Will Breast Implants Create Cleavage?

If I don't have cleavage before I get breast implants will I have it after the procedure?

Doctor Answers 12

Breast implants can spread cleavage with time, but wearing bra enhances cleavage

Breast implants certainly can improve cleavage in women who have very little breast tissue.

In time breast implants tend to spread towards the outside of the chest with the result that cleavage is less than in the beginning. This happens particularly with implants placed under the muscle and in patients who develop firmness or capsular contraction.

Increasing Cleavage with Breast Implants


Larry S. Nichter, MD, MS, FACS
Orange County Plastic Surgeon
5.0 out of 5 stars 63 reviews

Breast implants may provide you with cleavage

Yes, implants will most likely increase the amount of cleavage that you have. Just make sure that the size of the implants is what you want and will give you the best chance of establishing cleavage. Check out some before and after photos to see the cleavage that you like, and bring in some pictures of breasts that you like to your plastic surgeon so that you're both on the same page concerning implant size. Good luck!

Cleavage and breast implants

Cleavage, like many terms used in describing breast aesthetics, depends on what is meant by the word and means different things to different people. By cleavage, some people think of how far apart the inner edge of the breasts are while others take it to be how steep is the slope along the inner edge of the breast.

In my opinion, properly augmented breasts that are going to look natural will have implants placed under the pectoralis muscle and therefore the inner edge of the breast cannot be moved. The implant should fill to the inner edge of the breast but not farther in and not shorter than the inner edge either. Think of this as sort of like a foot fitting in a shoe. The foot should not be too wide for the shoe nor should it be too narrow.
Therefore, breast implants will always increase the depth or steepness of the inner edge of the breast but cannot move it in or out. To try to move the inner edge of the breast with an implant risks an unnatural look and an obvious edge to the implant, both of which are hard to correct.

Scott L. Replogle, MD
Boulder Plastic Surgeon
4.0 out of 5 stars 1 review

Yes, but also depends on several other factors

The larger the implant, the more likely you will have cleavage afterwards. However, this poses other problems. If you have a little frame, larger implants could stretch your skin, thinning it, and make rippling more visible. Cleavage also depends on the diameter of your chest, breasts, and the implants themselves. Placing the implant above the muscle could create more cleavage, but again there are pros and cons to this as well. Schedule a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon and discuss this in more detail. He/she will be able to give you more personalized advice as they will get to examine you. Ask to see and speak with patients who have similar anatomy to you.

Sam Speron, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Determining the amount of cleavage with breast augmentation or enlargement

You can use implants to create cleavage but you have to be careful in patients who have thin tissue in this area. You risk the potential for visible implant rippling. There are many factors that determine the amount of cleavage and this includes implant diameter, breast diameter, skin pinch, chest wall structure (pectus excavatum or carinatum), submuscular or subglandular placement, constriction, etc.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon
5.0 out of 5 stars 56 reviews

Cleavage and implants

Cleavage is best determined by the distance between the two breasts before having implants. If the implants are placed under the muscle, usually the muscle insertion will block the implants from moving more medially than the muscle insertion. If they are placed in a subglandualr pocket, you may see more cleavage. Also, the larger the implant, the more likely you will have cleavage.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon
4.5 out of 5 stars 18 reviews

Creating cleavage with breast implants

Basically, if the implants are wide enough for your chest you will get cleavage from them. Higher profile implants create more cleavage also. Some patients however have wide flat chest walls or ones that angle out and these people have a hard time achieving cleavage despite their surgeon's best efforts.

Breast implants may help create cleavage

The most important factor in determining if implants will create cleavage is the intermammary distance, or the distance between your breasts. If your breasts are far apart on the chest wall, they will continue to be relatively far apart after breast augmentation. This means you will be reliant on a push-up bra for cleavage, even after getting implants. If your breasts are closer together, implants usually will help create cleavage.

Other factors, including the quality of the breast skin envelope and breast tissue (i.e stretch marks, lack of upper pole breast tissue), the width of the breasts, size of the implant, and placement of the nipple and areola also play important roles.
Your best bet is a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon. A detailed examination of your chest well and breasts will allow for a more definitive answer to your question.
Hope this helps. Best of luck.

Breast implants will enhance cleavage but, the amount of cleavage is determined by many factors

Breast implants will enhance cleavage but, the amount of cleavage is determined by many factors that include, chest muscle, chest bony framework, nipple position, amount of pre-procedure cleavage, implant size, etc.

Craig Mezrow, MS, MD
Philadelphia Plastic Surgeon
5.0 out of 5 stars 6 reviews
