Dr. Robert Whitfield explains why large implants on small frames create surgical problems: limited skin and soft tissue make it hard to stretch and rearrange during revisions. Staging the procedure, or choosing a smaller implant, reduces complications and improves results.
Really large implants can also be a problem on a small frame. If the skin is really out of balance in terms of stretch, potentially waiting and doing it at a later time can be an advantage. So a large implant on a small frame is one of the hardest things to take care of for patients. There's not a lot of tissue to begin with, so you can't really rearrange the tissue. Many times if their implant has been replaced or they've been revised, the muscular layer can't be retracted downward and repaired like we try to do all the time. If it's a smaller implant, then we can deal with that a little bit easier.
