Breast reconstruction expanders removal and replacement?

In general, I leave expanders once fully inflated for 3 months. The removal/replacement process, however, can vary with repect to the size of the expander to the size of the implant. If you have a large expander and a small implant going in, you may not need as long as 3 months to the skin to stretch, relax,... more

The time for expander removal and implnat replacement varies form surgeon to surgeon. There was a recent article that examined this and found no difference in the final outcome when waiting 1 month or 6 months after the last expansion. I like to wait a minimum of 6 weeks but most of the time I switch them out... more

For most patients I would wait three months after the last expansion before the second stage.  However, there are certain circumstances where I would do it early.  Particularly in a patient who has required very little expansion (small breasts with easily expansible skin).