In reality, breast implants usually don’t really have to settle. They are usually in the proper position from the get go. It looks like they are sitting high at first because the muscle swells so much. The pec muscle that covers the implants attaches to the edge of your breast bone from bottom to top and and along your collar bone from side to side. When we lift it up and place the implant under it, it will swell. In some patients the swelling can be pretty dramatic. That’s why it looks like the implants are sitting so high.

Sometimes the implants do sit high on the chest wall. This is more common with larger implants and implants placed via an underarm incision.  In these cases your doctor may have you wear a bandeau or a strap of some sort. In these cases, the implants almost always come down and do so in the first 6 to 12 weeks if not sooner. If they are still too high after 6 months or longer, you may need a revision.

If however it is just the swelling, from what I have seen over the last 11 years, it will mostly go away in the first 6 weeks. Swelling can last as long as 3 to 6 months but this would be rather unusual for breast implant surgery. If you are unsure of your situation, ask your doctor. The good thing is that gravity usually wins and those implants will come down and the swelling will go away keeping revisions for this type of problem at a low %.

Lee Corbett, MD

www.CorbettCosmeticSurgery.com

502.721.0330

All posts on this blog are presented by Louisville Breast Augmentation surgeon,  Dr. Lee Corbett.