Breast augmentation increases the volume of the breast, usually with implants and in some cases with your own fat. What defines the result is not the size you ask for, but the measurements of your chest, the quality of your skin and the breast tissue you already have.
That is the central conversation of the consultation. The same implant looks very different on two people with different chest widths, and a volume out of proportion to the breast base does not just look artificial: it increases the strain on the tissues and speeds up the drop over the years.
So the approach does not start from a target cup size but from measurements. The width of the breast base is taken, how much tissue coverage there is is assessed, and from there the possible range of implants is decided. Within that range the choice is yours, with sizers and your clothes on.
It usually helps when there is
- Little breast volume, out of keeping with your proportions.
- Loss of volume after pregnancy, breastfeeding or weight loss.
- Noticeable asymmetry between one breast and the other.
- A tubular breast or a narrow base, which calls for different planning.
- A previous implant you want to change in size, type or position.
Worth discussing first if
- A pregnancy or breastfeeding planned in the near future.
- A weight still changing significantly, up or down.
- Marked breast droop: it may also need a lift, not just an implant.
- A family or personal history of breast cancer without an up-to-date assessment.
- Smoking: it compromises healing and has to be stopped.
- Expecting an implant to correct the shape of the breast, not only the volume.
None of these rules the procedure out on its own; all of them change the conversation.
With an implant, with fat or with a lift
The route depends on how much volume you want to gain and on whether the breast also needs repositioning. Which one your case calls for is decided in the consultation, with the measurements in hand.
With implants
The most common option and the one that allows a predictable increase. The profile, the volume and the plane of placement — over or under the muscle — are chosen according to your tissue coverage.
With your own fat
Fat transfer, using fat from another part of the body. It gives a moderate and very natural-looking increase, but part of the volume is reabsorbed and it may take more than one session.
Augmentation with a lift
When there is droop as well as volume loss, the implant is combined with a mastopexy. It adds scars and complexity, but it is what the case calls for: an implant on its own does not lift a breast that has dropped.
How your implant is chosen
The width of the breast base is measured and how much of your own tissue there is to cover the implant is checked. Three linked decisions come out of that: the possible diameter, the profile — how far forward it projects — and the plane it goes in. With little coverage, the plane under the muscle protects the result from the edges showing over the years.
The incision is usually made in the fold under the breast, which gives direct access and leaves the scar in a natural crease. There are other routes, and the choice depends on the case and on the type of implant, not on a generic preference.
On size: in the consultation, volumes are tried on with sizers and your clothes on, so the decision is not made on an abstract number. But the range is narrowed beforehand by your measurements, and it is not pushed upwards, because an implant that exceeds the base available is behind a good share of the long-term problems.
From consultation to discharge
This surgery has a slightly more demanding work-up: the breast assessment beforehand is part of the procedure, not a formality.
Consultation and measurements
The chest and breast measurements are taken, the tissue is assessed and volumes are tried on. You leave with the alternatives explained, their risks, and a written quote.
Pre-operative work-up
Laboratory tests, assessment by the anaesthetist and breast imaging — ultrasound or mammogram depending on your age — so that we start from an assessed breast. You will be told to stop smoking and to stop certain medicines.
The surgery
In a licensed surgical facility, under general anaesthesia and with an anaesthetist present. A surgical bra is fitted at the end and, depending on the case, an upper compression band.
Follow-up
A check-up in the first week and scheduled ones after that. You receive the identification card for your implants, with make, model and serial number: keep it, it is your document for any future check.
Recovery, week by week
Recovery is shorter than with other body surgery, but the final shape takes months to appear: the implant has to settle into its pocket.
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First 72 hours
A feeling of pressure and tightness across the chest, rather than sharp pain. It is managed with the medication prescribed. You are asked to sleep on your back and not to lift anything heavy.
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Weeks 1 to 2
The discomfort clearly eases. Back to desk work towards the end of this period. The breasts look high and firm, still far from their final shape.
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Weeks 3 to 6
Normal life apart from impact exercise and work with the arms. The implant starts to drop into position and the breast softens.
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Months 2 to 4
Gradual return to exercise as advised. The shape now resembles the final one, and sensation, if it was altered, usually starts to return to normal.
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Around 6 to 12 months
The result is taken as settled, with the scars mature. From here on it is a matter of long-term monitoring of the implant.
Risks, and what is not promised
All surgery carries risks, and breast augmentation is no exception: bleeding, infection, healing problems, changes in nipple sensation — which may be temporary or permanent —, asymmetry, and capsular contracture, the hardening of the capsule the body forms around the implant, which in some cases means further surgery.
Implants are not lifetime devices. They can rupture or wear out over the years, and a proportion of patients will need a replacement or a removal at some point. Imaging follow-up is recommended as your doctor advises, along with keeping the identification card for your implants.
There is also an uncommon condition associated with textured-surface implants, breast implant associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL). It is rare, it is treatable when picked up in time, and it usually shows itself as late swelling of the breast. It is mentioned here because it is part of the information you should have before deciding, and it is discussed in the consultation.
These risks are reduced by a sound indication, implants with health registration, complete pre-operative tests, a licensed surgical facility and serious follow-up. They are not eliminated. The ones that apply to your case are explained to you in the consultation and set down again in writing in the informed consent you sign before surgery.
The information on this page is for guidance and does not replace an in-person medical consultation. Medical practice is an obligation of means, not of result.
What people ask most about breast augmentation
There is no automatic expiry date, and that figure circulates more as folk wisdom than as medical advice. What is true is that an implant does not last a lifetime: it can rupture or deteriorate, and the likelihood of needing a replacement grows over the years.
The criterion is not the calendar but the monitoring. If your check-ups and your imaging are fine and there are no symptoms, an implant is not changed just because it has had a birthday.
In most cases, yes. The usual techniques preserve the glandular tissue and the ducts, and the approach is chosen with this in mind when a pregnancy is in the plans.
That said, it cannot be guaranteed: the ability to breastfeed varies between people even with no surgery involved, and a breast operation is one more factor. If you are planning a pregnancy in the near future, it is worth discussing before setting a surgery date.
They do not prevent detection, but they change how the studies are done. Mammography needs specific techniques when there are implants, which is why it is important always to say so at the imaging centre.
That is precisely why the work-up includes a breast assessment: we start from a breast that has been studied, and follow-up afterwards continues as appropriate for your age and your history.
It depends on how much of your own tissue there is to cover the implant. With good coverage, the plane above the muscle gives a more comfortable recovery and a more natural movement. With little coverage, the plane under the muscle stops the edges of the implant showing over the years.
There is no better option in the abstract: there is one that fits your anatomy, and it is decided once the measurements are taken.
The range is set by the width of your breast base; within that range, you decide. In the consultation, sizers are tried on with your clothes on, which is the least abstract way to choose.
What is not done is forcing a volume beyond what your base will take. An implant wider than the breast holding it strains the tissues, shows at the edges and speeds up the drop. If what you are asking for goes past that limit, you will be told, and told why.
That depends above all on the proportion chosen and on how much of your own tissue covers the implant. A volume in keeping with your measurements, in the right plane, tends to blend in; a disproportionate one shows, and no technique avoids that.
No surgeon can guarantee an exact result: your anatomy, the quality of your skin and the way you heal all take part in the final outcome.
We do not publish prices, because the cost depends on the type of implant, on whether it is combined with a breast lift and on the surgical facility: any figure on its own would end up being wrong for your case.
After the consultation you receive a written quote, itemising what is and is not included, and how long it is valid for.
Question not answered here? There are more answers in the frequently asked questions.
