3D Simulation in the Consultation
Choosing between a 300cc and a 400cc implant from a description is guesswork. Three-dimensional imaging lets a patient see a simulation of the proposed result on their own body before consenting to it.
The hardest question in a breast augmentation consultation is one of scale. A patient is asked to choose between a 300cc and a 400cc implant, and neither figure means anything until it is on their own chest.
Three-dimensional imaging addresses that specific problem.
How it works
The system referenced in the original version of this article is Crisalix, a 3D simulation platform used in aesthetic surgery consultations. The process runs in four steps:
- The patient is scanned during the clinic visit, producing a three-dimensional model of their own anatomy.
- Surgeon and patient work through the proposed changes on that model, adjusting until it reflects what is being discussed.
- A virtual reality mode allows the patient to view the simulated result at scale rather than on a screen.
- The model can be saved and reviewed at home, away from the consultation room.
That last step matters more than it appears to. Decisions made under the mild pressure of a consultation are worse decisions than the same ones made a week later.
What a simulation is and is not
A simulation is a communication tool. Its value is that it replaces two people using words to describe an outcome — where they may be describing different things and not realise it — with a shared image they can both point at.
It is not a prediction. It does not account for how your tissue will behave, how you heal, or how an implant settles over twelve months. No surgeon should present a simulation as the result you will get, and no patient should treat it as one.
Used properly, it narrows the gap between what a patient wants and what a surgeon has understood them to want. That gap is the most common source of dissatisfaction with a technically successful operation.
Ask at consultation
If you would find it useful to see a simulation, ask whether it is available for the procedure you are considering. Confirm what the simulation is based on and what it does not model.
Before you act on this
Everything here is general. What applies to you depends on your anatomy, your history and what you are trying to achieve, and none of that can be assessed from a page. If a question here is yours, bring it to a consultation.