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How to Detect a Rupture in a Breast Implant?
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Saline vs silicone
Implant integrity cannot be guaranteed for your lifetime. If you have a saline implant a "deflation" will usually become obvious as the implant volume shrinks over a period of time. This can be fast and dramatic or occasionally may take place slowly over a longer period of time. If you have gel implants, a "rupture" will not cause the breast to shrink because the gel stays together. The breast doesn't feel any different either. An MRI is the only reliable way to...
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Implant Rupture: Gel and Saline
Jens,
With saline implants you will know within hours that your implants are leaking. The saline fluid is similar to intravenous fluid and should be absorbed harmlessly by your body.
With gel implants you will generally not be able to tell if and when your implant leaks or ruptures, unless you develop adverse reactions to the material. The most common reaction is scar lumpiness called silicone granuloma. This may show up on ordinary mammograms. As noted by other surgeons, magnetic...
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Most Silicone Gel Breast Implant ruptures are "silent", MRI recommended periodically in all patients
The majority of silicone gel breast implant ruptures are "silent", i.e., the patient, nor the surgeon or examining physician can definitively make the diagnosis of silicone gel breast implant rupture. For approximately 15 years, the FDA placed a moratorium on silicone gel breast implants, because of concerns about occult implant rupture, interactions of silicone gel with tissues surrounding the implant, effects of silicone gel outside the area of the breast, possible immune...
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MRI scan is best way to detect "silent implant rupture"
First of all, the previous concern about health risks associated with silicone ruptures have been disproven since 1998. So let's get to your question. Silent ruptures occur at a certain percentage per year, just like life expectancy of anything. The longer you have implants , the higher the likelyhood of them being ruptured. Usually this occurs at a rate of about 1/2 of 1 % per year per implant. The best way to detect a rupture is by MRI scan. This is a good idea about 6-10 years after...
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Detecting implant rupture
Detecting a leak or rupture depends on whether you have saline or silicone gel implants. If you currently have saline implants, a rupture or leak would be very obvious due to a deflation in the implant causing the breasts to shrink in size or look smaller. Unfortunately, with silicone gel implants because they are now a cohesive gel, it would be difficult to detect a leakage or rupture. An MRI or ultrasound is recommended every 4-5 years to rule out any possible silent leak. Since the...
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Failure of a saline implant is easy. Failure of a gel implant is hard.
Saline implants collapse as the salt water escapes the capsule the body places around the implant. The breast goes flat. Not a health issue but requires replacement.
Silicone not so easy. The gel is contained by the capsule and the volume of the breast does not change. MRI scan is the best test but it is 10% inaccurate. That's a lot when you consider an operation hangs in the balance. Failure to detect silicone leakage is not a big problem...
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How to tell if your breast implant has ruptured or deflated [With Video]
The signs vary between Saline implants and Silicone implants. A ruptured Saline implant will usually just deflate, usually over the course of several days, and you will notice a definite change in the size and shape of the breast.
With Silicone implants it can be a bit more difficult to tell. If the shell should rupture, the gel within it will stay within the breast. Most often, you might only notice a slight change in the size, shape, or even feel of your breast.
see video
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Detection of rupture is easier for saline vs silicone implants
Dear Jens:
The decision whether to get saline vs silicone implants is a personal one. Many patients believe silicone implants look and feel more natural than saline ones. If you develop a leak in a saline implant, you will notice it with in hours as one breast will become markedly smaller than the other. The saline is harmless and is resorbed by your body. You will hover, need to have your implant replaced.
Rupture of a silicone filled implant is much harder to detect as the breast...
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It may be silent, but there are ways to detect a problem.
Gel implant failures are different with the memory or cohesive gels than with previous implants. Unlike a saline implant which just deflates with a rupture, the gel implants may not change shape at all. The old "liquid" gel implants would deform or become mis-shaped. The new memory gel implants are designed not to leak as a liquid. The shell material is exactly the same as a saline implant, but does not have the filling valve. There is about a 1% chance over the 1st 5years of...
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A silicone implant rupture may need to be confirmed by MRI.
A silent rupture means that the rupture is not detected by the patient using clinical criteria. Most of the time the clinical criteria are that the patient will notice a change in size or shape of the breast . For a saline implant the rupture is obvious since as the saline is absorbed the breast will get smaller. For silicone implants there is not a change in size. The newer implants have a lower breakage rate but the FDA has recommended that even in asymptomatic patients that they...
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Breast Implant Rupture Detection
Yes, silicone gel implant rupture is difficult to detect. There are actually two types of rupture- one is intracapsular and the other is extracapsular. The "capsule" is the scar tissue that naturally forms around the implant. Thus, an intracapsular rupture is where the implant has an opening but the silicone gel "leak" is contained within the scar capsule sack. An extracapsular rupture is where the silicone gel "leak" is found outside the scar capsule sack,...
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Over time, all implants are capable of failure
Given enough time, all implants can get a break in the outer shell. Saline implants deflate when the shell integrity breaks down, so it's obvious that the shell is broken. Silicone implants do not deflate, so an MRI exam is required to evaluate the shell.
There is a wide range of time for the shell to break down. I have seen it in a year or less, but commonly it takes about 10 years. Having said that, I have also seen people with implants for 20 or 30 years without a problem. You...
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Many ruptures are not always be detected by physical exam.
