Implant size question

I had my consultation yesterday and I really like the 385cc implant (saline).  But, I really want to be bigger.  The Dr. I saw acted like that was going to be the biggest I could go.  I will need a lift (I'm 28" and she wants me to be at 20") so I feel like I have a lot of tissue to work with?  Do you not have much of choice with size, if you are having a lift (so as not to put the incision in jeopardy)?

I think the size of the implant is only part of the equation.  How much of your own breast tissue will be left.  I only got 250 cc implants to create a full D.  Without the implants I would have been a small C.    I'm not a dr. though and not sure why you couldn't go as big as you want.

385 sounds very good and will probably be a full c, depending on your size and what you have to work with. (just my personal opinion....i've been researching myself.) i am getting a lift and saline implants the 24th of this month. initially i was going with 375, went to another doctor and they had me at about 450, went back to the first dr and the one i finally booked with and have pretty much decided to go with 400 cc's. i am wide shouldered and am somewhere between a b and c now. i figure by the time i am reshaped and implants in place, that will be about right. but....i am going one more time before surgery....so i may change my mind again...LOL!
i think if your doctor is only giving you his opinion and you don't seem to have a choice in what YOU want, then you should maybe seeanother surgeon. i went thru 3 surgeons seriously and checked out several of them in the process of finding the right one.

I had a lift, and had 325cc silicone gel implants. I am now a full C, almost a D. They are moderate profile, not high, because I didn't want to get back to work and look like I had giant hooters. I needed conservative librarian boobs, lol.

385 sounds like it'll be nice and full, not sure of your size right now.

My implants are 450cc and now my boobs are pretty big (even for me and I'm 5'8" and 185 lbs).

I was a 34B before.  After my lift and moderate plus silicone 450's I'm a 32G.  It is difficult to say what size you will be, like another poster said, it depends on your build and amount of breast tissue you have.  Good luck!

April

Your input...

I didn't specify the cc amount I wanted in my saline implants - I specified the approximate cup size I wanted to be.  My surgeon listened to me and gave me what I wanted. 

Personally, I believe that since you pay HER, she should give you what you want (as long as it is doable and within reason).  If it is NOT doable or within reason, she should tell me why (she is the expert). 

Then if you really have your heart still set on that specific size, get a second opinion (and also do your own research).  Then use the second opinion and your own research to make your decision.

Something else to think about...

You might also want to re-evaluate whether or not you really DO want to go bigger than that.  I'm not trying to second guess you at all - just hear me out. 

When I lost my weight, my breast tissue was completely GONE.  I don't mean small.  I mean non-existant.  I could take my hands and place them over the extra skin that was left over what had been my breasts, press inward and the only thing I felt under the extra skin was ribs.  I didn't even know it was possible to feel ribs through the middle of your breasts, but I did.  The only actual breast tissue I had remaining was the size of a walnut.  I know that exactly because my OBGYN thought (after doing my breast exam @ my yearly appt) that they may be tumors or cists - so he had me go get them mammogrammed.  So I have actualy DOCUMENTED MEDICAL EVIDENCE that the only tissue left behind all my extra skin was the size of a walnut.  LOL

Do you want to go bigger because you really think it would look better on you?  Or is it just to get back to a size breast that is a little more familiar to you?  (I hope that question is not coming across as offensive or anything.  I'm asking because I think that's part of what makes some post-ops want to go for larger breast sizes than most.)

I always had large breasts, even in high school when I was just a little overweight.  (My entire childhood and teen years were spent just 1 - 2 sizes above all the other girls my age - but I wasn't really overweight I don't think - just a little bigger than most girls my age.)  But even then, my breasts were huge.  I wore a 36 - 38 D.  As my weight ballooned over the years, so did my breasts (especially after having and breastfeeding 2 children). 

When I had my RNY in 08/07, I wore a 42DDD.  I went from that to a 32-34B.  (When I say B cup, that was really being generous.  In fact, with breasts the size of walnuts I could have gone with no bra at all and looked like a boy - had it not been for the extra skin.)  The extra skin forced me to wear a 34D (yes, that's not a type - D) that I would "pour" my extra skin into every day.  I also had extra skin on my tummy, etc.

