1. She was depressed

I had breast augmentation when I was a sophomore in college. I was always very flat in high school, and disproportional (one side was totally flat, the other was sort of an A cup). I was also very thin so it never really bothered me. Once I hit about 17 or 18 though the rest of my body filled out and I became a lot curvier, but my chest never grew. It didn’t cause me to be extremely depressed or self conscious, but was more like one of those things that would be nice to change if I could. Like, hey, that would be pretty cool to have boobs. And guess what? Thanks to modern medicine and technique that is a pretty easy change. I thought about it for a while, talked to my parents, who were supportive, and talked to a few different plastic surgeons. I decided to go with the one who I felt understood what I wanted the most. I told him I would rather have no boobs for the rest of my life than have ones that were very large or looked unnatural. I actually said I wanted a full B, and he suggested a C instead based on my frame/ body shape. He did an excellent job, they look natural with my body shape, I love not having to wear a bra with certain things, and most of the guys I have been with have not even noticed right away that they are implants (they are just a little firmer than normal breasts, and don’t move in exactly the same ways).

Have they changed my life? No, not really. I am the same person I was before and have the same approach to life. Have they enhanced my life? Yeah! Just the same way that getting a tattoo makes some people happy, getting breast implants made me happy. It makes me happy that I was able to change a little something that bothered me. Plain and simple, my breasts are only a tiny part of who I am. Why not like them a little more if I can?

It should also be noted that in no way did I make the decision to get implants with the assumption that I would get more male attention. It’s really interesting to me that most people are so quick to bash girls with implants by saying it’s all about getting more attention. I don’t live under a rock, and am pretty aware that most guys are actually pretty critical of girls with implants (most guys also assume that natural breasts are all perky, proportional, and super fun to play with..but that’s another rant). If a guy isn’t going to be interested in me because my breasts aren’t “real”, that’s okay with me. He wasn’t really who I was aiming to please with the whole thing anyways. I would brush it off just as I would if a man was interested or not interested in me because I had small breasts, or large breasts, or vice versa, or whatever. I want to be with someone who I know will love me with implants, no implants, giant boobs, or no boobs at all. There’s so much more to a person.

Anyways, I could really go on about this topic forever. It’s been so interesting since my own surgery to experience all different opinions on the subject. At the end of the day, I think plastic surgery should be approached just like anything else in life. Everything in moderation, and always make sure you are doing what is right for you, not what is right for someone else.

2. Comfortable fit

I love being able to buy clothes off the rack and have them fit the way they should.

3. To make them look like the old ones

I had breast cancer and ended up getting a bilateral mastectomy. Prior to that, I had large breast (44 D) and then becoming flat chested was so depressing. A year in a half later, I finally got my implants. My breast implants are half the size of my natural breast, but I appreciate my new boobs.

4. For confidence

My wife got implants about two years ago. She always had a pretty good size rear end, and a skinny waist, and was flat chested. I found her to be perfect the way she was (we were together for a long time before her surgery), but she didn’t like the way it looked.

So we do some research and find a doctor. She was worried about the way they would feel, but this doctor places the implants behind the muscle, so you’re still feeling natural tissue, they are just larger and perkier.

She couldn’t be happier. She fills out her dresses the way she wants, and can wear whatever she wants without it looking wrong. She definitely didn’t do it for me, because I made it very clear that I loved her just the way she was. She did it to feel better about herself, and it worked perfectly.

I guess I’m really not complaining either, though.

5. Return to normalcy

I was burnt when I was 2 and as I hit puberty I noticed only one boob grew and the other didn’t, it was incredibly embarrassing as one boob was barely an A cup and the other was a D cup. I went to a plastic surgeon with my mum, got the procedure done even though the surgeon was all “wait until you’re 21” and it was the best thing I’ve ever done. So much confidence and it’s nice to be normal.

6. A disorder

My friend had it done in highschool because she was pretty much totally flat. They just didn’t develop.

I can’t say for sure because I’m not her, but we were tight and talked about it a few times. She told me the biggest change was people didn’t mistake her for a guy anymore. When we chilled in public I always noticed people calling her “dude” and it was always so awkward for me even. So I think that was the biggest thing from my perspective.

I know she got hit on more. It made her attractive. She had a boyfriend just a few months afterwards if I remember right.

7. Clothes

Mostly they have made me more self conscious, more or less.

Before my implants, I never really cared about what I wore, did, said. I always had really high self esteem (thanks awesome parents!), but I just HATED the way clothing fit me and I was mortified whenever I had to take my shirt off places (locker room, with boyfriends) or wear swimsuits. I didn’t even fit into most training bras, didn’t even fill out an A cup. But I always had boyfriends, guys flirted with me, no big deal, I didn’t get them to attract more male attention.

I finally got them when I was 23 (32D), and immediately I regretted the decision. My doctor went bigger in surgery than we had initially agreed (which a lot of docs do). I ALWAYS felt like people were looking at my cleavage. As a professional woman who cares about being taken seriously, I think I was mostly afraid of being thought of as “that girl with the fake boobs.” I didn’t want to be discounted or thought less of just because of this decision I had made.

Four years later, I love them. I got over thinking about whether people are looking at my chesticles (though I do dress MUCH more modestly). All my clothing really does look so much better on. If I had the chance to re-do them I would probably go a little smaller, but they are mine now, so I just avoid push up bras.

