Can I Get Large Breast Implants Without A Lift?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Adore Dr. Barry Eppley’s work! I have been a big fan for many years!!! I have never had a breast augmentation. My breast tissue growth is related to hormones. Because of that I have noticed significant reduction in volume on the top of the breast and would like an implant to help with this. I know that Dr. Eppley is a genius when it comes to implants and there is no one I would trust more!! I am very tall and my rib cage is set on the bigger side. So I am looking for a larger sized implant, I am afraid of a lift. Hopefully this helps get the ball rolling! Hope to hear from you

A:Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. I can certainly appreciate your desire to avoid a lift with any form or amount of breast augmentation. The first statement I should make is that, by classic breast augmentation standards, you should never have breast implants without a lift. When the nipples of the breast mounds sit south of the inframammary fold (below the equator so to speak) no size of an implant is going to drive up the breast mound or nipples.. Actual lifting of the breast mound only occurs with breast implants when the nipple sits above the inframammary fold or when there is little breast tissue and the nipples sits at the inframammary fold. Clearly neither of these situations apply to you. What actually happens when you put a breast implant in when the breast mound is situated lower is that it actually drives the breast mound down further rather than lifting it.

That being said I have been ‘coerced’ to put breast implants in breast mounds like yours and usually the patient ends up regretting it as it gives the breast mound a peculiar double bubble shape and then the patient is almost obligated to have a breast lift later to rectify the iatrogenically created problem…. and the breasts lift becomes very difficult and limited because of the large implant 

Thus my best advice is to either: 1) don’t have any aesthetic breast surgery and accept the breasts the way they are, or 2) come to grips with the reality that you really need a breast lift and have that done first. Then you can come back later and put in large breast implants with an the overall result that is going to be so much better. Don’t try to do the two together as it leads to adverse scarring and limits the size of the implant you can place. Staging such a lift and implant breast reshaping approach is clearly the far superior way to go.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon