Breast Implants Q&A

80%

WORTH IT RATING

1,009 Reviews

Ask a Question

View Before and Afters

Average Breast Implants Cost: $6,000

Learn about Breast Implants

4,939 people and 832 doctors are talking about Breast Implants

Get Free Email Updates

Can Vigorous Activity Lead to an Increased Risk of Saline Implant Rupture?

asked 3 years ago by Leeza in Fresno USA
Latest answer by Tom J. Pousti, MD
Question viewed 4,098 times
Tags: saline implants

I've come across articles and Q&A's forums which cited that one of the risks of saline breast implants is rupture or leakage attributed to pressure or excessive force being placed on the chest, mammography or even vigorous love making. Is this true? Has anyone experienced this?

20 answers to Can Vigorous Activity Lead to an Increased Risk of Saline Implant Rupture?

Implants are Durable, Not Indestructible

Saline and silicone implants are remarkably durable, but not indestructable. Capsule contracture can create folds in an implant surface that can lead to weakening of the shell. When the weakened shell is subjected to trauma (mammography, chest injury), the weak area can give way and the implant leaks/deflates. Motion is good for the implants durability because motion prevents capsule contracture and folds. That seems to be one of the reasons that implants under the muscle... more

Paul C. Zwiebel, MD
Denver Plastic Surgeon

www.pzwiebel.com

Breast implant rupture

Activity can't rupture a breast implant. In fact, if you were left in the exam room alone with a sample breast implant you wouldn't be physically capable of rupturing it since they are made so incredibly resistant. If you puncture it with a needle, of course it will leak but otherwise you have nothing to really worry about it this regard. Best Wishes, DoctorMeade

Ricardo A. Meade, MD
Dallas Plastic Surgeon

I have not encountered this

The implants are very durable and your normal life activities shouldn't change by having them. The only time I was involved in a case where there was a suspicion about traumatic implant rupture was after a car accident. However, the implant didn't rupture for 6 months so it wasn't really possible to say it was from the accident.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Implants are not Indestructible, but...

It is very unlikely that normal daily activities, or even vigorous exercise or sexual activities, can cause rupture or leakage of either saline or silicone breast implants. I have seen patients who have recently been involved in automobile accidents where there is an obvious breast injury from the seat-belt shoulder strap, who have developed encapsulation and/or implant rupture as a consequence. Implant rupture is certainly a well-known risk of mammography, however it is questionable... more

Athleo Louis Cambre, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Implant life-time warranty

Breast augmentation does not cause any physical or activity limitations. Implant corporations such as, Mentor, Allergan, Inamed, or Natrelle offer life-time warrantys on the implants. If in case of a malfunction, defect, or rupture, the corporation gives you a certain amount to cover most of the costs of the anesthesiologist and the surgery center fees. I definitely recommend consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon to discuss the best and safest possible options for you.... more

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Implant rupture

Vigorous activity is unlikely to rupture implants. This is a common concern, though. The most frequent cause of rupture is fold fatigue. If you have an implant that is chronically folded on a corner or ripple, the material is weakened until rupture. Capsular contracture contributes to this. There is little need to modify your daily activities following breast augmentation.

Jason R. Hess, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Rupture of a breast implant after exercise

Breast implants are manufactured medical devices and have an intrinsic rupture capacity. Vigorous exercise will not place them at higher risk of rupture, but blunt trauma and the presence of capsular contracture may increase the risk.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Breast implant rupture

Both saline and silicone implant are made of very strong materials. The outer shells are generally very resistant to rupture. Rarely, there can be a manufacturing defect that leads to an early rupture. Usually, a rupture occurs when the shell of the implant weakens over time. This weakening occurs as folds in the implant shell develop. These folds weaken the shell by affecting the structure of the shell and causing a loss of strength of the material. ... more

Naveen Setty, MD
Plano Plastic Surgeon

Implant Failure

Prosthetic Breast Implants are soft and feel natural because they are made of pliable materials (silicone shells) filled with isotonic saline solution (salt water). These shells are similar to paperclips, in that, over time, the folds produced by their inherent "naturalness" bend back and forth and will eventual crack and break....breaking the shell allows the saline/salt water to leak into the surrounding tissues and deflates. It not typical for "vigorous" activ more

John Philip Connors III, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Saline implants dont rupture because of sex.

