From medically necessary to personal preference, here are the most common reasons patients seek to remove their breast implants:
Implant Rupture
While it’s a rare complication considering all the advances in the technology and materials for breast implants, implant rupture is still a concern particularly for patients with older breast implants. It is extremely important for patients with breast implants to get them checked routinely as well as replaced because even though sometimes they may have symptoms for an implant rupture, which can be obvious like an irregularity in the shape or size of the breast, they may also have no symptoms.
Capsular Contracture
It is a natural response for the body to create a scar tissue capsule around any foreign object that is inserted in the body. It instinctively builds a protective layer around the object to shield the rest of the body. This is what happens when patients get breast implants and it’s totally normal. However, with a capsular contracture, that scar tissue hardens around the breast implant applying pressure to the implant, which can cause pain and even distort the shape of the breast. Certain things like hematoma, bacterial contamination and rupturing of the implant shell and can lead to a capsular contracture.
Health Issues
Some patients may experience symptoms that they associate with their breast implants such as breathing or sleeping issues and fatigue, which are attributed to BIL or Breast Implant Illness. In addition, Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, can affect patients with textured breast implants. These implants of course have all been recalled and only a small percent of patients have been identified with having it. While the FDA continues their investigation on this, they do not recommend removing the implants as a preventive measure.
Replacement or Exchange
As previously mentioned, breast implants have a shelf-life, which requires them to be replaced or exchanged about every 10 to 15 years.
Aesthetic Dissatisfaction
The body changes over time and so can your breast implants. They may look perfect at first, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay looking perfect forever. Age, changes in weight, and other variables can affect the appearance of your breasts. What’s more, Aesthetic dissatisfaction doesn’t only relate to a change in appearance. Patients can have perfect looking breast implants, but may want a change due to their lifestyle or even an aesthetic trend.
Regret or Second Thoughts
Some patients have regret or have second thoughts about their breast augmentation. Everything related to their breast augmentation may have gone perfectly. They healed perfectly and look beautiful, but they simply change their minds. It’s not what they want anymore and that’s ok.