How to Decide if your Breast Implants should be Replaced or Removed

Approximately 1 out of every 20 women in America has received breast implants, a procedure that has been around for about four decades. Regardless of how long you have had your implants, you may wonder about getting them replaced or removed. Patients may want to upgrade their implants to a newer, safer version, or may opt to have them removed entirely for personal reasons. Going through surgery again is not something to take lightly, which is why Dr. Preminger wants to share with you how to decide if you should have your implants replaced or removed.

Your aesthetic desires can change as you age

Do you have the same style and aesthetic goals at 50 as you did two or three decades ago? Probably not. The changes that occur in your body as you age and mature are mental as well as physical. A mature woman may find that her breast implants no longer match her aesthetic viewpoint at that stage in her life. For this reason, women in middle age may opt to have their breast implants replaced or even removed. You may decide to change the size or shape of your implants as your body changes and ages.

Childbirth causes drastic changes throughout the body, and the hormone changes during pregnancy can change the surrounding breast tissue, affecting the appearance of previously installed implants. However, this isn’t the case in every situation, but may occur in some individuals.

Drastic weight loss may impact the look of your previously augmented breasts, and you may want to undergo surgery once more to achieve a better look.

Also, due to the changes the body undergoes throughout the aging process, sometimes breast implants simply need to be replaced to match the overall changes of the body.

Older breast implants may need to be upgraded or replaced

As with any area in the medical field, plastic surgery is ever changing. Newer, improved implants are available now that weren’t available a few years ago, and especially not a decade ago. Patients may wish to upgrade their implants to more safer, natural-looking implants. Breast implants don’t have an expiration date, but they rarely serve as a permanent solution to your aesthetic concerns. Some women have breast implants that remain viable and functional for multiple decades, while others experience problems that require repair or replacement in less than 10 years. Sometimes, the desire to replace implants is simply aesthetic; the implants have lost their ability to keep breasts looking young and natural as they once did.

Implants also can fail or pose certain risks, although rare, which may be the reason a patient wants their breast implants removed entirely. It is important, however, to minimize these risks by ensuring you choose a board-certified plastic surgeon that has experience with breast augmentation.

Deflation occurs when a leak develops on the interior of the implant.

Rupture represents a total failure of the implant, as the solution will leak out of the implant shell and significantly decrease the visible volume of the breast.

Capsular contracture occurs from a tightening of the scar tissue that forms surrounding an implant procedure. This contracture causes the implant to harden, altering its appearance or potentially leading to a rupture or leak.

Breast implant replacement or removal in Manhattan

If you are considering an upgrade or removal of your breast implants, make sure you seek out a board-certified plastic surgeon such as Dr. B. Aviva Preminger. Breast augmentation and surgeries are a specialty of Dr. Preminger. Schedule your consultation today by calling our office at (212) 706-1900.

Located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, Dr. Preminger provides state-of-the-art plastic surgery and non-surgical procedures to produce beautiful results.