Debunking Cleavage Myths

August 20, 2021

Welcome to the next instalment of our debunking series, where we take a common misconception in the world of plastic surgery and set the record straight. This week we’re talking about cleavage.

Cleavage is a big topic when it comes to surgical breast procedures because many women seeking to enhance their breasts, especially with a breast augmentation surgery, are equally looking to improve their cleavage, which is a totally understandable desire. After all, cleavage is fun and sexy. What’s not to love?

The thing is that there’s a very common misunderstanding that breast implants will immediately improve cleavage. But this is actually false! Here’s why.

What is Cleavage?

The word cleavage means a sharp division or split. And when we’re talking about breasts, the original sense of the word actually applies. Cleavage is actually the narrow space between your breasts that is sometimes referred to as a depression or hollow.

However, when we use the term cleavage in the more popular sense, we usually think more of the upper part of the breasts that are often accentuated when supported and when wearing a low cut top that equally reveals the décolleté, showing off where the breasts come together. So even though we understand cleavage to be that perky top portion of the breasts, it’s not exactly that. We’re really talking about that hollow or space between the breasts.

You may be reading this and thinking, why does this matter? It matters because the amount of cleavage you have actually has so much to do with your anatomy and how close together your breasts sit on your chest, as well as the width of your chest overall. It’s not just about how big your breasts are or even about how high your breasts sit.

Why Adding Implants Won’t Necessarily Improve Your Cleavage

A lot of women think that they can improve on cleavage with breast implants alone, but this again is really dependent on your anatomy and also on what you mean when you say you want more cleavage.

Some women are looking to improve on that top portion of the breasts, which we usually refer to as upper pole fullness, and in this scenario, yes, an implant can probably achieve that look with the correct implant size and placement.

Some women, however, are actually looking to improve on that space between their breasts, otherwise known as medial cleavage. They actually want their breasts to be spaced closer together, making that hollow more narrow.

That being said, women who have a wide space between the breasts will typically not be able to improve on their medial cleavage with implants alone. This is because adding implants may help to fill out the breasts laterally, but it won’t fundamentally alter your anatomy to bring your breasts closer together.

The good news is that there have been some advances in breast augmentation surgery that allow us to create more cleavage, and this is by combining a fat transfer along with your breast augmentation surgery.

Improving Cleavage with Fat Transfer

In the right candidate and in expert surgical hands of course, adding a fat transfer to your breast augmentation procedure could make all the difference when it comes to improving on that cleavage. This is particularly true if your breasts are set a little further apart.

So what’s involved?

Well, your surgeon will remove some fat via liposuction from an area where you would prefer to have less, like around the hips or abdomen, will harvest it, and then inject it into target areas of the breasts before inserting your breast implants.

The result is actually quite beautiful, because not only does it improve on your cleavage, but it gives the breasts a truly natural look, and one that you really couldn’t achieve with implants alone.

This may not be an option for everyone, but if you’re interested in cleavage, it’s definitely worth asking about when you come in for your complimentary consultation with us.