Breast Implant Removal Surgery Frequently Asked Questions
When can I go home after surgery?
It’s entirely up to you – you can choose to stay overnight, or go home the day of your surgery. You’ll need someone to stay with you for the first 24 hours. When you leave hospital, you’ll be given prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medication to minimise any discomfort.
How long do breast implants last?
Breast implants are not lifetime devices. On average, breast implants should be removed or replaced after 10-15 years. After a decade, breast implants are more likely to cause complications such as capsular contracture, rupture, and malrotation. Breast implant revision surgery or implant removal can be done to rejuvenate your breasts again.
Will I regret removing my implants?
It’s possible. Explant remorse is a feeling some patients experience after having their implants taken out. You might feel like your new breast shape and size does not live up to your expectation and that your breasts looked better with implants. Patients can generally get another breast augmentation mammoplasty or fat transfer if they are suitable for the procedure.
How do I know if my implant is leaking?
Implant leaking can cause breast asymmetry, deflation, deformity, and breast pain. You may also have some symptoms of BII – Breast Implant Illness.
Do you have PIP Implants? (used from the year 2000 to 2010)
PIP Implant Rupture and Risk to Patients
About 5000 breast surgery patients had PIP Breast implants from around 2000 to 2010. A breast implant manufactured in France by the PIP company.
In 2012, plastic surgeons internationally found that PIP implants appear to have a higher rate of rupture. It was found the implants had been manufactured with non-medical grade silicone and in fact, they have been manufactured using industrial-grade silicone.
The facts are:
- There is evidence that these implants tend to have a high rate of rupture
- The risk of toxicity from these implants is only theoretical currently
- The situation is causing a lot of concern for women who have PIP implants or PIP implants have been withdrawn from the market
Plastic surgeons have been working together internationally to establish a clearer picture as to what this means for patients.
As a member of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, I can report that in our opinion these implants should be removed if there is adequate anxiety for the patient, or evidence of rupture.
Genuine anxiety certainly does exist and anxiety can lead to the presentation of medical symptoms secondary to stress.
Investigation of whether these implants have ruptured or not has recently been made simpler with the Department Of Health rebating investigations such as scans, to see if the implants are in fact ruptured or intact.
For further information about receiving a scan, I suggest you visit the Department of Health website (below) where you can be directed as to how to receive a scan to establish whether the implant is in fact leaking.
If the PIP implant, or any implant is found to be leaking, ruptured, or bleeding, it certainly should be removed and replaced with a different breast implant though even if the implant is not shown to be leaking on the scan and anxiety levels are high, it is recommended that the implant be removed and replaced.
At this stage, it is reasonable to remove the ruptured PIP implants or implants that are causing anxiety and replace them with an implant made by a different manufacturer which has not had these problems (Motiva or mentor).
I hope this has been helpful and if patients do require further information I would suggest they contact the plastic surgeon who inserted their breast implants. This will allow you to determine if the implant used was in fact one that has been associated with rupture or a different brand.
If you are unable to ascertain the type of your implant I would recommend that an MRI scan would be the simplest non-invasive method to establish if the implant was in fact ruptured or leaking.
More information is available on the Queensland Department of Health Website
Who can remove my breast implant?
Breast implant removal surgery is best performed by a specialist plastic surgeon with experience in explantation surgery.
How long do drains stay in after explant?
If required, your Surgical drains usually stay in for 2-3 days after your breast removal surgery.