Many women, especially with older generations of silicone implants may have had 'silent ruptures'. Some data suggest that with older generations of silicone implants that there were 50% silent ruptures after 10 years based on MRI studies. With current Mentor Memory Gel implants, there is a 1.1% rupure rate after 6 years for first time breast augmentation patients based on their 6-year 'core' data, and a 3.8% rupture rate for first time reconstructive patients. The best way to detect a...
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Not often but difficult to detect.
Gel implants when ruptured are contained in the pocket and difficult to detect. Frequently an MRI can help but can sometimes lead to unnecessary surgery when a rupture is "seen" and then not found at surgery. Current recommendations are to exchange implants ( gel) every 12 years or so. If there is any change in your breast I would recommend seeing your plastic surgeon and perhaps getting an MRI. Saline implant rupture is obvious- you get flat on one side. Not dangerous. It...
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Breast MRI's every 2 years will detect a silent rupture.
To Jens,
Hi! The important point is that silicone does not cause any diseases. If you have a "leaking" implant in your breast for a couple of years, it will not harm you. It's just a local problem, and the implant is replaced.
It is true that, typically, you would not find out an implant was leaking until sometime later {when you had the MRI). The breast usually looks and feels the same. The new silicone is very cohesive (sticky) and it does not leak in the conventional sense...
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Yes most gel implant ruptures are "silent" but new generation gel is very thick and contained
This is a great question! We are in the latest generation silicone devices with the shells getting stronger and the gel much thicker or "cohesive". I am an Allergan guy but you may be surprised that the round gel implants filler inside is essentially the same gel, memory or not. It is like a thick jello material so even if the shell does fail, most of the gel stays inside the implant itself. If some knucles out it nearly 100% stays inside the implant capsule or internal...
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Rupture vs. significance of rupture
Most of the concerns with rupture or leakage in silicone gel implants have to do with the physical, not chemical, risks. Rupture rates are difficult to come by which is why there are ongoing clinical studies and a registry for these implants to keep track of complications. Rupture is related to length of time of implantation: the longer you have implants, the higher the risk of rupture.
Rupture does not mean they explode, but just that the shell loses its integrity and allows gel to leak....
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An MRI is the most accurate method to detect breast implant rupture.
Jens,
Rupture of silicone gel implants is usually silent meaning that you do not perceive that the implant has ruptured. This is because your body developes a tissue capsule around the ruptured implant which makes the implant feel normal.
The only way to detect rupture of silicone gel implants is with an MRI study.
Saline implants on the other hand deflate when they rupture so you notice a difference immediately in the size of the breast. Occaisionally a slow leak occurs with a gradual...
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Silence is golden?
Jens,
Indeed, most gel implant ruptures may be silent. The implants will ALL develop a scar capsule around them. When gel leaks out ot the implant it is contained within this capsule. Depending on the capsule size and tightness the leaking gel may never be detected clinically. Sometimes a leaking gel implant will soften, flatten or change shape prompting further study by the plastic surgeon. The issue then becomes whether leaking gel contained within a capsule is of any significance. ...
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That's Correct
Implants can fail over time. Gel implant failures occur less than 1% a year. Rounding it off in 10 years there is a less than 10% chance of failure; in 25 years about 25%, etc. There is usually no signs or symptoms of failure. Implant failure is best diagnosed with an MRI and soon a type of ultrasound may be available to accomplish this. You should consider getting an MRi sometime after breast augmentation with gel implants, perhaps 10 years or so. This is a good way to check on the status...
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Silent Rupture and Cohesive Silicone Gel implants
A Silent rupture means that the implant can be ruptured without you knowing it.
Compare this to a saline implant. How do you know when it is ruptured? You get a "flat tire". The saline leaks out and your body tends to absorb it.
This is due to the memory gel consistency of a Mentor implant which some people compare to a marshmallow.
Think about slicing a marshmallow in half, the inside will be sticky but it won't lose its shape.
When older silicone implants ruptured, they tended to...
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Detecting implant ruptures
Breast implants whether saline filled or silicone gel filled are not lifetime devices. On average they last about 10-12 years. With saline implants detecting when the shell has broken is easy because the saline leaks out and your body resorbs it and the implant deflates. You will then notice a size and shape asymmetry compared to the opposite breast. Therefore, detecting rupture of a saline implant is not silent and no testing is needed other than a simple visual examination.
With silicone...
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Recommendations are for MRI
WIth the new silicone memory gel, if you have a rupture in the shell or if the shell cracks, it will likely go unnoticed by you unless you have imaging studies performed. With saline implants if there is a leak in the implant, you will visually see the difference in your breast size in a day or two. Some leaks are small enough that the decrease in size will happen very slowly.
With silicone since the gel is cohesive like a gummy bear, the silicone will likely not "leak" like...
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Very small percentage
The incidence of silent rupture is very small. Most cases i have seen were related to trauma e.g car accidents etc..However, the FDA advice on gel implants is MRI followups. The new generation of gel implants will not leak into different body areas even if ruptured.
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Gel implant ruptures
Silent ruptures with gel implants usualy refers to those that are difficult to detect by physical exam. Many ruptures can occur and still maintain relative shape because the body formed a capsule around the implants, and this has not ruptures. Extracapsular ruptures are more likely diagnosed by phsycial exam because the breast shape is usually flatter than the intact side. Rupture risks are about a few percent a year for the first few years then it plateaus.
Steven Wallach, MD
www...
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Anxious about breast implants and whether you're getting the full story? Learn 10 secrets from a RealSelf community member who went through it all.