What To Do When Your Implants Are Too Large For Your Chest?

If you’ve had breast implants, it’s normal to experience some form of complication, or maybe a change of mind. 

You may have felt that your decision on opting for larger implants has caused you more discomfort and inconvenience. Not to mention, all the other issues that may come up in the long run. 

What follows when your breast implants are too large?

Issues associated with implants that are too large include:

  1. Increased difficulty performing routine activities

The resulting larger breasts will not be ideal for an active lifestyle, like daily workouts, jogging, gym visits, running marathons, or enjoying sports.

  1. Difficulty finding clothing that fit well 

The larger breasts will widen your frame and make it difficult to find tops and bras that fit. You may also find it difficult to find bras and lingerie with supportive straps.

  1. Sagging, drooping and unappealing breasts

The weight due to the larger breasts will cause the skin on and around your breasts to stretch, resulting in a saggy, droopy breast appearance. The heavy breasts may also move apart from each other and appear asymmetrical.

  1. Chronic, unbearable pain

Larger breasts tend to trigger chronic neck, back, and shoulder pains. They may also cause frequent headaches. Plus, rashes may develop underneath your breasts and shoulders, which can appear red and irritated.

  1. Poor, uncomfortable posture

With larger breast implants, the quality of your posture may be affected. With the extra weight of larger breast implants, you may find yourself slouching more often. You may also experience difficulty finding a comfortable sleeping position.

What can be done to fix large implants?

Fortunately, you don’t have to live with implants that are too big for your chest for the rest of your life. There are several options if you aren’t happy with your breast augmentation results. 

  1. Implant replacement

If you find your implants too big, you can undergo implant replacement surgery. You surgeon will conduct a procedure to remove them and replace them with a pair of implants that are appropriate or proportional in size.

Breast implant replacement may also be necessary due to hardened scar tissue (capsular contracture), rupture of implants, implant rippling, or change in position of the implant– all of which can happen when you have implants that are too large for your chest. 

Your surgeon will assess your breast size and help you consider whether replacement would help you achieve your goals.

  1. Implant removal

Your other option is to have the implants entirely removed and not replaced. During the removal procedure, your surgeon may also get rid of scar tissue or silicone from implant leaks.

  1. Breast lift

Your surgeon can also conduct a breast lift to change the shape of your natural breasts and to eliminate any sagging due to the implants. The procedure will help to rejuvenate your breasts, making it firmer and perkier. 

At Politis Plastic Surgery, we use the bio-resorbable GalaFLEX scaffold. It is a soft-tissue reinforcement that immediately helps tighten and lift the breast tissue. It is also known as an ‘internal bra.’

Safe, effective procedure

During your consultation, an important question that you need to ask your surgeon is whether or not they follow the 14-Point-Plan. ⁣

The 14-point plan includes a series of steps that meet the required standards of sterilization and infection control during surgery. When followed, the 14 steps reduce the number of bacteria attaching to the implant during the surgery and minimize the risk of breast implant complications. 

Dr. Effie Politis strictly follows the 14-step plan and achieves great results for our patients.

To avoid poor outcomes, we encourage you to discuss your goals and expectations in advance with your plastic surgeon. With proper consultation and preparation, you’ll be able to achieve a more favorable result.

Dr. Effie Politis is a board-certified plastic surgeon with expert skills and experience to help you select the right implants for you based on your height, chest width, and preferences. 

For more information on breast implant revision surgery, visit the site “Politis Plastic Surgery.”

Can you fix breast asymmetry?

Key takeaways

  • Breast asymmetry refers to when one breast is visibly different in shape or size from the other. It can cause self-consciousness and discomfort.
  • The main ways to correct breast asymmetry are through breast augmentation, breast lift, breast reduction, or a combination of any of these procedures. The chosen procedure depends on the type and severity of the asymmetry.
  • At Politis Plastic Surgery, they help women feel more comfortable and confident by fixing severe and modest breast asymmetry, using a combination of procedures to achieve optimal results. They recommend speaking with an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon to determine the best course of action for the individual.

You’ve noticed it. Your breasts aren’t similar in shape or size. One is bigger than the other. And you don’t like it. In fact, you are increasingly self-conscious and uncomfortable about it.

Well the truth is no two breasts can match perfectly. There are usually slight differences in size and shape, with one breast often being marginally larger than the other. Fortunately, the difference is usually small enough to overlook.

But when the asymmetry is more severe, embarrassing you, or making you self-conscious, you may need to undergo a procedure to correct the visibly uneven breasts. At Politis Plastic Surgery, we help women feel more comfortable and confident by fixing severe and modest breast asymmetry.

How is breast asymmetry corrected ?

