from your chest. High-profile implants are also known as full-profile implants.
If your breast implants are high, then it means they may have been incorrectly placed or the implants are new.
Sometimes new implants tend to rise high to allow them to drop while healing. It takes around 2 – 4 months to heal and drop to an organic position.
If you are considering a breast augmentation, book a consultation with Specialist Plastic Surgeon, Dr Mark Doyle, on the Gold Coast today.
Dr Mark Doyle is a fully qualified Specialist Plastic Surgeon with over 30 years of experience performing breast, body, face and nose surgery. He has completed all required training and only carries out approved surgical practices. There are NO undertrained doctors or cosmetic doctors acting as surgeons at Gold Coast Plastic Surgery.