Breast Implants Appearance After Surgery

Breast Implants Appear High and Nipple Position Low

Breast Implants Symptoms:

  • Breast Implants look too high on chest
  • One side usually higher than the other
  • Nipples facing downward
  • Breast tissue hanging down over the implant
  • Breast Implants appear small and flat but high on chest

Causes:

After breast augmentation the breast implants are placed under the muscles of the chest wall. The muscles are normally attached to the 6th rib. However, order to allow the implants to drop this attachment is released. This allows the muscle to slowly separate from the rib. The implant, then, drops into this expanding space much like a trap door opening. This process can take up to 4 months to complete. In patients with tuberous breasts it can even take longer. Until this “trap door” opens up, the breast implants have no where to go but up to the collar bones. This is why it appears so high. Until the implant drops, there is a separation of the implant and the breast tissue. The implant is high on the chest and the breast tissue remains low making the breasts appear long and unusual. This separation will go away when the implant drops. Until then, the nipples will face downward and the breast tissue will hang below the breast implants.

The muscles are not used to something underneath them so they try to resist stretching. In fact, they are so strong that they flatten the implant. This compresses the breast implants upward and makes it look smaller than it is. As the muscles relax, the implant will pop outward and appear bigger. The entire process is called “Drop and Pop”.

Treatment:

Sometimes no treatment is necessary. The implants will Drop and Pop on their own. However, massage is usually necessary. Actually, the massage is more of a squeeze and hold to help open the “trap door” and push the implants down. Invariably, one implant will be higher and more tense than the other and will need more massaging. This is usually the side that was higher before the surgery. Often, the higher one will change during the post op period. It is important to not wear a support bra during this period unless instructed otherwise. Sometimes, a bandeau is helpful to push the implants down in between massaging. Massaging varies but usually is 1 minute each breast every 2 hours while awake.          

More Examples of Breast Implants After Surgery:

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