Breast Implant Replacement – When and Why is it Necessary

Breast implants can provide women with a more balanced figure, more sex appeal, and greater social confidence. Breast augmentation is a major procedure and the results typically last a long time, even many years, but eventually most women with implants will need to undergo a replacement procedure.

Implants Do Not Last Forever

This can be the result of many different causes but in any cases, implants are medical devices, not made to last forever. The good news is that the second procedure tends to be less painful with a very quick recovery in a matter of days. Here are some of the reasons why and the times when they may need replacement:

Breast Implant Deflation

Most implants are filled with either silicone gel or saltwater saline solution. Over a long period of time, there is a good chance that they will rupture from normal movement and wear and tear. That will lead to a leak of saline or silicone from the shell, causing them to deflate and lose their size and shape.

If a saline implant has ruptured, the effects are fairly obvious. The breasts will become softer and smaller because the leaking fluid flows right out of the prosthesis and gets absorbed into the body. Silicone ruptures and leaks may require the use of mammograms and ultrasounds to be fully detected. This is because the silicone gel is not so readily absorbed into the body, but generally just fills up the breast pocket, creating only a subtle change in the breast shape it at all.

Size Enlargement or Decrease

Augmentation surgery does not always produce happy customers the first time around. Some women are dissatisfied with the size of their bust after the original surgery and go back to correct the issue. For many women this means a size enlargement. For others it means going a size smaller.

In either case, using salines usually make the process easier, because fluid can simply be pumped in or out to create the desired size. Silicone will have to be completely removed and different sizes reinserted.

Breast Shape Concerns

Others undergo replacement or revision surgery to correct problems with shape distortions or rippling of the implants visible under the skin. Rippling is a common problem for those with small chests originally or those who used implants as part of a breast reconstruction procedure. The remedy may be to select a different type of prosthesis or to go with a smaller size.

Capsular Contracture

Sometimes the natural tissue capsule the body forms around a foreign body starts to shrink and contract. This causes the breasts to feel really hard and take on ball-like shapes. The contracting of the capsule can also cause rupture, resulting in deflation.

Revision surgery can be performed to either remove the prostheses and the surrounding capsules or to cut the capsule away from the implant and hope that the problem does not occur again. Implant replacement or revision surgery is very safe and quite effective. Talk to your surgeon if you feel you are a good candidate for this procedure.