r10 What is breast implant replacement?
Breast implant replacement is a cosmetic surgery procedure where a breast implant is removed and/or replaced. Your current implants are removed along with any internal scar tissue, we’ll cover this in more detail later, the implant pocket is repaired, and you can choose to have new implants in their place. This surgical procedure can utilise the original incision to minimise scars.
Why choose to have breast implant removal and replace?
In many cases, a change of implant size to enhance the breast shape is requested. This can be to increase or decrease the size of your breasts many years after your original surgery when natural changes to your body through ageing or after childbirth or weight loss have occurred.
If you’re considering a Breast Implant Removal or Replacement Procedure MyBreast take a great deal of pride and care in ensuring our clients receive the highest possible standard of treatment, and for every procedure, we offer a guarantee that our patients are as well-informed as possible on the nature of the surgery they choose.
Do your Breast Enlargement Implants need Replacing?
Breast augmentation is the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure in the UK, and since the FDA in America and the Department of Health in the UK published data on the safety of silicone-based breast implants, this form of implant has been the preferred choice for both surgeons and patients. The safety benefits of these implants to increase the size of the breast in a breast enlargement procedure may be well-documented but something that might not be common knowledge is that, as with almost any other medical implant device such as hip replacements, tooth fillings, or heart valves they do have a lifespan and they will need replacing at some point. A silicone implant acts as a foreign body and as such the body reacts to this in a range of ways. At some point during the breast implant’s lifespan of 10 – 15 years there will come a point when the internal scarring that is formed around the implant in the healing process after surgery will contract. This scar is known as a capsule and a by-product of this contraction is that the capsule can shrink to the smallest size the implant allows – this is when removal or replacement is required. Implant removal can include the removal of the capsule or scar tissue that surrounds your implant during the procedure. This is called the En Bloc Method or Capsulectomy and is not necessary in all cases. If the capsule is thick or calcified, it should be removed or if the silicone implant is already ruptured inside the capsule, en bloc removal would prevent spillage of the silicone during removal. This is not an issue with saline implants. It is more complicated to do an en bloc removal and the necessity depends on your particular situation.
Options after Breast Implant Removal
Removal will give the breast a deflated appearance, which is why many women opt for additional surgery in the form of implant replacement, and this is where we aim to give the best possible advice for next steps by making it clear what options are available. Four factors need to be considered here:
- The desired size of the breast
- The desired shape of the breast
- The capsular contractor risk
- Financial factors
The best and most predictable results can be achieved by a two-stage procedure. The first step is the removal of the implant which has reached the end of its lifespan. After the effects of this procedure have settled, the final procedure can then be undertaken which might involve replacement breast implants, if droopiness (Ptosis) is experienced – a breast lift (Mastopexy) or both (Breast lift with implants), all will yield positive and long-lasting results. Another option is a breast lift without implants, this will certainly improve the shape of the breast after implant removal however an uplift will still leave scars around the nipple and possibly extensions below it.