Asymmetry is corrected through breast augmentation, breast lift, breast reduction, or a combination of any of these procedures. The choice of procedure depends on the type and severity of the asymmetry.

Though the chosen procedure may be performed on only one breast, this is quite rare and done with more subtle degrees of asymmetry. In most cases, both breasts require surgery, particularly to address the amount of skin and location of the nipples.

(a) Breast augmentation

When one of your breasts is visibly smaller than the other, a surgeon will often recommend augmenting the smaller breast using saline or silicone implants.

During the procedure, the surgeon may opt to place breast implants in one or both breasts, depending on the severity of the asymmetry and your desired results.  It is common to have the breast implant placed in the smaller breast to increase its size.

(b) Breast lift

For breast asymmetry that occurs as excessive sagging on one breast, a breast lift (mastopexy) may be the best option. Your surgeon will remove the sagging and excess skin from one breast and tighten it to give it a more symmetric shape and to support a firmer contour complimenting the other breast.  The breast lift procedure is completed through several incision techniques but the choice of technique depends on your specific body.

(c) Breast reduction

When you desire to match your larger breast to your smaller one, your plastic surgeon may recommend breast reduction surgery. Excess breast tissue, skin, and fat are removed from the larger breast via excision or liposuction to reduce it to the size of the smaller breast, creating a contour closer in shape and size to the other breast. Breast reduction usually includes a breast lift, so the procedure may be done on both breasts even if there is only reduction on one side.

(d) Blending of procedures

Simply inserting implants under sagging skin may not give the lift you desire. And placing implants without removing excess, stretched skin may only result in larger, sagging breasts.

Likewise, when only a size boost is needed, in addition to firmer breasts, a breast lift alone may give disappointing results. A breast lift tends to work well for breasts that are fairly even in size and only unevenly shaped but often fails if the breasts are widely different in size.

So in many cases if your breast asymmetry is due to shrinkage, wide variation in size or massive difference in shape, your plastic surgeon will opt for a combination of breast lift, reduction, and augmentation to achieve optimal results. In fact, a breast lift combined with breast augmentation can work beautifully together to correct sagging, increase breast size, and yield shapelier, fuller breasts.

Are you unhappy with your asymmetric breasts? Would you like to fix the asymmetry but aren’t sure about the right procedure? Contact Politis Plastic Surgery today to speak with an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon who fixes breast asymmetry on a regular basis.

Dr. Effie Politis will give you candid honest recommendations on whether a breast lift, breast augmentation, or a combination of procedures will give you the best results for breast asymmetry. She will also customize the procedure to meet your unique aesthetic goals ensuring you consider different looks and options before you make a decision. For more information on fixing breast asymmetry and other cosmetic issues, visit the site “Politis Plastic Surgery”.

References:

Working with Dr. Effie Politis

I love Dr. Politis, I think she’s amazing, I think she truly cares about her patients and wants to do the right thing and the best thing for them, and sometimes the answer to that is that we don’t do surgery on you. We’re not out to take money it’s not, you know, we want to survive but we’re not going to take somebody’s money if we don’t think we can provide them with the outcome that they’re looking for or if we don’t feel like that’s the safest thing for them medically. I always tell people she’s a mom who happens to be a surgeon because I do feel like she puts her family, you know, as a high level of importance in her life. And I respect her for that as part of why I enjoy working with her because I’ve worked with physicians in the past that maybe didn’t put their family first and I think that we all should put our families first that’s what family’s for. I love working with her I feel like we understand each other there’s mutual respect she is comfortable with what I tell her and i’m very comfortable with the responses I get back from her so I feel like we, you know, work really well in that respect

Why do women undergo breast explantation?

Hi everyone it’s Dr. Effie Politis and I’d like to talk about a great article on the April edition of the PRS called

“Contemporary Strategies in Breast Explantation Surgery”. So what is explantation surgery? It is a surgery in which someone proceeds with removing their implants and not replacing them. I’m seeing quite a few patients that are interested in the surgery for various reasons. We all know that implants are man-made devices.

The first reason that women would opt to undergo the surgery is because of implant rupture.

I tell women that breast implants are not a one and done device. They are prosthetics that are placed in your body, so you need surveillance and you likely will need one or several surgeries in the future if you opt for breast implants. There is a small chance of them rupturing, we can discuss more on the differences between saline and silicone ruptures in the future. 

Is breast implant associated with ALCL

This is a rare lymphoma associated with texture implants, which I do not use, so it’s not really an issue with my practice but I do see patients with prior history of textured implants. 

Is breast implant illness?

