Newbie Info
This page should be a helpful guide in your quest for larger, fuller breasts in general, and larger-than-typical augmentation in particular.
Why go with larger breast implants?
This is a very personal choice. Some women want to “get their money’s worth”. Some women have been well-advised that if they don’t go large enough the first time, they could end up disappointed with the results a few months post-op. Some women simply relish the idea of having larger-than-average breasts, downplaying any negatives and embracing the positives.
Some related links to consider:
- Prepping for breast implant surgery, including a brief consideration of larger implants
Ptosis
If you have larger, droopy breasts, check to see whether your areola is below the breast fold. If so, you have what is categorized as grade 3 ptosis. Some helpful links:
If you fall into this category, there’s an excellent chance the surgeon will tell you that he will need to do a lift, either as part of the breast augmentation surgery, or as a separate surgery prior to the BA. He will (or should) clearly tell you that the risk of not getting a lift means a pretty good likelihood that you’ll end up with perky breasts where the implants are, but droopy breast tissue hanging from them (ie, not an aesthetically pleasing look). If you think you can convince him not to do the lift in this case, good luck with that. Remember, these surgeons have aesthetics to consider, and would be hard pressed to proceed with something that runs contrary to their training and experience.
Note that with a ‘lollipop’ or anchor lift, you will end up with a vertical scar down the front of the breast (from the bottom of the areola to the breast fold); there’s no way around this, unfortunately. However, some clinics offer micropigmentation treatments (essentially tattooing) and other options for minimizing the resulting scar.
Sizing, Part One
If you want to see what it’s like to have larger breasts (post-op), try the rice test. This means buying a bra with larger cups than you currently wear, and getting some old stockings or hose that you don’t mind cutting up. Get some dry rice, measure up an arbitrary amount (500-1000cc to start), pour the rice into one stocking (optionally cutting off the excess legging), make a knot (such that you can untie it, but which won’t untie itself), put on the bra and stuff it into the one cup, moulding around your breast as appropriate. Repeat for the other side. Adjust for comfort and looks. If you feel you need more/less rice, remove the stocking from your bra and add/remove rice as you like. Don’t forget to measure and take notes, so you know what size you like.
Alternatively you can try this with potato buds, although the lighter weight may not be indicative of what the weight of augmented breasts will be like.
For something completely different, try this with plastic bags and water. Note that this is potentially quite a bit messier if you don’t seal the bags properly.
For doing size conversions, go here: http://www.googleguide.com/calculator.html
Another option to doing the rice test (and one which might be more comfy if you decide to wear them for extended hours in public) is getting a pair of breast forms, as sold here: www.thebreastformstore.com
Related links:
- Rice (water) test (brief)
- Rice test (long)
-
Sizing, Part Two
Trying to figure out an approximation for relating CCs to cupsize? Try these guidelines. Note, your band size will make a difference here.
- 32 Band: 1 cup = approximately 180cc
- 34 Band: 1 cup = approximately 200cc
- 36 Band: 1 cup = approximately 225cc
- 38 Band: 1 cup = approximately 250cc
NB: Don’t think of this as an accurate conversion calculation from Imperial to Metric. This guideline is only to show the relationship of a bra cupsize increase, given a certain band size to begin with.
Sizing, Part Three
An implant’s diameter/projection varies proportionally (not directly) as its volume. Meaning (for example), a 200cc implant may be twice the volume of a 100cc implant, but a 200cc implant doesn’t have twice the diameter/projection of a 100cc implant.
The following chart should help illustrate the relationship of volume to diameter (and thus projection, where diameter is twice the size of radius, and projection having the same value of radius). For want of a better way of calculating this, this chart assumes a perfect half-sphere.
Examples of larger augmented breasts
There’s no shortage of availability of before/after pics from surgeons’ web sites, and there’s no shortage of availability of pics of adult models who are baring all. What’s a little hard to come by is a reference catalogue in the larger sizes, clearly detailing the look, what size and type of implant was used, how much overfill (if saline), etc.
However, here is a good reference to get you started:
Meet the Surgeon, or Tips to Plan for your Surgical Consultation
It’s great to learn everything you can regarding breast augmentation, available styles/sizes/manufacturers of implants, etc. If you find you’re dealing with a surgeon who thinks that anything larger than 500cc is only intended for strippers and porn stars (ie, being generally inflexible and stuck in his ways), find another surgeon. Larger implants exist, and so do the surgeons who know how to implant them.
That said, don’t try forcing your opinions onto a surgeon. An open discussion is one thing, but trying to convince him to do something against his own personal and professional ethics is just wrong. Another thing to remember is to go with your gut instinct; if the consult is going reasonably well, but something inside you is telling you this surgeon isn’t for you, listen to that inner voice. By the same token, if you have a consult with a surgeon and things are just clicking for you, he is most likely The One.
A surgeon’s experience will be critical here. Be aware that the creation of the implant pocket (or modification, if you already have implants and are going back for an upgrade) will be a strongly determining factor regarding the final results. The implant shape (eg, HP or high profile) will have a modest influence on the final outcome, but the pocket shape will have a major influence. Poor pocket creation/placement will have poor results, no matter how amazing the implant’s reputation is.
Start collecting pics of the look you like. Create a folder on your computer, save what you can when you can. Periodically go through that folder, weeding out all but your top 5-10 most favourite pics. When you go looking for pics, you’d be best off looking for pics of women who have obviously had implants, as otherwise the surgeon will take one look and know immediately that a) the woman is natural, and b) he can’t achieve that look surgically. More specifically, consider women who have amazingly large and full/pendulous breasts versus women who have obvious implants. As much as any of us like the look of natural/pendulus, no surgeon can recreate the pendulous look, at least not without a significant implant volume (ref: Keisha Evans).
Post-op surgical wear, etc
If you’re looking for items to help speed your recovery:
- www.makemeheal.com, in particular the bras and related garments
Join and Post
Considering going big but are a little on the shy side? Fret not; create an account over at www.overflowingforum.com and share your plans!
See also
New to breast augmentation surgery? Check out these links.
Be advised that while these sites have great information on breast augmentation surgery in general, they are unlikely to have much in the way of large implants.
