Posted on February 18, 2016
Quick blog, but something I see frequently misunderstood by patients.
The number of the bra size is your ribcage measurement; ie. 32, 34, 36. The letter is the cup size of the breast tissue; ie. A, B, C, D.
Can you change ribcage size? The short answer is yes, but only for some people.
- Your ribcage is bone. I cannot change that size.
- For some women, there is fat in the bra strap area which pads on top of the ribs, making the ribcage size larger. When I do liposuction of the back and axillary roll (these are all the areas which are under your bra line), I can reduce this ribcage size by removing the overlying fat. This is a common occurrence in many of my breast reduction patients. As an example, when I do a breast reduction, I may drop someone from a 40 —> 38 or even a 36.
- Your ribcage can expand as you age. Pregnancy and other changes may cause your ribcage to widen. I cannot reduce this.
- Many older patients come in with looseness in the bra line area which they think is fat, but sadly is loose skin. I cannot fix this.
These issues are true for making ribcage size bigger. I see women who want to go from a 32 A to a 34 B. I cannot do this. I can make them a 32 B or 32 C, as I can increase the cup size with an implant, but I can’t change their ribcage size to a 34.