What Is The Cause Of My Asymmetry In My Breast Implants?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had breast implants six months ago. I initially was a small A cup and became a full B cup after surgery. While I am happy with the size and shape of the right breast, the left breast is not even close to the same and is very uneven. It is smaller and hangs lower. My doctor said my breasts were different from the start and this is why they look uneven now. I want a revision to make them look more even but fear that this might happen again since no one seems to know why this happened in the first place. I have attached some pictures for your review. Can you tell me why they look so different?

A: While identically-sized and shaped breast implants are twins, that doesn’t always mean the result will be perfectly symmetric and have twin breasts also. What breast implants really do is take what someone already has and makes it bigger. If there are significant differences between the two breasts initially, those differences may become greater afterwards. Asymmetry of breast implants is one of the most common reasons for revisional surgery in breast augmentation. In looking at your pictures, however, that does not appear to be the case. You left breast implant has bottomed out and sits much lower than the right one. This can be significantly improved by breast implant repositioning and tightening of the lower pole of the surrounding capsule. Your breast asymmetry appears to be surgically induced and not a naturally-occurring one.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana