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Normal Looking Breasts After Explant Surgery?

asked 3 years ago by Jai in Louisville, KY
Latest answer by Jill Tomlinson, MBBS, FRACS
Question viewed 18,725 times
Tags: age 25-34, stretch marks, natural, normal

I have had saline breast implants for 8 years and am scared of the aesthetic outcome should I have them removed. I am 29 years old, I have very little breast tissue and stretch marks on my breasts from having a baby. I have constant aches and pains in my left breast. I have considered get revision surgery, but what I really want is them to be taken out. I have been researching this for a year now and would really like some advice (especially when it comes to finding the right surgeon to remove them).

21 answers to Normal Looking Breasts After Explant Surgery?

Do I need a lift after removing implants

It is not uncommon for plastic surgeons to stage or separate these operations. No one can predict for sure, how your breasts will look after downsizing. It may depend on the size of your implant. Removing a 200cc implant is very different than removing a 600cc implant. Let me offer an analogy which may help to explain: If you look closely at your friends or women after the health club, you will see a variety of different looking stomachs following pregnancy. I have seen women who have had... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Breast Explantation Results

Breast explantation results can be excellent and natural looking depending on your medical condition plus the experience and expertise of the surgeon. The decision for breast revision versus breast removal is sometimes a difficult one that requires a thorough understanding of the patient's needs, expectations and lifestyle.

Kris M. Reddy, MD, FACS
West Palm Beach Plastic Surgeon

Approach to breast implant removal

If your implants are removed, you are probably concerned about the sagginess of the breast tissue that may remain afterward. This is a legitimate concern. There is a way to potentially minimize your need for a lift or the type of lift you may require. One way is to have your implants deflated (with a needle/syringe) by your plastic surgeon in the office. This will allow the soft tissue and skin to contract, which will give you a good idea of how much actual breast tissue you have... more

William Bruno, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Explantation May Not Alleviate Symptoms

All your concerns need to be addresed; this would be best done in face-to-face consultation with your plastic surgeon: It is important to evaluate the cause of your pain; explantation may not necessarily alleviate your pain. Stretch marks my not change in appearance after explantation. In addition to loss of fullness, you may have drooping, after explantation

Paul C. Zwiebel, MD
Denver Plastic Surgeon

It is possible to have normal-looking breasts after implant removal

You don't have to commit to having any other procedure done from the start. If you want your implants removed, that's a pretty straight-forward procedure to have done. Then just wait and see how your breasts change after that surgery. Give it at least 4-6 months. You may find you're happy with your new breasts, or you may decide to have new implants placed for more volume or that you need a lift due to pregnancy changes.

Carmen Kavali, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Explanting implants

It is very difficult to give you a correct answer. Women that have alot of native breast tissue with implants can have reasonable looking breasts provided that the original implants were not too large, and they have good skin quality. ON the other hand, I have taken implants out on some very small breasted women who maintained reasonable shape after emoving the implant. Worse scenario, you have implants replaced at a later time.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Normal Looking Breasts After Removal Of Breast Implants

I'm sorry to hear that you are having pains in your left breast. I hear your concern - it's very common for women with breast implants to be concerned about the aesthetic outcome of implant removal. Firstly it's important to realise that no one can promise that removing your implants will eliminate the pain you are having. It may, but sometimes the pain persists after implant removal. It's difficult for me to predict what the aethetic outcome of surgery will be.... more

Jill Tomlinson, MBBS, FRACS
Melbourne Plastic Surgeon

Removing your implants

What your breasts will look like after explantation depends on several factors such as: the quality of skin elasticity (the better the elasticity the better the skin will bounce back), the size of the implants used (the larger the implant the more trouble you may have with redundant skin), and the amount of breast tissue present at this time (which may have changed since the time of your breast augmentation). Life experience since your breast augmentation procedure, such... more

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Normal Looking Breasts After Explanation (Removal of Implants)

Hi Jai, Yikes. It's not necessarily such a simple procedure to remove breast implants and be left with (1) a desirable aesthetic result and (2) alleviation of your symptoms. Neither is automatically guaranteed, and even less so for both to happen. Let's look at them individually. 1) Aesthetic result - it is unlikely that you can simply remove implants that you've had for 8 years, particularly since you have stretch marks (which are an indication of... more

Alan Engler, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Appearance of Breasts after Implant Removal

Importantly, you have mentioned that you have very little breast tissue and stretch marks on your breasts. Depending upon the size of your breast implants, you may need a breast lift or mastopexy after removal. This is particularly likely if the implants are large and because the stretch marks indicate damage to the elasticity of your breast skin. Having your breast implants removed may or may not improve your pain problem, but having them out may remove one variable... more

Fredrick A. Valauri, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.drvalauri.com

Breast Implant removal may not relieve breast pain.

Breast implant removal is easy (if performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon), and can often be done under local anesthesia alone if no other work is necessary or desired. You should know that any prolonged pain after breast augmentation is rare, and if yours is a persistent concern (perhaps even a reason for your considering removal), this may well not be improved by implant removal. The pain could be due to scar tissue or damage to one or more of the tiny sensory nerves of the... more

Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS
Minneapolis Plastic Surgeon

Breast Implant removal

Jai, I'm sorry your implants are creating problems for you. regarding treatment, I would first follow up with your plastic surgeon. Even though you may not seek a secondary procedure at the hands of this practitioner, he/she may be able to diagnose the cause of pain. This may also be the physician who offers the most financially viable option for implant removal. Given your young age, implant removal alone may leave you with an acceptable result... more

Jason R. Hess, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Removal of Saline implants may be the answer.

Sometimes if a patient is having problems with pain after augmentation, the wisest choice is to remove them and at least find out if this helps with the pain. The removal of saline implants can sometimes be done with a local, and this makes it easier for the patient. It is very unfortunate if you are having pain, so it depends if this is impacting you on a daily basis. You must make this quaility of life decision.

Anne Taylor, MD
Columbus Plastic Surgeon

Implant removal can go in many directions

After implant removal you can go in many directions; 1- at the time of removal, your surgeon can do a minor breast lift from inside, by tacking the breast tissue onto the chest wall in a higher position. For most small implants, this may be all that is needed. 2- You can have smaller implants placed at a later date, with or without a lifting procedure. 3- My favorite option, is to enhance your breasts with fat grafting. This will augment your breasts without implants in a... more

Robert M. Freund, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Most patients with implant explantation look very much as before the augmentation.

Women who no longer want breast implants (which is very uncommon) can have them easily removed with local anesthesia in about 10 minutes. Usually the breasts will look very similar to their pre-augmentation appearance. If the implants were quite large, their prescence might cause some excess skin and a deflated appearance. In your case, it sounds like there was a pregnancy that, by itself, can change breast anatomy. If your implants are removed and they appear droopy,... more

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Breast implant removal and cosmetic appearance after explantation

The results of your breast implant explantation depend on the degree of ptosis of the breast as well as the resiliency of the skin. The more skin elasticity, the more likely you are to require additional corrective surgery.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Aesthetic result after breast implants are removed

The breast implants that had been placed have stretched out the tissue around them. When the implant is removed you will notice some sagging of the breast. If this displeases you, you may choose to have another implant put in its place or to receive a small breast lift.

B. Pat Pazmino, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Explant results depends upon the tissue you have left

Breast implant removal without replacement can be difficult. The results depend heavily upon how much tissue you have left once the removal has been performed. Some patients need scar capsules taken out as well which further reduces the breast volume (sometimes not evenly). Talk to your surgeon awhile and think about this before proceeding. If there is enough breast tissue patients can do well. I have a YouTube video of a few such cases. Best Regards.

John P. Di Saia, MD
Orange Plastic Surgeon

Breast shape after explantation

If you are planning on having your implants removed permanently, you may need to have the following done: 1) Implant removal; 2) Capsule removal; 3) Breast lift. Without examining you, it is difficult to say which of these you will require. Some patients will require all three. Some patients can avoid a mastopexy (breast lift) by allowing their surgeon to remove the implants and capsules and wait. In certain situations, the skin envelope may tighten up over time. However, be prepared to... more

Kevin Brenner, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Few options

Removing the implant will make your breast saggy and you might need a lift. The main issue you will have to deal with is the deflated look specialy that you do not have much breast tissue. The only answer available is using fat grafting for augmentation. You have to understand that this is a very controversial modality with many potential side effects. It is still on clinical trials in the US. Regarding the surgeon,a board certified plastic surgeon with good training will be able to give you... more

Hisham Seify, MD, PhD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

You may need Breast Lift after explantation

You will need to have a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon. You have extra skin that may require a lift and removal of the extra skin. Your best option is to have explantation and wait at least a month for a breast lift. I have been doing explantation and fat grafting for patients that do not want implants for the last 3 years.