When Smaller is Better for Breast Implant Size

When people think about breast implants, they often picture large breasts that turn heads, much like the famous look of Pamela Anderson. But today things are changing; the large look that was once so popular may be going out of style, with more starlets choosing a smaller breast implant, or even reducing their current breast implant size.

Celebrities who may have downsized in recent years include Denise Richards, Victoria Beckham, and Drew Barrymore. Together they signify a trend toward smaller, more manageable implants.

Outside Hollywood, regular ladies who are tired of having super-large breast implants may be choosing a revision surgery to reduce size, according to CBS News health.

Why patients reduce implant size

• Too much attention to bust size
• Desire for a more proportional (natural) appearance
• Very large breasts can make exercise or physical activities more difficult
• Back or neck pain (symptoms that indicate breast reduction)

While surgery to reduce implant size involves simply exchanging one implant for another, there’s usually some extra surgery required, since the pocket housing the implant may need to be modified. Risks of the surgery are similar to regular augmentation surgery, but the recovery time is typically shorter.

Harriet Bleiman, a breast implant reduction patient who spoke with CBS, loves her reduced bust size. “I just feel like this is the right proportion for me… I liked them at the beginning, and after a couple of years they felt like two large, standing out, almost cantaloupes, and that made me very uncomfortable.”

Now, Harriet says, it actually feels as if having a smaller breast size has helped everything from her self-confidence to her golf game.