I am now 63 and am beginning to realize that no other woman my age has such full and perky breasts as I do. I am beginning to feel self-conscious and expect that as I grow older, this will become more of a problem for me. I want to know if breast explantation is an option, what could be done to ensure my breasts would become much smaller and how much this would cost.
Explantation of implants is a very easy procedure, but can be affected by the amount of breast tissue left over. If you do not have alot of tissue, the breast may shrink and contract into a shape that you may not be happy with. This is almost impossible to completely control. A lift of tissue may be helpful or placing a smaller implant.
Implant explantation is a definite option, but is will require a surgical procedure. The exact procedure depends on how the implants were placed during the original surgery. Most likely, your surgeon can access your implants through your original incision. This can be done under conscious sedation or general anesthesia.
However, once you remove the implant, your breast will become significantly ptotic (loose and hanging) since the implant is no longer there to support the tissue. Often when patient have their implant removed, a concomitant procedure is performed to lift the breast tissue - this will involve making more incisions. Another option is to consider a different size or style of implant. You may have a high profile saline which could be switched to a low profile silicone. Even with the same volume, each of these implant will look different.
Finally, to address your question about cost, if you are just having the implants removed it would likely involve a short anesthesia and operating room fee in the low thousands. If you decide to have new implants put in and/or a breast lift, then you are talking about a few hours in the operating room, new implants, and performing the lift.
In Manhattan, this can run anywhere from $8,000 to $18,000+ depending on the surgeon.
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