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How Much Cleavage to Expect After Breast Augmentation

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By Jerome Edelstein, MD

What Determines Post Breast Augmentation Cleavage

Cleavage is the term used to define the distance (or gap) between the breasts. What we typically think of as attractive cleavage is called “narrow”, with the breasts naturally closer together. Many women who choose to undergo breast augmentation desire narrow cleavage, but this cannot always be accomplished if the breasts are naturally widely separated.

Post-operative cleavage will always be determined by the natural distance that exists between the inner edges of a woman’s breasts and the distance between her nipples. When performing breast augmentation, although he can cheat the implants closer together a small amount, your surgeon must centre the implants more or less beneath the nipples. Placing them elsewhere will lead to an unnatural appearance. This means that patients will have cleavage similar to their natural state even after their augmentation results become visible.Dr. Edelstein explains how to create great cleavage and avoid the Uni-Boob.

WHY CAN’T BREAST IMPLANTS CREATE NARROW CLEAVAGE?

Overly Close Implants

It may seem like narrow cleavage could be achieved by placing the implants closer together, but this isn’t the case. If the implants are positioned too close to one another (or too close to the vertical midline of the chest) in a patient with naturally wide cleavage the nipples will end up pointing outward on the outer side of the breasts. Instead of helping to improve the patient’s cleavage this surgical approach would create an unnatural and aesthetically displeasing outcome.

Placing the implants too close together can also lead to implants that are visible through the skin or rippled in appearance. Slim patients will have the most dramatic complications in these cases since they have thin skin covering their midline chest bone and a lack of fatty tissue hiding the implant.

Finally, when the implants are placed under the chest muscle (subpectoral), there is only so far the implants can be placed closer together because the muscle actually inserts along the entire edge of the chest bone (sternum) and can’t be completely stripped off (you need the pectoralis muscle to move your arm!).

Overly Large Implants

The placement of large implants meant to close the distance between wider cleavage can also create unpleasant results. If overly large implants are used the inner edge of the product will rest underneath the chest bone’s thin skin and can, again, become visible or look rippled. Patients, especially those with narrow chests, will also be troubled by implants that extend too far into the outer edge of the breast. This leads to the breast bulging in the underarm area.THE PROPER APPROACH TO BREAST AUGMENTATION AND CLEAVAGEOur Plastic Surgeons are skilled at enhancing the breasts of women with both narrow and wide cleavage. During the consultation, your surgeon takes chest and breast measurements that allow them to place the implants as close together as possible without causing the kind of complications described above. The end goal of a breast augmentation is always to create beautiful, natural results and this cannot be accomplished by improperly placing implants. Because of this, your surgeon is always careful to centre the implants underneath the areola. They will also offset the implant distance in women with nipples that are naturally far apart or facing outward on the chest. Proper implant placement is also dictated by how the muscles attach to the breast bone since the devices must be inserted underneath the muscle.

Not every patient will have the same cleavage depth and width after their augmentation is finished. Your surgeon is typically able to predict the surgical outcome before the procedure by assessing various factors. Cleavage will depend, in large part, on breastbone prominence, the shape of a patient’s chest wall, the amount of fatty tissue covering their sternum and the softness of the contour that joins the sternum and breasts. Pre-operative nipple positioning, breast orientation and separation also play a key role in predicting the results that augmentation can provide.

While it’s a myth that implants will always create noticeable cleavage some women may see improvement if they have an average chest wall size. Just the same, your surgeon cannot guarantee enhanced cleavage for every one of his patients since personal anatomy varies between every person.

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