What Happens If I Choose the Wrong Breast Implant Size?

Choosing the wrong breast implant size doesn't necessarily mean anything went wrong with your surgery. Your procedure could go exactly as planned—and you could still look in the mirror afterward and wish you had chosen a different size.

Maybe you wish you had gone larger. Maybe the size you loved initially feels like more than you expected. Or maybe what looked right during a short sizing session doesn't feel right once it becomes part of your everyday life.

That's what makes choosing breast implant size such an important decision. If you decide afterward that you want a different implant size, changing it generally means another surgical procedure.

The FDA specifically lists dissatisfaction with implant style or size among potential breast implant outcomes and notes that women may request additional surgery to modify the size or shape of their breasts.

External source: FDA — Risks and Complications of Breast Implants

What if my breast implants are too small?

One of the most common worries when choosing breast implant size is going too large. That can make choosing the more conservative option feel safer.

But there is another possible disappointment: going through surgery and recovery only to wish you had chosen more volume.

Choosing conservatively doesn't automatically mean choosing correctly. The goal isn't to choose the smallest size you think you'll be satisfied with—or the largest size you think you can tolerate. It's to gather enough information to make a decision that fits your goals and your anatomy, together with your surgeon.

This is also why a cc number alone doesn't answer the question. If you've ever wondered how much difference a relatively small change in volume can make, read How Much Difference Does 50cc Make in Breast Implant Size?.

What if my breast implants are too large?

The opposite can happen as well.

A larger size may look fantastic in the mirror, but appearance is only one part of the decision. You may also want to think about proportion, clothing, physical activity, lifestyle and simply how you feel with that amount of additional volume and weight.

We recently saw this firsthand.

“Before trying the sizes, she had an expectation. After trying them, she had a preference. Those aren’t always the same thing.”

One woman tried Oumènta 500cc breast implant sizers and loved the way the larger size looked. But after wearing them for a couple of hours, she commented that she could really notice the additional weight, particularly in her back.

That didn't necessarily mean 500cc was the wrong size for her. It meant she had learned something new.

Looking in the mirror told her one thing:

“I really like this size.”

Living with the approximate volume and weight for a couple of hours gave her something else to consider:

“How do I feel wearing this size?”

Those are two different pieces of information.

We aren't suggesting from one woman's experience that 500cc implants cause back problems, nor can an external sizer perfectly reproduce how a surgically placed implant will feel. Her experience simply illustrates something that's easy to overlook when sizing is based primarily on appearance: wearing an approximate size for a longer period may give you information that a quick look in the mirror cannot.

Sometimes you discover you want to go bigger

We've also seen almost exactly the opposite happen.

 

Another woman already wore a D-cup bra and had an idea of the additional volume she thought she wanted. She tried both 400cc and 500cc Oumènta sizers.

To our surprise, she strongly preferred the 500cc size. The 400cc size she had expected to like simply wasn't the look she wanted after she actually compared the two on her body.

Before trying the sizes, she had an expectation.

After trying them, she had a preference.

Those aren't always the same thing.

Her existing cup size couldn't answer the question for her either. Bra cup sizes and implant volumes aren't interchangeable measurements, which is one reason we've written more about how breast implant cc sizes actually compare.

These two women came to very different conclusions, but that's exactly the point. One discovered something about a larger size that she hadn't anticipated. The other discovered that the smaller size she expected to prefer wasn't large enough for the look she wanted.

Neither woman's experience tells another woman what size she should choose.

It demonstrates why experiencing different sizes yourself can be useful.

The mirror test isn't the same as the living-with-it test

Trying a breast implant sizer and looking in a mirror can be helpful. But there's another question worth asking:

What happens after you walk away from the mirror?

How does the approximate volume look under the clothes you actually wear? How do you feel walking around with it? What about working, exercising, shopping, having dinner with friends or simply spending a normal day at home?

And after a few hours, do you still prefer the same size?

That's one of the differences between a quick sizing exercise and at-home breast implant sizing. Instead of evaluating a size for only a few minutes, you can compare approximate volumes during more of the situations that make up your normal life.

What breast implant sizers can—and can't—tell you

It's important to understand what breast implant sizers are actually intended to tell you.

The cc numbers on Oumènta sizers help you compare different approximate volumes, but a 400cc sizer does not mean that you need a 400cc implant. An external sizer and a surgically placed implant are different. Your surgeon must consider your anatomy, existing tissue, implant dimensions and profile, placement and other factors when selecting an actual implant.

The real goal is to find the size, look and feel you prefer on your own body and communicate that to your surgeon. You can even wear the sizers to your consultation and physically demonstrate, “This is how I want to look.” The sizer helps you communicate the result you're trying to achieve; your surgeon determines what actual implant may be appropriate to help achieve it.

What happens if I decide after surgery that I chose the wrong size?

Talk with your plastic surgeon.

“The sizer helps you communicate the result you want. Your surgeon determines what implant may be appropriate to achieve it.”

If you're sufficiently dissatisfied with the size that you want to change your implants, that generally means another operation. Exactly what that procedure involves depends on your circumstances and needs to be determined by your surgeon.

The FDA emphasizes that breast implants are not lifetime devices and that additional operations may eventually be necessary for a variety of reasons. Women can also request additional surgery specifically because they want to modify the size or shape of their breasts.

External source: FDA — What to Know About Breast Implants

That's one reason it makes sense to put serious thought into size before your first surgery.

You can never guarantee that your preferences won't change. Bodies change. Preferences change. Lives change.

But your initial size decision is one area where you can gather considerably more information before surgery.

Don't just ask, “How does it look?”

Ask more questions.

How does it look?

How does it feel?

How does it look in my clothes?

Do I still like it after wearing the approximate volume for a few hours?

What happens when I compare it directly with one size larger and one size smaller?

And perhaps most importantly:

Am I choosing this size because I've experienced the alternatives—or because this is the number I expected to choose?

If you're beginning the sizing process, our guide to how to choose the right breast implant size explains why body proportions, goals, lifestyle and trying different volumes can all be more useful than starting with a cup-size target.

The goal isn't to find a magic number

There is no universally “right” breast implant size.

Your surgeon has to consider your anatomy, tissue characteristics, implant dimensions and other medical and surgical factors. You have to communicate what you want your eventual result to be.

Trying different approximate volumes can help make that conversation more informed.

A cc number tells you volume. A mirror tells you how something looks at one moment in time.

Living with a size can tell you something different.

And when you're making a decision that could otherwise require another surgery to change, that's information worth having.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. External breast implant sizers approximate volume and weight but cannot reproduce the appearance, feel, placement or medical effects of surgically implanted breast implants. Implant selection should be made in consultation with a qualified plastic surgeon who can evaluate your individual anatomy and goals.