In our society, everybody wants to look sexy and women want bigger breasts and a nicer shape. But when it comes to breast augmentation, bigger is not necessarily better. Even though your breasts might handle bigger implants than your anatomy dictates, having bigger breast implants can lead to different complications. One complication that occurs with time if your breast implants are bigger than your anatomy can handle is a lateral shift of the breast implant when you lie down. In other words the implants shift to the sides when the patient lies on her back.
So, why does this happen? When a breast implant surgery is performed, the implant is placed through different anatomical incisions, and the skin stretches to accommodate the new volume. Depending on the skin tone of your breast, it may be able to handle more or less volume, but the skin is elastic, and when the skin is stretched, it creates tension. Think about a rubber band; when you stretch it, it eventually reaches a point where the rubber band does not stretch anymore. When the skin is stretched excessively, the internal structures of the skin are also stretched. This is the reason people develop stretch marks, but also, there is relaxation of the skin with time, which can occur months to years after the surgery.
So, let’s say that you have an augmentation with a large implant. What is going to happen is that the skin will relax at some point in the future. The breast tissue will get thinner, and ultimately, because the skin has been stretched, the amount of skin envelope actually increases. This is the reason some patients require a breast lift after breast implants: because the skin stretches with time and gravity. So, let’s take a look at what will happen with the lateral shape of the implant after breast augmentation. This patient, lying essentially flat, has a big gap between the breasts. The implants are laterally shifted, meaning they are moving toward the sides. Why? Because there is more excess skin and there is nothing holding the implants in the anatomical planes where they were previously.
You may be having an augmentation to look sexy, but you need to be realistic about the size of the implants that your body can handle to minimize complications. Even with an appropriate implant, you might still develop certain complications, including a mild lateral shift, but we can delay or completely avoid this by choosing an implant that is appropriate for your body.