Breast Reconstruction for Larger Breasts: Volume Options Beyond 800cc

For women living in larger bodies or who simply want larger breasts after reconstruction, achieving the desired volume can feel like a challenge. The good news is there are several options to get you closer to your goal.

Breast implants in the United States have traditionally had a limited size range. For years, patients were told that roughly 800cc is the largest implant available. For many reconstruction patients, that simply isn't enough.

There is now an option: Mentor offers an extended size range specifically designed for reconstructive patients. These implants go up to 1,445cc — significantly larger than the traditional 800cc ceiling. This may be a great option if your reconstruction requires more volume.

However, not every hospital or surgery center has access to this extended range, so it's worth asking your surgeon about availability.

Even with the largest available implant, some patients need more. Fat grafting can add volume on top of an implant:

• Each fat grafting session can add 150+ cc's to your breast reconstruction
• Fat grafting can be done multiple times to gradually build volume
• Many patients combine implants with fat grafting
• It uses your own tissue

Another option is a hybrid procedure that combines a tissue flap with an implant. This gives you both the natural tissue coverage of a flap and the volume of an implant. Options include:

• Free flap + implant — microsurgical tissue transfer combined with an implant
• Pedicled flap + implant — such as a latissimus dorsi flap with an implant

I always recommend having 3D imaging done before reconstruction. This gives you a volumetric estimation of your current breast size, which becomes the target for your surgical plan.

If your goal volume can't be achieved with one method alone, your surgeon should be able to discuss a combination approach — implant plus fat grafting, or a hybrid flap procedure — to meet your expectations.

If you're going into reconstruction worried that the volume you want may not be achievable with the method you've chosen, there's something concrete you can do about it before you're ever in the operating room.

Ask about 3D imaging. It gives a volume estimation of what you're starting with, which turns a vague conversation about size into actual numbers. From there, your surgeon can walk you through how to get to your goal, and whether the plan on the table will actually get you there.

That conversation may change the plan. Reaching your goal volume might not be just an implant. It might require fat grafting, or a flap, or a combination of all three.

Nobody wants to find out at the six-week mark that the method chosen was never going to reach the size they had in mind. A little measurement up front prevents that entirely.

• Standard implants max out around 800cc, but Mentor's extended range goes to 1,445cc
• Fat grafting can add 150+ cc's per session on top of an implant
• Hybrid procedures (flap + implant) offer another path to larger volume
• Get 3D imaging done to establish your volume goal before surgery
• Have this conversation with your surgeon before your procedure so expectations are clear