A Surprising Thing about Breast Implant Shape
Most women considering breast augmentation know there are several models of implants with a variety of attributes. Patients and their plastic surgeons choose from different manufacturers, sizes, projections, base widths and fillings. And shape—there are round breast implants and implants described as “anatomical,” or teardrop shaped.
You might think it makes sense to consider teardrop shaped breast implants. Most people want a natural looking slope to the chest wall, and it may seem that models that are fuller at the bottom and taper toward the top would create that result. But in fact, for our New York breast augmentation patients, we almost always use round implants.
Here’s the surprising thing reported on by several publications recently: when breast enlargement surgery is performed properly for an average patient, even seasoned board certified plastic surgeons can’t tell afterward which type of implant was used.
This conclusion is well supported. Two years ago, two plastic surgeons conducted an experiment at an annual meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). They showed before and after breast augmentation photos of 20 patients to the audience of 305 Society members. Half the patients had received round breast implants and half had anatomical models. The audience of plastic surgeons identified the correct implants just 49% of the time—a result you might expect if the doctors had chosen their answers completely at random.
Just recently, a Spanish plastic surgeon conducted a similar experiment. In his study, 30 plastic surgeons and plastic surgery nurses evaluated pre- and post-op photos of 30 breast augmentation patients. Again, half the women had one kind of implant and half had the other. The results were similar to the more informal session at the ASAPS meeting: participants got the answer right about half the time. Interestingly, the doctors and nurses participated in the experiment again a few weeks later, and individual raters did not always choose the same answer for the same patient.
This recent study performed in Spain and published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, was discussed in the online publication Science Daily. The subjects all had implants of 340 cc or less placed under the muscle, meaning that the women had what could be considered “normal” breast augmentation procedures. No overly large implants, no significant physical challenges—in other words, these were average breast enlargement surgeries. The conclusion reached was that there’s no ”justification for the systematic use of anatomically shaped implants in this patient.”
Essentially, this is the strategy we have adopted for our New York breast augmentation patients. Round models are our go-to implants for just about every woman. We sometimes make exceptions and choose shaped implants when we are performing breast reconstruction or breast augmentation revision and there’s a good amount of scar tissue present. In these cases, when there may not be sufficient natural tissue present to adequately cover a round implant and allow a smooth, natural slope to the chest wall, a teardrop shaped model may be best.
If you’re wondering why plastic surgeons would choose round implants most often if there’s no visible difference, there are two key reasons. The most important is that implants occasionally rotate to some extent within the breast pocket after surgery. Naturally, with a round implant this isn’t an issue. The same can’t be said for a shaped implant! In addition, anatomical implants cost a bit more than round models, and many plastic surgeons agree that there’s no reason for patients to pay the difference.
If you’re not convinced, schedule an appointment and we’ll show you! New York breast augmentation consultations with us can be quite educational. You can see and feel different implant models for yourself, plus we can share before and after breast augmentation photos you can evaluate. We can even give you a test like the two we just discussed see if you can tell the difference!