So when I had my tummy tuck, I had my breasts reconstructed also (extra skin removed and breast lift w/ implants).  When you have the extra skin removed from your tummy, the breasts will automatically look bigger (because the tummy under them will look smaller/flatter).  So if you are getting a tummy tuck too, you need to consider that. 

My saline implants were 420 cc on 1 side and 440 cc on the other (if memory serves - I forget which side is which, etc).  That put me at a size 34D (only the D cup is filled with breast now and not extra skin).  My implants were added to virtually NO breast tissue at ALL though.  So how much breast tissue you have now will have something to do with how many cc's need to be added to that.  What cup size do you want to be?  (If 420 - 440 cc is a D cup on someone who started with NO breasts, 385 cc may be a D cup on someone that starts with at least a little natural breast tissue to sit that implant in there with.)

So with a tinier tummy (and depending on how much tissue you have left that the implant will be added to), you may be delighted with 385cc and think that's plenty big enough when you see it on you. 

About the skin...

I know they do have to leave so much extra skin to give the implant room.  I had a lift and implants and as I said before - I totally DID have a choice when it comes to size. 

But as I also said, I'm not sure how big you want to be because I don't know how much natural breast tissue you have that the implant will be added to - so I can't tell whether or not I would have had THAT much choice.  (I guess what I'm saying is I don't know for your size/frame/etc if your request is out of the normal range or not to know whether or not my surgeon would have been willing to go that far or not. 

I know I skin removal, lift and implants to get my D cups with no trouble.  But I might have had more skin that you too.  I don't remember how many inches my breasts were to start, etc.

I'm rambling.  Sorry! 

Good luck!

Wen

Aloha- I just had a lift/augmentation, and a circumferential body lift.

I think it depends on several things-
-Your height and body stature ( broad shouldered, athletic build vs slight, etc) - 385 cc in one person might look very different on another person who is slightly built and shorter.
-What you want to look like afterwards!

Im 5'5", athletic build, did NOT want to be huge (wanted  full B/ small C cup)- and every male surgeon I consulted with told me to go BIGGER. The sole female surgeon I consulted told me Yep, that's perfect for your body type. Funny how the guys all want you to go bigger.....

That being said, when I went in for my pre op to actually choose the size of my implants, I brought several different outfits to try on with different sized implants to compare how I looked. I brought a sundress, a bathing suit, a tank top, a workout top, a sweater- you get the picture. I also brought 2 different sized bras- a C cup and a B cup- and put the implants inside while trying on my different outfits. I really did not want to be too big! Just for grins, I put in the 500 cc implants- and looked totally fat again. My husband and I were in hysterics- why lose all the weight only to look like a barge from profile?

I chose a 300 cc implant, and my surgeon said he might go up or down 25 cc depending on how much breast tissue he removed when he did my lift. Turns out he put the 300 ccers in, and I am very VERY happy - I'm 2 weeks out, they've fallen from their initial high rider position, and today I had a blast trying on different bathing suits and dresses.

Luckily, I healed very quickly- the incisions look great, I have full nipple sensation ( I was afraid of losing that too!), and no complications from either surgery. I was even cleared to go back to the gym at 12 days post op - yoga, stretching, lower body for right now- and  I feel great. I think what helped my healing was being in the best shape possible prior to surgery, getting in tons of protein post op, and following all post -op instructions - positions to sleep in, not overdoing it, wound care, etc.

Good luck, and I urge you to bring in several different items from your wardrobe at implant selection time- it helped alot! XOXOLori

 You need to tell your surgeon the size you want to be. The same implant size is different in every individual. 385cc for me might make me a C, but might make someone else a  D.  

Jinjer

Women who get Silicone Implants are supposed to get an MRI scan after the 3rd year, and every year thereafter. Because MRI’s range from $300 to $800 per session, many women skip this procedure and place themselves at risk of the consequences of silicone implant rupture. Saline implants have no such risk and therefore annual MRIs are not required.