Failure Rate for Breast Reconstruction Vs Breast Augmentation?

Hello doctors,

I have read that women with radiation in the past who went for Breast Reconstruction with Breast implants have a very high risk of complication rates such as extrusion,infection or both.

I also read it somewhere that this also holds true for patients who went for Breast augmentation and have had multiple surgeries. With surgeries resulting in infection etc. What's your opinion?

Is the failure rate for reimplantation just as high for BA patients who have had multiple failed surgeries (I am one of them and am left with tissue paper thin skin on one side) as the cancer patients who have had radiation? Thanks.

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breasts skin infection female complication failure replacement risk thin

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10 Doctor Answers | Asked by imnyc in New York

Doctor Answers (10)
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Failure rates for breast implant surgeries

Certainly, the failure rate for irradiated breast reconstructions with implants is exceedingly high. High enough that when I was performing all the breast reconstructions at the University of Washington, I wouldn't even try to do one after radiation without transferring the patient's own tissue to make the breast. With breast augmentation, if you have had many failed surgeries, extrusions, infections etc. and are left with thin, scarred tissues, you need to realize that you will... more

Breast augment and reconstruction complication rates

There is a major difference between augmentation in the "virgin" breast and reconstruction after mastectomy, particularly involving radiotherapy. The risk of extrusion and other complications increase exponentially because of the thinness and friability of the irradiated skin. In reconstruction, you take whatever remains of the skin (or not) as you find it. If you have undergone a failed breast augmentation, the key consideration is why: infection, too large an... more

Breast reconstruction after radiation and redo breast augmentation are both challenging

Breast reconstruction after radiation is difficult and is usually best treated with use of the patient's own tissues, such as from the abdomen or the back. While, in the past, reconstruction with tissue expanders for patients who had received radiation was virtually impossible, satisfactory results can now sometimes be achieved with use of some of the newer products to help cover the expanders such as FlexHD, Veritas, etc. These products might be useful in your case. For you, redo... more

Options and Complications in Re-Do Breast Augmentation

If I understand your question correctly, you are drawing a comparison between the complications seen in a RADIATED breast and a SERIALLY IMPLANTED/FAILED breast - BOTH about to be implanted and want to know how PREDICTABLE such complications will be. While BOTH cases present serious challenges to good results with breast implants, they have in common only the fact that they are difficult and have a high rate of complications. Radiation destroys the blood supply in the skin AND makes the... more

Complications of Breast Augmentation

You ask several very interesting questions. People with radiation to the breast have high complication rates with implant reconstruction due to the effects of radiation (decreased blood supply, poor tissue characteristics, and paucity of tissue). Complications also include very high rate of contracture. Higher complication rates also have been reported with re-operation in non-cancer patients. I am not familiar with the exact numbers, but the rate of complications is much less that in... more

Breast reconstruction versus breast implants

Certainly breas reconstruction patients that have had radiation have a higher incidence of complications. This is secondary to the radiation. This rate is much higher than patient who have just had breasat augmentation. But, yes, if your tissues are paper thin you certainly will have more problems than someone with thicker tissues.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Complications after multiple breast implant operations

What you have read is true. With reconstruction after radiation treament, the tissue is changed in a way that makes it less supple, so it won't allow for expansion and a soft natural feeling envelope around a breast implant. For that reason, implant reconstruction is not the number one option after radiation. With augmentation, statistics show that previous revision surgery is the best predictor of needing further revisions. Some patients get on a cycle of multiple surgeries where the... more

Repeated and complicated breast augmentation

Fortunately there are not large numbers of these patients and so there is not alot of research on this subject but the brief answer to your question is yes. Re-operations on BA patients have a higher rate of complications when compared to primary BA patients but not as frequent as radiation treated patients. This data is easily found on the BA brochure for silicone implants provided by the implant companies through your plastic surgeon and has detailed percentages and rates of specific... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

33 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Breast implant failure

Hi Imnyc! These are all very good questions with long complex answers--probably a bit too involved to get into in this forum. The short answer is that a history of prior radiation puts you at a significantly high risk of breast implant failure, just as prior complications with normal breast augmentation does as well. However, the reason for the increased risk is for completely different reasons. Paper thin skin certainly puts you at a high risk for future failure, but that does not mean... more

Breast augmentation revision and complications

Hi Imnyc, I hope I understand your question correctly. You are correct that women who have radiation to the breast and then have implant reconstruction after mastectomy have higher complication rates. I understand your question is: Do women who have had mulitple revisions of breast augmentation have higher complication rates with subsequent revisions of the the augmentation? The answer to this question depends on a lot of variables. Each time you have a procedure, for whatever reason,... more