newbie! advice please!

Hi Ladies
Im 5'5ish, 9st and 34 B/ small C. I have an 18 month old and lost a bit of fullness since. I have been advised to go with either 330cc anatomical overs as i want a natural look and was aiming for a full C / D cup. My other option he gave was to have 375cc anatomical partials as he said you lose about 10% of the size with unders. What do you guys think I would end up measuring size wise? Would you recommend unders or overs? I play netball once a week and i think this is why he mentioned overs as i have enough tissue to cover but im worried about if i lose weight then there would be rippling etc. Have any of you guys had unders and play sport? I just can't decide what to do ! HELP ARGH!!
xx

Hi Shivs, welcome to the forum! As a newbie, why not head over to the Introduce Yourself section, so we can all say hi!

Firstly, no one will ever be able to tell you what size you're going to come out. You could find someone of the exact stats and have the same implant, and you'll both come out different sizes. It depends on you and your body alone. Secondly, don't worry about sizes - its just a number. Instead, why not trawl the internet for some pics of what you like and dislike, and how you want to look. So many girls come here looking for that 'full C/small D', myself included. But what you perceive as those sizes, and what they actually are, are two completely different things. Its entirely skewed by every glamour girl in the business having a DD chest - they're not. I went in looking for a C (thinking I was a 36) and came out with a 32E. If you'd have told me that pre-op, I'd have freaked and gone smaller...and been disappointed. They suit my frame and body, regardless of the size.

I don't know where this myth of 'losing 10%' with unders comes from. Its physics - you put a volume in, you're going to increase by that volume, regardless of position. There is no losing of any percentage, where does it go?! Just because its under the muscle, doesn't mean its lost, its just elsewhere! We've had a few girls here switch placements, and they come out with the same size.

As for overs v unders, you can still get a very natural look with overs. You'd be hard pushed to tell the placement of most of the girls Avi's on here. It depends on your exercise regime. If its only netball once a week, unders might be ok, but if you're lifting, overs would be better to avoid muscle distortion. I have unders and I (try to) run, and they're fine as long as I have a high impact sports bra on.

Best advise I can give you is get out there and have a few more consultations in order to get different opinions. At least 3 is good so you can get a good 'average' idea of what's best for you. You never know, the next two might say something completely different.

Hello and welcome to Breast Buddies Shivs   

It's said that if you can have a choice of placement Shivs that overs are always the best option.

You can read a BAAPS surgeons thoughts on placements [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

With playing netball, you must have quite a bit of upper body muscle and the reason why your surgeon would have suggested overs being your best option is because they want the very best for you.

Women with a lot of upper body muscle do risk 'muscle distortion' what this means is as your upper body muscles contracts, the implant could be forced upward, making it visible. This isn't something that always happens, but it is a risk if you are muscular.

Size....well, that simply something, none of us without qualifications in plastic surgery and specialising on breast surgery can possibly tell you and even then, no surgeon can give you an absolute guaranteed size. They can only ever give you a guesstamate.

Sizing is just one huge enigma, with two women of the same build and same stats having the same sized implant can come home with two completely different sizes.

This is because we all have an anatomy that unique to ourselves. When comparing women with exact same stats, a surgeon looks beyond this. Between the two women ones boobs may hang differently than the other, their boobs may have a different sized cleavage or they may have more or less breast tissue than the other. They may also have more or less overall body fat. The ribs too are very important when considering size, so one women could have concave rive, the other obtuse... The factors do go and on, but in a nutshell, we all are very different to each other.

You can take a look at this thread [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] if you'd like to but do remember....what you find would only be a 'general idea'. Xx

Just to add about the 10% loss of volume myth.

Think about it girls, you're having your implant placed under the muscle because you don't have enough breast tissue, so you're losing out on the breast tissue that covers the implant. But.... In replacement of that breast tissue, you gain the cushioning needed to hide the implant with breast muscle!   

So, how is possible to lose 10% of your volume! when you're simply swapping breast tissue for breast muscle!

Hi Cookie and Charlii,
Thanks so much for your replies :)
Basically, what my ps said was that if the implant is under the muscle it is compressed a lot more so makes the appearance of the implant smaller than if it is over the muscle. I just don't know what to think lol!
Do you know if you go for overs, is there more likelihood of sagging as there is no muscle to support the implant?
I think I'm going to go see the PS again and talk things through. I am also due to see another PS in a couple of weeks so ill see what he says too.

Thanks again for all the info and help :) xxx

hello my ps decieded on my placement off the implant and size to balance out the whole off my body,i 100% trust him hes the expert ,my husband also came along and completley agreed ,for me its not just about the bust but balancing my whole body out ,  x

Sagging-wise, I think it may be more likely with overs, but it really depends on how you take care of them post op. If you're wondering around braless daily, then there's going to be increased sagging. But if you have a properly fitted bra, a good high end sports bra, and some sort of support at night, then they should keep for a much longer time.

Shivs wrote:Basically, what my ps said was that if the implant is under the muscle it is compressed a lot more so makes the appearance of the implant smaller than if it is over the muscle. I just don't know what to think lol!

Initially after surgery everything will feel very tight regardless of over or partials. But....over time, your muscle and skin covering the implant will stretch and everything will start to relax, so your implant won't be compressed at all after healing. If this were the case they would remain in an unnatural position up high on the chest.

After healing, all relaxes and ,the implant settles nicely into the breast pocket that will have been created for the implant. It will feel soft and squidgy and not at all compressed by the muscle. The muscle is only acting to hold the implant and act as a cushion.

Do you know if you go for overs, is there more likelihood of sagging as there is no muscle to support the implant?

Regardless of over or partials, both will sag over time, and there are pros and cons for both placement. As you mentioned, with partials the muscle does hold the implant therefore your breasts will take longer to sag than overs will. That's the pro for partials, the pros for overs is that they will sag over time 'naturally'  it is possible that partials could hold on to the implant and for the skin to sag over the implant, having skin draping off the implant, giving a very unnatural appearance. Neither of these complications (sagging with overs and sagging over the implant with partials) may happen at all because again...there are many factors determined by your own anatomy and your skins elasticity that will determine how things are going to go over time.

I think I'm going to go see the PS again and talk things through. I am also due to see another PS in a couple of weeks so ill see what he says too.

It's great you're seeing more than one surgeon and questioning everything   

As Charlii mentioned. Caring for your breasts post-op will make a huge difference. When you have nice boobs you do tend to want to look after them, moisturising daily to keep the moisture in your skin and keeping them well supported is going to help your boobs aesthetically over time. But, partials or overs they're both gonna sag  

If you are worried about sagging, it's also worth bearing in mind that the bigger (thus heavier) the implant, the more support it will need.

hi and welcome

I havent read all the above comments so if I repeat I apologise

If you can take pics of the look and size that you want as a discription to your surgeon might not be what he think your ideal boobs are might not be the image that he has in his head

I had unders and do a little work out not alot on the chest but I do hae tighter than normal chest muscles which has leaded to needing a reop to release the muscles a bit and I am looking at getting them moved to overs, so def discuss this witht he surgeon xx

Yes, I was recommended overs, I think mainly based on my age and the fact that I like to keep toned, although I certainly no gym bunny... far from it.