Breast Implant Removal After 25 Years

Well, the time has come for my implants to come out. I've had no problems with them at all until about two weeks ago when I noticed slight swelling in one breast. Now, I'm trying to decide whether to leave the implants out or start over with new ones. My doctor seems to think my breasts won't sag that much, but he said he's only had three patients in his 30 yr career where women haven't had implant revision surgery. Please share your experience if you have not replaced the implants.

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6 Doctor Answers | Asked by 1810anon in California

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Breast Implant Removal After 25 Years

25 years of implant longevity is impressive. After 30 years in practice, we do have patients returning from when I first started for implant exchange or removal. For more specific recommendations, you will need an in person consultation and exam. However, in general you will need to determine if the potential loss of fullness in the upper pole is going to be acceptable, and if the amount of droopiness is worth addressing with a lift.

Breast implant removal (explatnation after 25 years

The resutls of implant removal after 26 years depend on your age, implant size, location (under/over), your volume of breast tissue, amount of tissue to be removed, etc. Generally you will see loss of upper breast fullness.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

33 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Breast Implant Removal after 25 Years

In my 30 year experience with implants, removal of the implants in most women after many years creates less volume in the breast than they want. Your implant does give you some upper pole fullness, which is not usually obtainable without an implant in place. In spite of all this, if you prefer to have your implants removed, I'd do it with the option to have implants placed in 6 months to one year later. Unfortunately there's no way to decide this in advance, so I always give my... more

Implant removal after 25 years

More than likely if you have the implants removed after 25 years, you may need some kind of lift. However, you may not have enough tissue to lift. Sometimes removing the implants and seeing how they look first is the best solution.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Removing Implants After 30 Years - Will I Be OK?

The answer to this question just depends on how much breast tissue you had to start out before ever having surgery, and how large the implants were. If you were fairly small to start out with, and the implants were not considered too large, then there is a reasonable thought that the breast tissue will retract somewhat and be fine. However, some women need a lift after removal, since the tissues do not bounce back like you hope and expect them to.

Breast implant removal

First you need to know the cause of the swelling in one breast. Your Plastic Surgeon will order a mammogram and maybe an MRI. Then can discuss the findings and your options. I have seen many 30 years old implants and operated on them. The final results will depend on your particular situation, the quality of skin , the amount of droopiness, the amount of breast tissue. Then you decide if you want them replaced or not. And if you want/need breast lift or not. Make... more