The goal of breast augmentation surgery is to achieve both a bigger size and a better shape of the breasts. Understandably, women spend a great deal of time before surgery pondering what they want their after surgery breasts to look like. Using pictures of breasts, with or without implants, is a common method of communicating to their plastic surgeon what their breast goals are. While most women will show generic pictures from plastic surgery or breast implant manufacturer’s websites, some women will show specific clothed celebrity breasts and cleavage images.
In a recent published survey from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, which celebrity breasts were most commonly identified by patients was reported. According to the results, many women wanted breasts like those of Pamela Anderson. Other desired breasts included Gisele Bundchen, Britney Spears and Xuxa. Conversely, celebrities with the least desired breasts were ironically Pamela Anderson and Dolly Parton and Victoria Beckham. The survey results also indicated that many women have unrealistic expectations regarding their results after breast augmentation.
While surveys like this are entertaining, they are not particularly useful in terms of providing any practical guidance about how to achieve satisfied breast augmentation results. Using celebrity and magazine pictures of breast shapes and sizes is not realistic for the vast majority of patients. Such pictures are often a warning sign that the patient has a disconnect between what their breasts can ultimately look like and what they want them to look like. Breast size and shape is much like art, the opinion about them and their appeal is a reflection of a person’s interpretation and tastes. What one patient may love, the next patient may find horrific. Such is why Pamela Anderson makes the top of the list for both desired and most undesired breasts.
While celebrity pictures are not useful in breast implant consultations and I don’t like to see them, I do find the use of some pictures very helpful. While no patient can truly look like another, pictures of postoperative breast implant results help convey an impression about the ‘look’ that one is after. Going to websites like Love Your Look, where thousands of before and after surgery pictures are posted, can help one select an approximate size of the final breast that they want.
It is not important to find someone on breast implant websites that has one’s similar height and weight or even a comparative before surgery breast size and shape. What counts is what their impression is of how the augmented breast looks on the chest wall, particularly in terms of size. It is about understanding the image of what they want their breasts to ultimately look like. This may seem similar to comparing it to celebrity breasts but it is not. Like all celebrity pictures, they are taken to show their best angles in glamorous settings and a full view of their breasts is not shown.. Celebrity comparisons also imply other potential desired characteristics which raises the level of patient’s expectations. Random breast images of ordinary people do not carry with them such enhanced characteristics. This makes one focus on actual and realistic breast augmentation results.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana