Implant size is decided by the base width of your own breast in millimetres, not by a cup letter — and two other measurements set the ceiling.
The implant that fits you is decided by three measurements, and the first is the base width of your own breast, measured in millimetres from the inner border to the outer. An implant wider than that base pushes tissue outwards, and over years the skin at the edge thins and the implant edge becomes visible. A 12.5 cm base takes roughly a 335 to 375 cc implant depending on profile. Cup size is a bra label, not a measurement, and it varies between manufacturers.
The second measurement is a pinch of the tissue at the upper pole, taken with calipers. Under roughly two centimetres of soft tissue cover, the implant edge will eventually show as a step or a visible ripple, and that finding pushes us towards placing it under the muscle and towards a smaller volume. Thin patients who ask for a large implant are the group most likely to need a revision, and we say so at the consultation rather than afterwards.
The third measurement is nipple-to-fold distance, which decides profile. For any given base width, a low, moderate or high profile implant holds the same volume in a different shape: the higher the profile, the narrower the base and the more forward projection. Two women given identical 350 cc implants can look entirely different because one has a 13 cm base and the other 11.5. This is why comparing cc numbers between friends tells you almost nothing useful.
At the consultation we measure, then let you wear sizers inside a bra with a fitted top over it, standing in front of a mirror rather than lying down. Photographs are taken at the same distance and lighting so the comparison stays honest. Breast aesthetics starts at €3,500 here, which covers the implants, the operation in a hospital with intensive care on site, the anaesthetist and the follow-up. Sizes are not priced differently, so nobody at this clinic gains from selling you a bigger implant.
Not reliably. A C cup on a 75 band and a C cup on a 90 band are entirely different volumes, and cup labelling varies between brands and countries. We work from base width in millimetres and confirm it with sizers you wear in front of a mirror.
It sits under tension against the skin at the sides. Over years that shows as visible edges, rippling at the outer border and, in some cases, the implant sliding towards the armpit. It is the most common cause of a revision we are asked to perform on work done elsewhere.