One of the decisions you will have to make when deciding on your new breast implants is whether to have the implant inserted ‘over’ the muscle or ‘under’ the muscle. The choice 90% of the time is yours however there are times in which your surgeon will only allow it over or under. This can be due to body type/shape. This can determine how natural your breast enlargement can look however it all depends on what you are looking for and how your body shape and style is.
Under the Muscle Implants
The pectoral muscle, is the muscle in which covers the front of the ribcage. We call this ‘sub-muscular placement’. During the procedure, the surgeon will create the ‘pocket’ between the muscle and your ribs, and then this is where your implant will be inserted. This method is usually advised for women who have little amounts of breast tissue to begin with, so you flat chested ladies, this is for you. Because usually when the implants are placed over the muscle it can result in the breast enlargements looking too obvious as there is not enough natural ‘padding’ – under-the-muscle implants, on the other hand, can look more natural because the muscle itself covers the implant.
Advantages
- More natural looking
- Less pressure on the skin
- Less chances of ‘bottoming out’
- Less chances of capsulate contracture
- Clearer mammograms as nothing is blocking the breast tissue
- Blood flow to the nipple is better.
Disadvantages
- More invasive procedure
- Recovery time is longer
- Restrictions on size of implant
Over the Muscle Implants
Over the muscle breast implants are placed in front of the pectoral muscles, they sit between the breast tissue and the chest muscle. This is also known as ‘subglandular placement’. Having your breast implants placed over the muscle depends on how much breast tissue you have in the first place. Women with very little tissue ( small breasted women) do not have much of a shield for their implant to go over the muscle, which is why it is recommended those women go behind the muscle. However for those women who prefer the more rounded and enhanced look then they may prefer this method.
Having said this, implants over the muscle can still look very natural on ladies who have more breast tissue to begin with. We usually recommend women who are naturally sized B cup or bigger before surgery, then there is enough room for overs and it wont look too obvious.
Advantages
- Less discomfort
- Less recovery time
- More straightforward surgery
- Less invasive
- Can have larger implants
- Not affected during exercise
Disadvantages
- Strain on the skin
- Can result in stretch marks
- Possible ripping
- Can get in the way of mammogram screenings
- Less natural