Max Cleavage: A Wonder-bra on steroids

"I'll boost your boobs or go bust!"

It's a bold claim, but British bra-maker Emma Clark has come up with an interesting line of bras and swimwear to one-up the Wonderbra for non-surgical cleavage control under the banner of Max-Cleavage. Using a clever selection of gel padded (as opposed to foam) bras, swimsuits, and blouses Ms. Clark has created some real buzz in the fashion industry.

Dissatisfied with the trusty Wonderbra which she says,“In my experience, they simply push up what little bust you do have to the middle of your chest and leave this void at the side." That's an interesting and astute observation.

Another bra is being marketed specifically for the post breast augmentation breast under the pretentious label, "Le Mystere No 9". I've never really thought about a need for this, but they make the point that

"Augmented breasts often have more projection and wider cleavage than natural breasts. Because breast implants are ideal for women with narrower rib cages, high profile implants require more depth in the bra cup. The center gore of traditional bras is too narrow for breast implants and causes poor fitting and loss of support."

I'm not quite sure if I buy this logic the way I think about breast augmentation. The "width" of cleavage is determined by the attachments of the underside of skin to the peri-osteal tissue covering sternum (breast bone) and is also defined somewhat by the medial attachments of the pectoralis major muscle when implants are in the sub-muscular position. Implants themselves do not make cleavage wider unless the lateral dissection is overdone, stretched, or expanded from the contraction of the pectoralis major muscle. Saline implants in the sub-muscular position are notorious for gradual lateral drift.

I tell patients to be wary when asking about whether or not your can narrow one's cleavage. You certainly can do it, but it is an ill-advised manuever. Once those natural attachments are lost, control of the space around an implant can slip out of your control. Uncorrectable deformities, including synmastia, the"uniboob" deformity, can result from over aggressive dissection towards the midline, particularly when the implants are in an "over the muscle" (subglandular) position. Pictured at right is a patient with synmastia.

Rob