11 Nov 2025
Breasts play an important role in fashion. Sizing up with an appropriate breast implant may allow you to wear certain things that you couldn’t before surgery. However, just as fashion trends fluctuate and change so do desirable breast aesthetics. What’s new in breast implants, therefore, has more to do with the “look” that patients want to achieve as opposed to the technical aspects of a breast augmentation procedure, which haven’t radically altered as of late. Breast implants 2.0 is really about women going smaller. Gone are the days of super-sized breasts. This is something, as a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, that has never been part of my repertoire. I am a Boston native, so both my personal and professional aesthetic lean toward a more natural-looking outcome. My patients tend to have the same conservative aesthetic and appreciate my approach. Here are some of the new breast augmentation trends that I am seeing in my practice these days.
Smaller Looking Breasts Are in Style
As mentioned, what’s currently “en vogue” when it comes to breast aesthetics is less volume, less projection, and less fill. Patients are coming in for a breast augmentation consultation and asking for a more athletic look. They want:
- Yoga breasts
- Ballerina breasts
These are breasts that can fill out a top, but that don’t require you to wear a bra if you don’t want to and that definitely don’t get in the way of exercise. There are a number of benefits to going with a smaller breast implant. As mentioned, it tends to deliver a more natural-looking result. In addition, there can be fewer post-op complications, such as implant malposition, and your final results may be longer lasting. While no breast implant is a lifelong device, you do want to get your money’s worth by keeping your implants for as long as safely possible which may be up to a decade or more.
Implant Placement for Athletic Women
Another trend I am seeing is in implant placement for women who strength train and use their pectoral muscles a lot. Placing an implant above the muscle, which does result in a faster recovery, can be an issue for this kind of athletic patient as it can lead to implant visibility and palpability, something neither of us want. During your consultation, I will conduct a thorough physical exam to assess your:
- Native breast volume
- Muscular composition of your chest
- Nipple position
- Skin tone & texture
I will ask in-depth questions about your lifestyle, including your workout routine. Generally, I will recommend implant placement below the muscle with my super athletes. The trade-off for a slightly longer recovery is going to be a more natural-looking result in which your implants will not be obvious in your workout wear.
Fat Grafting to the Breast
Placing an implant subglandular or subfascial is often enough to completely camouflage the edges of your breast implant so they can’t be felt or seen. However, certain patients, particularly those who are extremely thin, may need a bit more help. Fat grafting to the breast has become a great add-on procedure to a breast augmentation to:
- Help camouflage edges of implant
- Improve shape
- Create a softer, more natural look to the breast
- Deliver more upper pole fullness
The latter is a highly desirable look for many patients. With fat grafting, I can remove fat from an area where you have more than you’d like, such as the outer thighs or abdomen, and strategically place it in the upper third of your breast. It delivers the right “wonder bra” look for your individual anatomy.
Breast Implant Exchange or Removal in Boston
Keeping with this desire for a smaller breast footprint, many patients are coming in to discuss a breast implant exchange. Maybe you’ve had your breast implants for over a decade, and it’s time to swap them out. Or maybe the look that you liked at 20 no longer works for you at 40. A breast implant exchange is exactly what it sounds like. However, it is not always as simple as swapping out one implant for another. For example, if you’ve had your implants for 20 years and you want to go smaller, chances are that the skin and tissues of your chest have stretched past their ability to reform over your new, leaner contour. Your treatment plan, therefore, may need to include a mastopexy augmentation which is a breast lift with an implant. The idea of incisions on the breast can sound scary, but I not only practice excellent surgical technique, but scars on the breast typically heal very well. And frankly, most patients are so thrilled with their new, perky yoga breasts that any residual line is well worth the trade off.
To find out more about a breast augmentation, or any other surgical or non-surgical procedure with Dr. Sean Doherty at Boston Center for Plastic Surgery, contact us today or call (617) 450-0070 to schedule a consultation.
