Dallas

Trends in Breast Implant Size: Bigger Isn't Always Better

While breast implant surgery is still a top cosmetic surgery performed in the United States, more women are opting to remove their implants.

When Katy McGovern got breast implants in the 1980s, she says her doctor didn't consider what size would be appropriate for her body.

Instead, she says, she followed his lead of "bigger is better."

"I was in my 30s. It was great, larger breasts, because it was kind of the thing at the time in the 80s. So that's what I did," McGovern said.

But now in 2017, trends have changed and more women are choosing to downsize from the large bosom trend of the 1980s.

"They don't necessarily want the implants to be the focus of attention," said Dallas plastic surgeon Dr. Farah Khan, who adds that today's women are opting for more natural looking, smaller implants.

They're also having their old implants removed, called an explantation, and replaced with smaller implants or nothing at all.

Explantations were up 13 percent last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Other procedures that offer subtle volume, like breast lifts and fat grafting, are also on the rise.

"Women are becoming more savvy about the variety of options available to them when it comes to aesthetic procedures. They have a broader array of desires that aren't always based on trends, and they know what they want," according to the ASAPS 2016 report.

"Most women just want to look better in their clothes. They want to feel proportional. They want to have a fullness at the top. That's what they're looking for, not necessarily implants that take over their body," Khan said.

McGovern received explant surgery last year and opted for a breast lift with no implant, bringing her back from a DD-cup size to the C-cup size she was before her first implants decades ago.

"I look more proportional to my size, and it makes me looks like I've lost about 20 pounds and I haven't!" McGovern said.

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