Breast augmentation is the most popular plastic surgery procedure in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, and probably throughout the US.
Many women who have either had breast implants or are contemplating breast augmentation in Beverly Hills or Los Angeles wonder if they need to have their breast implants replaced or exchanged in the future. Saline or silicone breast implants are not considered devices that last a lifetime, even though many women have. There may be specific reasons why you may wish to, or even need to have your breast implants replaced. Understanding the options available to you in replacing your breast implants requires as much consideration as your original decision to get breast implants.
Get your facts straight before getting breast implants!
Although breast implants don’t last forever, they don’t have to be automatically replaced every so many years. Saline and Silicone breast implants should be replaced only if they deflate, leak, or create a specific problem. Fortunately, Mentor and Allergan Breast Implant Manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty on their implants, and pay a portion of your replacement cost, during the first 10 years after breast augmentation. There are many national statistics about the incidence of breast implant deflation. In general, the rate of breast implant deflation is 1% per year. When saline implants deflate they just go flat, which alerts the person. To the contrary, when silicone implants deflate or leak there is usually no noticeable change. Therefore, in order to monitor silicone breast implants for deflation the FDA recommends yearly evaluation with MRI.
Other than breast implant deflation there are other reasons for wanting to exchange or remove breast implants. The second most common reason for breast implant exchange is simply to go bigger. Initially, most “flat-chested” women ask for implants that are just a bit bigger- “may be to go from an A cup to a B”. After breast augmentation, most women regret not having gone bigger.
There are more serious reasons for exchanging breast implants:
- Capsular Contracture: formation of a hard and painful scar tissue around implant occurs rarely. Besides having to remove this tight capsule (capsulectomy), breast implants should be changed from a smooth to textured surface, in order to reduce the recurrence rate of capsular contracture.
- Breast Implant rippling: All breast implants are palpable to a certain degree. In extreme cases a woman can feel or even observe ripples in their breast implants. This is more common in textured and saline implants, and to a lesser degree in silicone breast implants. To remedy this problem plastic surgeons usually recommend exchanging saline implants to silicone; and also to move the implant from a sub-glandular location to a sub-muscular position.
- Changing breast shape and projection: women can increase the degree of their cleavage by going bigger! Larger breasts implants have a wider diameter, thus creating more cleavage. They also fill the upper pole of the breast better for those who are fairly flat on the top. High Profile Implants can change the look of the breasts from a more subtle to a perkier look.
- Changing breast implant feel: Saline and silicone breast implants feel different. While saline breast implants feel slightly firmer, silicone breast implants feel softer. On the other hand silicone implants are heavier and hang more than saline breast implants.
- Breast Sagging: breasts sag after childbirth, breast feeding, and with age or with weight loss. Those who choose a breast lift, or mastopexy, often decide to exchange their breast implants for a newer model, or different shape or size.
It is advised that you regularly visit your plastic surgeon to assess the condition of your breast implants. Your surgeon may advise you to replace any implant that has deflated, is leaking or whose shell shows signs of fracture or other weakness. It may be appropriate to replace only the implant that is not functioning properly. However, you may take the opportunity or be advised to consider a change in breast size or shape to maintain balanced proportions between the breast and body.
