In everyday practice, during the pre-operative surgical consultation in breast augmentation and reconstruction surgery, when presented with breast implant shape options, the choice between round versus teardrop is not a simple question. Most surgeons found it difficult to accurately distinguish between the two implants by physical appearance alone. Many of the panel were unable to identify implant shape correctly.
Looking at this controversy from a different perspective, we’re left to question why we would expect different aesthetic outcomes when round and teardrop implant designs have more similarities than differences. Is it possible to influence this outcome?
The female breast is an organ with dual functions of milk production and aesthetic appeal. Accordingly, the breast anatomy can be described in two different ways: functional breast anatomy, and aesthetic breast anatomy.
The functional anatomy of the breast consists of milk glands and ducts arranged like flower petals surrounding a nipple located at the 4thintercostal space. The important dimension of this description is the width of the breast footprint.
The aesthetic anatomy, on the other hand, displays the nipple with the milk gland embedded in a compartmentalized subcutaneous fatty tissue that provides volume and shape to the breast. The important dimension in this description is vertical height of the breast footprint, that lies between the 2ndand 6thrib.
