Natural size and shape of the normal breast
Beauty is mainly in the eyes of the beholder. The cosmetic surgeon who is the creator of the beauty should have good aesthetic sense and aesthetic judgement. Then only he can do the beautification surgery.
Even though the patients have variable perception of beauty regarding anthropometric proportion of the size and shape, there are universal phenomena for the normal size and shape of the breast. So now we will see the normal size and the shape and the anatomical contour of the breast and then it can be modified to match the patient’s desire.
So the breast surgery is regarded as an art more than a science.
Size and location
The attractive size of the body contour is the hourglass 90-60-90 figure which is universally accepted. The upper border of the breast is 2 inches below the clavicle bone. The outer border is located at the outer line of the axilla.The space between the two breasts inner border is 4 cm. The lower border of the breast is in the 6th intercostal space (approximately in the midpoint between the chin and umbilicus).
The ideal anatomical nipple is located at the mid distance between chin and umbilicus. That means the distance between the chin and the nipple = distance between the nipple and umbilicus. The width of the nipple and areola is 1/3 of the width of the breast base. The width of the areola in Indian women is approximately 4 cm. . The nipple is located at the point of maximal breast projection.
The two nipple points and the third point in the upper border of sternum form an equilateral triangle. This triangle shows the perfect location of the nipple. Another location of the nipple is located approximately at the level of the midpoint of the upper arm. If the nipple is located below this line then it is considered as the sagging breast
The ideal breast shape
The breast mass above the nipple consists of 45%of the total breast mass and it has a straight or sloping border. The breast below the nipple consists of 55% of the mass and it has a convex border. This gives the tear drop shape of the breast.
The shape of the breast is more important than the volume of the breast for the breast aesthetics. In thin women large breast size is more attractive where as the large breast size doesn’t make much difference in the overweight patients.