If you’re thinking about seeking breast augmentation with saline or silicone implants, you probably have a thousand questions about how to care for the implants after your procedure. One of the most pressing is often how long they’ll last – a key component in deciding if the procedure’s even worth it in the first place.

While everyone’s experience with breast enhancement surgery is different, here’s generally what to expect from the lifetime of your implants.

Are Breast Implants Permanent?

No breast implant is a permanent solution to enhancing the size or shape of the breasts. However, it’s not like you’ll need to come in every few years to replace them. Modern breast implant technology allows most implants to last over a decade. In some cases, they even last 20 years as long as you’re still happy with their appearance.

The important thing to emphasize when it comes to breast implant longevity is that every patient is different. The lifetime of your specific breast implants depends on your body, how you take care of your implants, and whether you even want them after 10 or more years.

Reasons to Remove or Replace Breast Implants

There are several reasons someone would require or want to remove their implants, both for medical or aesthetic concerns.

Medical Reasons to Remove Breast Implants

Perhaps the most well-known or feared outcome of breast augmentation with implants is of implant rupture or leakage, where the lining of the implant fails and the inner material, whether a saline solution or silicone gel, leaks out into the breast pocket. However, there are other conditions that can occur with implants that could require their removal and/or replacement. They include:

  • Capsular contracture
  • Calcium buildup
  • Deflation (saline rupture)
  • Silent rupture (silicone or gummy bear implant rupture)

Capsular contracture occurs when the scar tissue that naturally forms around a breast implant becomes hard, leading to tightness, pain, and stiffness in the affected breast(s). This may also cause the implant to change shape slightly.

Aesthetic Reasons to Remove Breast Implants

Some breast augmentation patients experience changes to the appearance of their implants over time that cause them to want to replace them for a different type or size, or simply get rid of them altogether.

When implants last a long time, they can begin to change with the aging process, frequently leading to drooping breasts due to a reduction in skin elasticity. Some implants may also ripple, leading to a wrinkled feeling and/or appearance to the breast. And finally, some people just decide they no longer want their implants or they want a different look than the one they got with the initial surgery. In all these cases, breast implants can be replaced or exchanged.

Breast Implant Removal and Replacement in Manhattan, NYC

If you’ve got a concern about breast implants either before or after your surgery, don’t hesitate to reach out to double board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Theodore Diktaban who can answer any questions and help you with any breast implant concerns. Contact our team by calling our office or filling out our online form today.

Double Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon at THEODORE DIKTABAN, MD, FACS | + posts

Dr. Theodore Diktaban, MD FACS, a double board-certified plastic surgeon with 35+ years of experience, specializes in safe and subtle cosmetic treatments, enhancing natural beauty and boosting self-confidence in the Upper East Side and New York City.

Theodore Diktaban, MD, FACS
Double Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon

For over 35 years, Theodore Diktaban, MD, FACS, has made it his life's work to enhance the natural beauty of his patients in the Upper East Side and surrounding areas of New York City. As a double board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Diktaban provides the ideal blend of realistic, aesthetic, and safe cosmetic treatments and procedures.

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