A common question from breast augmentation patients who come to my Munster office is whether they will need to replace their implants at some point. The answer is more complicated that you’d imagine because it mainly depends on you and your body.
When a patient undergoes breast augmentation, the initial results are beautifully shaped breasts that are firmer and fuller. The real question is: will your breasts look as good in ten years as they do immediately after surgery?
Factors That Influence Your Breast Implants
There are factors you can control when it comes to replacing your implants and some, which unfortunately, you can’t. Just as you’d protect any investment, your breast augmentation is an investment in yourself and you should do all you can to minimize the need for revisional surgery.
Among the factors that affect your results are:
- Heredity: The best indication of how you will look when you’re older is older relatives. If your mother, grandmother, and aunts age well, then it’s very likely that you will also.
- Children: Having children after your breast augmentation often affects the shape and appearance of implants. Because the mammary glands fill with milk and then deflate, it’s common for breasts to sag or the position of the implant to shift.
- Weight: A five or ten pound gain or loss usually has little effect on the appearance of your breasts, but if it’s much more than that it can affect your proportions and leave you unhappy with the results.
- Age: A breast implant will reshape and change the size of your breasts for years, but it won’t stop the clock completely. As your breasts succumb to gravity and growing older this can mean sagging that leaves you unhappy with your breasts.
- Smoking: We all know smoking is bad for you but it’s especially bad for your skin’s elasticity. Smokers are much more prone to droop and eventually, breast lift surgery.
- Lifestyle: This broad category includes things such as how often you wear a bra and whether you enjoy sports such as running and horseback riding that involve bouncing. Wearing a good supportive bra is critical to supporting your breasts and maintaining your great result.
How Do I Determine If and When I Need Another Breast Augmentation?
As I mentioned earlier, it’s all up to you. Every woman’s breasts will change over time. The question is whether you are happy with your new look or not. Studies show that the most common reasons women undergo secondary breast procedures is to change the size of their implants or to change from saline to newer silicone gel implants. There are some issues that prompt Munster patients to come in to replace their implants:
- Rupture: Depending on whether you have silicone or saline implants, you will either notice the leak or it will be detected during an MRI. Typically implants rupture as the result of a major trauma though this is not always the case. Although rupture is rare and dangerous, most patients are unhappy with their appearance especially when saline implants deflate.
- Implant rotation or displacement: Breast implants are prone to rotating and over time can be displaced either too low or too far into the armpit. A follow-up surgery is required to correct these problems.
- Capsular contracture: When scar tissue forms around the implants, they become firmer than they were immediately after surgery. As this progresses the breast can take on a round, unnatural appearance. Often the implants are replaced when the scar tissue is removed.
Ultimately, you are the one who decides what’s right for your body. Our team will do everything in their power to support you every step of the way.
To schedule your breast augmentation consultation, call our Munster office at (219) 513-2015.
