Choosing the Correct Breast Implant: Part 7 Use Sizers

Prior to their breast augmentation consultation, I have had patients try any number of tricks to estimate the implant size they desire:  filling zip lock bags with water, putting coffee beans or rice in baggies and  using bags of peas just to name a few.  But unfortunately these methods really aren’t very accurate.  No surprise.   But what is much more accurate are breast implant sizers.

Natrelle Pre-consultation kit

Sizers are silicone gel implants – the same implants that are used in plastic surgery.  They are available in every size and style.  Mentor and Allergan supply them to  plastic surgeons as a tool to give patients an idea of what they can expect after surgery. I think that it is essential to wear a tight sports bra while trying on sizers.  This will give better compression to the sizers and thus a slightly more accurate idea of the post surgical look, at least in terms of size. However, sizers tend to sit lower in the bra than surgically placed breast implants so your surgeon needs to guide you while trying them on. They aren’t perfect but they do give a good estimate of postoperative size.  In addition I encourage patients to bring several different outfits so they can see what an enhancement would look like in different situations.

In an effort to replace the baggies of water, rice or whatnot, Allergan has introduced their pre-consultation kit.  This kit contain a CD with extensive information about their products and breast augmentation.  In addition there are four silicone implant sizers for patients to experiment with.  Although I applaud their effort, I think patients still need to work extensively with their surgeons to choose the correct breast implant.