Breast Implant Removal
If you are searching for information on breast implant removal then you likely here for one of the three following reasons, either your breasts have changed size or shape, you may have experienced an implant leak or rupture or possibly capsular contracture.
Reasons for Breast Implant Removal Surgery
If you look at the statistics from the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, more than 230,000 women underwent breast augmentation surgery in 2003; approximately 41,000 underwent breast implant removal surgeries. This procedure, often referred to as as explantation, and can be performed to either decrease the size of the breast implant or to make room for a new implant.
Breast Implant removal is often necessary for the following issues:
- deflation or rupture
- shifting
- implant wrinkling
- sagging
- asymmetry
Or it is quite possible that you will need to have breast implant removal surgery performed due to the way your body reacted to the breast implants. This can happen soon after surgery or many years later, it is not exclusive to a certain time period.
- bleeding
- infection
- diagnosis of breast cancer
- formation of scar tissue that can tighten around the actual implant ( aka capsular contracture)
- necrosis, or the formation of dead tissue around the implant, which may prevent wound healing
- calcium deposits
Breast Implant Removal Procedure
The actual Breast implant removal surgery is performed under either general anesthesia or possibly local anesthesia combined with IV sedation. In most cases, the actual procedure usually takes approximately 30 minutes to an hour and is performed in an outpatient type surgical center. The operation is performed through an incision in fold under the breast or a peri-areolar incision otherwise known as through the nipple. Once access is gained to the implant, your surgeon will carefully remove your old breast implants.
Breast Implant Removal Recovery
In most cases, recovery from breast implant removal surgery is fairly fast with many patients being able to return to moderate normal activity within just a few days and reasonable full level of activity within three weeks. Complete and total recovery will still take a few months but most patients are able to function easily within just a few days. It is common to experience mild discomfort and some swelling and bruising for the first few days but improvement comes rapidly. A small number of patients may suffer from some of the following side effects although it is not common: varying degrees of loss of nipple sensation; scarring internally or externally; bleeding; and loose skin.
Removal of Larger Breast Implants
Larger breast implants can present a few challenges that a more normal sized implant removal may not suffer from. There have been the occasional case of women who had larger implants that were usually inserted on top of the muscle and under the breast glands, being left with moderate to major cosmetic deformities in their breasts, especially if they do not opt to either replace the old breast implant or opt for further cosmetic surgery to correct the deformity. Larger implants more commonly create tissue atrophy and chest wall deformity when the breast implant is removed.
Another side effect is that your breasts may end up being smaller than they were prior to surgery due to hormonal changes in your body or even in some cases, weight loss. Unfortunately sagging of the breast tissue may become more apparent after breast implant removal surgery. It is best to consult your doctor for their recommendations on how to proceed if this is a larg concern for you.
Emotional Effects of Breast Implant Removal Surgery
All women are different and react to breast implant removal surgery differently but it should be noted that some women have reported to suffer from psychological issues after breast implant removal. The mental effect of the change in their body’s shape and appearance can affect some women as deeply as a mastectomy might affect others. It should be noted that it is quite normal to experience some level of sadness after undergoing such a drastic transformation of their body and it is recommended that women should consult treatment from a professional if these extreme feelings do not subside within some reasonable sort of time frame.
All women are different and will react differently to breast implant removal so it is hard to say exactly how it will effect you. We can only share what is commonly experienced in prior women who have undergone this surgery.
Breast Implant Removal Photos
In the images below, we show you three examples of before and after breast implant removal surgery. These pictures are only meant to serve as a reference or point of interest and is no guarantee that your breasts would respond similarly or would look the same. Consult your physician for specifics on your particular case.
In each of the three photos, the top image is with breast implants and then the pictures below show the progress that the breasts make after breast implant removal surgery.
