Nipple and Areola Caved in After Explant Surgery. Permanent?

asked 3 years ago by Liz53 in Sacramento, CA
Latest answer by Fredrick A. Valauri, MD
Question viewed 6,095 times
Tags: areola, nipples, explant

I am three weeks post explant. I had silicone implants for 30 years and had them removed due to rupture. I am devastated with the outcome. I am 56 years old and my breasts now look deformed. The nipple and areola are caved in. I have just today stopped wearing the tight sports bra that I was told to wear for two weeks after surgery. Is there any hope that the look of the breast is temporary, the breast is still healing, etc.; or is this pretty much what I can expect to look like from now on?

10 answers to Nipple and Areola Caved in After Explant Surgery. Permanent?

Breast implant removal after 30 years

Your result is most likely permanent. This happens when a woman has had her implants in over a long period of time and she is older. At the time of your initial surgery, you were young with a small amount of breast tissue. Implants were inserted into a tight space and created pressure against the surrounding breast tissue, causing it to atrophy (thin out) and you most likely had children that caused your breasts to enlarge and cause more pressure against the real breast tissue. You may... more

Gary H. Manchester, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

www.manchesterclinic.com

Are nipple irregularities permanent after breast implant removal?

Following breast implant removal, you will have swelling that can cause irregularities of your nipples. Most of the time this will improve when the swelling resolves after several weeks to months depending on individual variation. Some of these irregularities may not improve after the swelling has resolved and may require surgery for improvement. See a board certified plastic surgeon to be evaluated and to discuss your treatment options,

Fredrick A. Valauri, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.drvalauri.com

Options after breast implant removal.

The initial phase after surgery may be due to swelling. However, there is an absence of tissue after implant removal that can cause the caved in appearance to be permanent. You may consider a breast lift or reimplantation of breast implants.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Caved in Nipples afer old implant removal

The problem you are describing is usually more common when the nipple approach was used for implant placement. Nevertheless it is too soon to plan any more surgery yet. After discussing the problem with your plastic surgeon you may decide to leave it alone or place a new implant. Another approach, which no one has mentioned yet, is fat transfer to reconstruct the area. Fat transfers to the breast have been controversial but are now being utilized for some problems such as yours. Your... more

James Apesos, MD
Dayton Plastic Surgeon

Breast appearance after implant removal (30 years later)

Your breast shape may or may not improve over time. You are certainly going to do no harm by waiting, massaging, and giving the scars (both internal and external) time to soften and mature. The nipple depression you describe may be partially due to internal scarring which may soften over time, and it may be due partially to lack of support for the nipple complex, which can be fixed by adding a new implant or maybe doing a breast lift. Talk to your surgeon about your... more

Carmen Kavali, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Depression deformity after breast implant removal

Your breast implants had stretched out the overlying tissue over 30 years. When these implants were removed, a portion of the breast caved in. It is possible that this depression around your areola will be permanent. However, there are options to correct this defect. You may elect to receive another breast implant to fill this volume or a small breast lift may address this issue as well.

B. Pat Pazmino, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

All you can do is work with your doctor on this

It is very possible that you will maintain a deformed looking breast if they look bad now. I do doubt that they will start to look better with time unfortunately. All you can do though is wait, massage, and follow your doctor's advice and see where it goes.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

It is possible

The fact that your implants were 30 years old makes me think they were above the muscle and the tisse over the most prominent portion of the implant which can often times be the areola gets more thinned. In women whose natural breasts have increased in size over the years this is sometimes less prominent. Give it time to heal and follow your plastic surgeon's instructions. Dr Edwards

Michael C. Edwards, MD
Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon

Explantation of implants

It is very hard to tell without examining you. Sometimes without much tissue, the tissues will contract and adhere the way you are describing. Give it some time to settle. They may soften up a bit. If not you may need a breast lift or possibly a small implant to allow the breast to appear more normally

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Consider replacing the implants to fix caved in nipple complex

This problem is rare but can happen especially after long term silicone breast implants. Consider having smaller implants placed to minimize the problem. Best Regards.