This is a large topic that’s often discussed on social media. It’s the name given to patients for a wide range of symptoms. The current data shows there’s no cause and effect relationship between implants and the symptoms. However we certainly are proponents of what women want to do with their body, so if they want their implant removed they certainly have the right to have that done. However, the data based on long term studies does not show whether explantation surgery reliably reduces these symptoms. 

The last reason why women want their implants removed is for non-medical reasons, like the effects of aging, weight changes, pregnancy and shifting perspectives in aesthetic beauty. 

As we know there is a movement towards a smaller breast. So women seeking explantation surgery just need to be aware of the risk and benefits and any adjunct surgeries that can be done to enhance their breast. We look at each woman on an individual basis. It’s a woman’s choice to have her implants removed and we consider the patient’s risk profile, patient preference as well as safety when guiding them on whether explantation surgery is the right surgery for them. I would advise you all to always consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon with a specialty in breast surgery when considering these types of procedures. You can always DM me or look at my website, I’ll have more information. Thank you so much 

What is Breast Explantation Surgery

Hi everyone, this is Dr. Effie Politis and I’d like to talk about a great article on the April edition of the PRS called contemporary strategies in breast explantation surgery.

So, what is explantation surgery? It is a surgery in which someone proceeds with removing their implants and not replacing them. I’m seeing quite a few patients that are interested in this surgery for various reasons. We all know that implants are man-made devices.

The first reason that women would opt to undergo the surgery is because of implant rupture. I tell women that breast implants are not a “one and done” device, they are a prosthetic that is placed in your body so you need surveillance and you likely will need one or several surgeries in the future if you opt for breast implants. There is a small chance of them rupturing. We can discuss more the difference between saline and silicone ruptures in the future.

Number two is Breast Implant-Associated ALCL (anaplastic large cell lymphoma), this is a rare lymphoma associated with textured implants which I do not use. So it’s not really an issue with my practice but I do see some patients with prior history of textured implants.

Number three is breast implant illness. This is a large topic that’s often discussed on social media. It’s a name given to patients for a wide range of symptoms. The current data shows that there is no cause and effect relationship between implants and these symptoms, however, we certainly are proponents of what women want to do with their bodies. So if they want their implants removed they certainly have the right to have that done. However, the data based on long term studies does not show whether explantation surgery reliably reduces these symptoms.

The last reason women want their implants removed is for non-medical reasons like effects of aging, weight changes, pregnancy, and shifting perspective in aesthetic beauty, as we know there is a movement towards smaller breasts. So women seeking explantation surgery just need to be aware of the risks and benefits in any adjunct surgeries that can be done to enhance their breasts. We look at each woman on an individual basis. It’s a woman’s choice to have their implants removed and we consider the patient’s risk profile, patient preference as well as safety when guiding them on whether explantation surgery is the right surgery for them. I would advise you all to always consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon with a specialty in breast surgery when considering these types of procedures. You can always DM me or look at my website as I’ll have more information. Thank you so much.

What to consider before you get a breast augmentation

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Effie Politis, MD, FACS (@dreffiepolitis)

Considering breast augmentation?

Whether your reasons are for the enhancement of your appearance, correction of uneven breasts, or following a mastectomy procedure, there are several things you have to keep in mind.

When considering breast augmentation, it is important to speak with a plastic surgeon who will help you decide whether the procedure is right for you. At Politis Plastic Surgery, we will conduct a physical exam, get your medical history, listen to your concerns, consider your aesthetic goals, and offer options for how to proceed. We only recommend this surgical procedure to patients in good health who have realistic expectations. This is why the consultation is critical.

While your surgeon may use implants, fat transfer, or both to augment your breasts, the decision primarily depends on your existing breast tissue, body mass, and frame, as well as your desired body shape. The surgeon will create a personalized plan and provide you with pre-operative instructions to ensure the experience is as easy, safe, and comfortable as possible.

There’s more info on breast augmentation in our website. You can check the link in our bio.

Here is a sneak peek of our recent breast augmentation patient. Will share a full before & after soon, along with the behind-the-scenes of the procedure! Stay tuned!

What is Breast Implant Removal?

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Effie Politis, MD, FACS (@dreffiepolitis)

A breast implant removal or explantation of a ruptured 35-year-old silicone implant. ⁣⁣
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“Signs that your silicone implant has ruptured can include changes in breast shape and size, and increasing pain, firmness, and swelling over a period of weeks. ⁣⁣

When a saline or silicone gel-filled implant has ruptured, the implant should be surgically removed. In some cases, your plastic surgeon will also remove the capsule of scar tissue surrounding the implant.” (breastcancer.org) ⁣⁣

Dr. Effie Politis Instagram
View the Before/After Gallery