Do I really need bigger breasts?
When it comes to the appearance of the breasts, some of us believe that the bigger the better, but this is not always the case. The beauty standards of modern-day society can lead us to believe that bigger breasts are one of the most important features of a woman’s anatomy, but this is not necessarily the case. When it comes to beauty, the body should be seen as a whole, not multiple features added together. This is the reason why I always emphasize on harmony and proportion between the features of the body and not necessarily enhancing just one feature to become the focus.
There are patients coming to the pre-operative consultation for breast augmentation surgery and ask “do I really need bigger breasts?” What they don’t know is that this is not a question to ask the plastic surgeon, but yourself. Of course, during the pre-operative consultation, the plastic surgeon will perform exact measurements on your body, including height and weight, and ask about your aesthetic goals. Depending on these, he will recommend a suitable type of implant and develop the surgical plan accordingly.
The plastic surgeon will tell you what results can be achieved when using a certain type of implants or placement, but he can’t tell you if you really need bigger breasts or not. This is something deeply personal and only you can make this decision as it doesn’t really have anything to do with your anatomical characteristics, but how you feel in your skin and your self-image. We had patients with a nice B cup who felt they were not feminine at all and wanted to get at least a D or E cup with the help of implants because this was their idea of feminine beauty. At the same time, we had patients with the same bra cup size who were actually happy with how their breasts looked but wanted to know if they needed the surgery as someone else insisted they would look better with implants. Resorting to plastic surgery to increase the size of your breasts to comply with someone else’s beauty ideal is never wise and often it doesn’t deliver satisfactory results for the patient.
What I often advise patients who are not really sure about getting on with the procedure or not is to make a list of pros and cons. I talk to them about the potential complications of the procedure, even if they occur in just rare cases, and also the long-term consequences of getting breast implants. Then I ask them to take some time and write down the pros and cons of getting breast implants. If on the list of pros we see things such as an improved quality of life, the recommendation is usually to go forward with the procedure. If we have a long list of cons and minimal benefits, then the answer might be no to going through with the procedure.