8. She gained confidence

My breasts developed very strangely. They were extremely saggy (they looked like a 90 year old woman’s breasts, my nipples literally pointed down) and my areolae were about the size of my palm.

Coupled with the fact that I have extremely large labia (I’ve learned to deal with that though), I had absolutely NO sexual confidence. When I was 18, I went in looking for only a breast lift. I didn’t want my breasts any larger, just not saggy monstrosities. The surgeon recommended small-ish implants in addition to the lift to maintain perkiness.

Overall, they didn’t turn out perfect but they are night and day from my previous breasts. The operation completely changed my confidence, I am not ashamed for men to see my chest now. I am ashamed of the fact that I do technically have “fake breasts” since you always hear men saying how they hate fake breasts, but it was way better than the alternative. I have no regrets.

9. Lifechanging

Ever since I was 13, one of my breasts were bigger than the other, and I’m talking about a huge difference, like one was an A cup while the other was a DD. I am almost 22, and I got an implant in the smaller one on my 21st birthday. My doctor did an amazing job, you can’t really tell they are fake apart from the tiny scar. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. They are not completely perfect yet. I am going to get the bigger one reduced soon and as soon as that heals, get an implant in that one as well to even them out. Words can’t describe how happy and excited I am. Surgery and recovery sucks, but it will all be worth it in the end. Clothes already fit better, I have better self-confidence, and my life is just overall better. I have a lot of problems with anxiety/depression/body dysmorphia and I think my breasts were the cause of those issues. They have honestly changed my life for the better.

10. Better fit and better life

Changed my life for the better in terms of how much I could wear – I could finally fill out those shirts and dresses well! I don’t look like I have a body of a 10 year old anymore.

I was really flat. While everyone else eventually got their breasts, mine didn’t grow at all. I couldn’t fill a AA cup, no push ups helped because I had no breast tissue to push up. All the bras ever did was only cover my boobs and left a huge gap between my boobs and the bras. All throughout high school I thought about eventually getting surgery if my boobs never grew. I was desperately clinging on to the hope that I was one of the late bloomers. (Surprise, surprise, they stayed the same!) It was something I openly spoke about to my mom who was understanding but also very wary about the consequences and potential risks of the medical procedure.

A few years down the road after I graduated from college, I’m still thinking about surgery. I did my research, read over some pamphlets that were given to me, talked to people. I was ready. I spoke to my mother about it who was skeptical at first, but was understanding. She supported my decision. Now it was time to tell my dad. He was livid. He told me I was beautiful as I am and I shouldn’t let anyone tell me how my body should look. But getting implants wasn’t an issue of of striving to look like the quintessential skinny girl with boobs. I wanted to fill in my clothes, it was something for me and my decision was not dependent on anyone else’s vision of beauty. I had a long talk with my dad and he eventually got to see it from my perspective and was really supportive. It made me really relieved and happy to know that the two people whom I care about the most were on my side.

After the surgery I was so excited now that I could fill out my clothes. I didn’t have to buy any new shirts and only had to buy new bras. It was great! I don’t wear many shirts that show my chest, but now I am more confident and can wear form fitting shirts and dresses.

I don’t elicit attention from men because my surgeon used implants that suited my small frame which made my new boobs look proportionate to my body. I still haven’t entered a new relationship or went on any dates since surgery last July.

I’m still the same person, but with boobs that match my body.

11. Better fit into wedding dress

I’m gonna throw this out there to contrast the replies that say “I got so much more attention!” I don’t have anyone fixating on my fake tits. Why? Because I don’t really emphasize them. They are great, but my legs, shoulders, neck and hands still garner more compliments.

I am very happy with this. I didn’t not get massive stripper boobs for attention, I got cute girl-next-door tatas. It was the one body part I couldn’t alter by diet or exercise- the missing puzzle piece.

And no, I didn’t get them for male attention. I actually got them after I became engaged, because I knew it would make trying on wedding dresses a much happier experience. My fiance and I made a deal that he would never comment on whether he liked my body better before or after.

12. For the experience

I’ve been petite (5′ 0″ 98 lbs) my whole life with an A cup. Since I was 16, all I wanted was to be able to shop and try anything on and have it fit the way it’s supposed to. So when I turned 27 I went for it. I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing because I didn’t want to hear “you don’t need to do that” “you look good the way you are”. It was happening no matter what so I set up the consultation and 2 months later I went and had the procedure done. I can’t begin to tell you how strange it was to wake up and realize that there were now two giant foreign objects front and center under your skin. But I got over that quickly and I was totally excited. It took a week to get back to normal but as soon as I was able to shop it was a whole new enjoyable experience. Especially trying on bathing suits. I’ve never had so many options!

13. Self-esteem

When I got pregnant my boobs ballooned in size literally overnight. This caused me to develop stretch marks, which after I was done being pregnant/breast feeding and they shrunk back to their pre pregnancy size, caused them to be quite saggy. Not only were they aesthetically unpleasant, they were very uncomfortable. I could feel them lying up against the skin below my boobs, something I had never felt before. Because of the way my skin had been damaged I was not a candidate for a regular lift, so I got a very small implant. I’m not too far off of where I was before kids. The benefits they give me is having my bodily self esteem back.