When Boston patients come into my practice for a breast augmentation consultation, it’s pretty much a certainty that during our time together, we will identify some degree of preexisting breast asymmetry. All too often I think patients are told by family, friends, and practitioners that breast asymmetry is normal and therefore not something to be expected to be corrected. I think that this is the wrong approach. Yes, trying to achieve complete symmetry between two sides is difficult (occasionally impossible!)- but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be attempted. A perfect result should always be the goal.
Asymmetry exists along a continuum of both size and shape. The simple solution- selecting breast implants of different sizes or shapes for each side to account for these differences- in my experience just never “looks” right. I liken it to laying down foundations of different dimensions (the implants) then expecting the houses built on these foundations (the breasts) to look the same. They match no more than your house would if you lifted it up and tried to lay it over your neighbor’s basement.
Instead, I try to create a situation where the same type and size of implant is used on both sides, and then tailor the overlying tissues so that the final shape and volume are the same. Key to this too is having the scar patterns on both sides match- again so that one’s eye doesn’t immediately identify that one side is different than the other.
In cases of mild or moderate asymmetry I can typically accomplish this all during one procedure- but occasionally cases of severe asymmetry, or “tuberous breast” deformity, may require more than one procedure staged months apart.
The correction of breast asymmetry can be both physically and psychologically beneficial, and exploring your options at Coastal Plastic Surgery can help you answer any questions you may have regarding breast augmentation options.
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