Do All Implants Harden over Time?

asked 9 months ago by anon
Latest answer by Tom J. Pousti, MD
Question viewed 189 times
Tags: breasts, causes, duration, harden, reasons

After how many years would one start to notice hardening of their breast implants? What factors contribute to hardening?

5 answers to Do All Implants Harden over Time?

Implants do not always harden over time

Breast implants do not always harden over time. Some patients are able to live a lifetime without hardening or any other need for replacement of the implants. Placing implants sub-muscularly decreases the risk of encapsulation. Consult your surgeon if you experience any firmness or notice any hardening, Massaging the breasts helps prevent capsular contracture and aids in softening the breasts. On this site, I do my best to give advice without a physical examination but I want you to know... more

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Hard Breasts

No all implants do not harden. In fact only a small percentage of patients undergoing breast augmentation develop hard breasts or capsular contracture. Capsular contracture is the development of inelastic or thickened scar tissue around a breast implant making it feel hard. Some patients develop it very early after surgery within the first six months and some many years later. it can affect one or both breast and depending of the degree of hardness surgery may be indicated. Its... more

Richard Linderman, MD
Indianapolis Plastic Surgeon

Vast Majority of Breast Implants Will Remain Soft Over Time

For the vast majority of women with breast implants, they will remain soft and natural feeling for as long as they are in place. There are some women who will get capsular contracture around the implant over time, with hardening of the breast itself, but the rates are extremely low these days and most women will never deal with it. It is impossible to predict who it wil happen to, and alot has to do with surgeon technique, etc., but again, in general, the rates should be less... more

Christopher V. Pelletiere, MD
Barrington Plastic Surgeon

All implants need to exchanged sooner or later(average 10-15 years)

If you are looking for a permanent breast implant, the answer is that all implants fail over time. The average life expectancy of the saline and silicone gel implants are 10-15 years . All implants come with manufacture warranty for the first 10 years. The rate of the hardening of the implants is !5-20% .

Kamran Khoobehi, MD
New Orleans Plastic Surgeon

Breast implant hardening

NO, all breast implants do not harden over time. In reality, breast implants NEVER harden over time, only the scar around the implants may become more firm. This condition is called peri-prosthetic fibrosis, or capsular contracture. The incidence of contracture does increase over time, and contracture was more common with first generation silicone gel implants than it is with contemporary implants. Data suggests that about 15% of breasts will develop grade 3 or 4... more

Steve Laverson, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

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