Anthropomorphic breast measurement: Protocol and results in 50 women with aesthetically perfect breasts and clinical application

This paper presents a simple protocol for the measurement and evaluation of the difficult physiognomy of the female breast and the application of the protocol in clinical practice. The protocol includes measurement of the breast and its landmarks and their relevant position from fixed skeletal points. Volume was measured with the Grossman-Roudner device. The protocol provides a useful tool in the accurate evaluation of patients preoperatively and in the assessment of surgical results. The protocol is compared with the two previously reported protocols. The paper presents the anthropomorphic measurements of 50 women with aesthetically perfect breasts utilizing this protocol. Aesthetically perfect was defined as a nonptotic breast in which no common aesthetic procedure would be considered appropriate (excluding augmentation) to enhance the breast's form. Results were compared with those reported in the two previous studies. The paper presents the clinical correlation obtained by statistical analysis of the results of the measurements of the 50 women. Although the results of the measurements indicate the range and variance in the aesthetically perfect breast, there still was a statistically significant correlation of some of the parameters of the breast and torso shape to breast volume. This correlation can be used preoperatively to predict desired breast shape and volume in breast augmentation, reduction, and reconstruction. Clinical application of the concepts proposed will lead to better surgical goal orientation and improve evaluation of surgical results. A formula for calculating appropriate breast size based on torso parameters is presented.