Answers
"I am a very active 50 year old with exceptionally small breasts, 36AA. I would like to consider augmentation, but do competitive martial arts that include high impact kicking and punching to the chest. We wear chest protectors, but the impact is still significant. Is augmentation an option? How likely is deflation with this kind of impact?"
— Answered by Robert H. Gotkin, MD
New York, NY
As a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, I feel very qualified to address this question. Breast augmentation is certainly an option for you -- even with your competitive martial arts practices. During your early postoperative recovery following breast augmentation, the first 4-6 weeks or so, you would have to refrain from any upper body impact / contact sports. In the first 3-4 weeks, even strenuous upper body exercises could be detrimental. In reality, after about 6 weeks or so, as long as you are comfortable, you could resume your martial arts. Deflation in the setting of impact martial arts is highly unlikely and you should do quite well. I would recommend submuscular (under the chest wall muscles) as opposed to submammary (under the breast tissue, but on top of the pectoral muscles) breast augmentation.
