Although breast implants are made to stay intact and be highly durable for many years, they can be prone to failure at some stage in their lives. Just like hip replacers, pacemakers, and several other medical devices, breast implants often also need to be replaced. Here are some signs that you may benefit from breast revision surgery.
IMPLANT RUPTURE
Whether an implant is saline, silicone or structured silicone, they can all rupture. Even though the chances of a rupture are pretty low, any degree of implant bursting can result in some changes to the shape, size or symmetry of a breast.
A rupture in a saline implant results in a rapid deflation of the breast because the liquid saline pours out of the implant. Silicone, on the other hand, results in a slower change of the breast shape and in some cases, no discernible change. Yet, if either implant becomes ruptured or undergoes some other form of damage, they will need to be replaced or removed. If you’re concerned about a possible rupture, see your plastic surgeon immediately.
IMPLANT REPOSITIONING
Over time, all breast implants can move or shift. Occasionally the breast tissues thin out in time which can lead to lack of support for the implant. A revision procedure can reinforce and relocate the implants to their initial position. There are a number of different techniques to reach this goal including thermal, suture and mesh techniques.
BODY CHANGES
A lot of women have to deal with significant body changes throughout their lives because of natural ageing, fluctuations in their weight, illness or pregnancy. These changes in the body can change how your breasts feel and look even if your breast implants do not have any noticeable issues. For instance, if a woman loses a large amount of weight following a breast augmentation, the implants may seem too large or have an unnatural appearance.
Whereas, if a woman gains a large amount of weight after they’ve had implants they may see some gains in breast tissue or stretching of the skin around the breasts which can result in a disproportional appearance.
Implant revision surgery can alter the placement and size of the implants to improve the chest area. Fat can be placed around the implants to provide more natural contours if necessary.
DESIRED SIZE CHANGES
It’s not uncommon for women to want to change the size of their implant. Some choose to go with a smaller size implant after realising that their initial implant is too large and no longer fits in with their body and lifestyle. In other cases, some women want to go larger to accentuate their chest better. Either way, revision surgery with Dr Mark Magnusson allows the patient to change the size of their implants.