Saline implants don't rupture because of sex, but they may rupture during sex -- or with any other activity for that matter. The main reason for rupture of silicon implants is because of fatigue of the shell caused by small folds that rub together thousands of times a day during normal activity. Those areas eventually become weak and rupture. They may rupture while you're sleeping, or skiing, or driving, or snorkeling etc etc

Richard H. Fryer, MD
Salt Lake City Plastic Surgeon

Breast implant failure is not caused by excessive activity or mammography.

I don't know where you read the information in your question but it is untrue. Implants fail because of a manufacturing flaw (almost never) or from fatigue (the implant has been in place for a long time). Any incident that triggers failure would be doing so to an implant that was imminently to fail anyway. Watch the video and see how much force can be placed on in implant. They are very resistent to bursting. see video

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Implant rupture from physical activity

Saline and silicone implants are very sturdy devices. The outer shell is quite resilient to compression and activity. It is very unlikely that you would be able to rupture an implant from even strenuous activity or compression. Certain cases have been reported such as an unrestrained driver in a car accident whose chest hits the steering wheel. However these are quite rare. Much more commonly, the implants rupture due to "fold flaws." This is similar to how a paperclip breaks with... more

David Bogue, MD
Boca Raton Plastic Surgeon

www.drbogue.com

Breast implants rupture risk

Breast implant shell is very strong and does not rupture from heavy activity. However, like any other material with time there is fatigue of the shell followed by rupture. TAKE A METAL PAPER CLIP AND MOVE IT BACK AND FORTH EVANTUALLY IT EILL BREAK. That is metal fatigue. Nothing is forever. With time we will need new vessels (BYPASS), new joints, new pacemakers and those with implants will need NEW IMPLANTS

Samir Shureih, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

Breast Implant ruptures

Vigorous acitivity or compression from mammograms should not cause a rupture of the implant. But, a rupture can happen with extremely strong force like car accident that causes rib fractures. The implants are pretty strong products.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Exercise DOES NOT cause breast implant failure or rupture

Implant Leak / Shell failure is the cause of progressive weakening of the shell. It is very similar to how bending a piece of thin metal back and forth eventually breaks it. This phenomenon is seen with ALL man made materials including steel which experiences fatigue and stress fractures. Breast implants can last as long as twenty years or so but ALL breast implants eventually age and leak when their shell weakens and breaks. Since most leaks occur in the areas which are constantly folding... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Vigorous activity does not cause breast implant rupture.

Hi! In over 20 years, I have seen quite a few ruptured breast implants in breast augmentation patients. And in not a single case, was the cause something the patient did. Leaks are due to "material fatigue" in the occasioanal implant.

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Saline breast implant ruptures

The most common explanation for a saline breast implant rupture is attributed to "crease fold failure" from repeitive folding of an establihsed crease. This creates a weak point. Tis would be similar to repetiively bending a soda pop can. It is rare that any one hit, blow, or squeeze would cause this rupture.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Most breast implants fail at some point

Hello, Saline breast implants can rupture, but few patients are able to tell what activity resulted in that rupture. It is probably a matter of activity over time as opposed to one activity or another. It is not like patients get breast implants to not have at least some fun with them.

John P. Di Saia, MD
Orange Plastic Surgeon

Implant Rupture

Thanks for the question - Implants are designed to withstand physical stress. This includes most standard activity. Things that predispose implants to rupture include manufacturing flaws, underfilling an implant and handling during placement (for example iodine solution has been shown to weaken the shell). There isn't a clear correlation between physical activity and implant rupture however I have had patients come to me with ruptured implants after mammogram or car accidents. I hope this... more

Steven H. Williams, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

Re: increased risk of saline implant rupture?

the implants are very, very durable and you should be able to do any and all activities that you want. the implants walls will eventually thin over years and that will eventually lead to a leak, regardless of what you do. you should be active and do whatever you want to do. some time in your life time they will leak and need to be replaced but it will almost certainly be regardless of what you do. david berman md plastic surgeon northern VA