Timothy Wilson, MD

I currently have a ruptured silicone implant that was put in only 8 years ago. I have researched all the new silicone options, and the IDEAL implant and have decided to go with traditional saline implants.
I want women to know that silicone does rupture and expensive MRI’s are necessary when a rupture is suspected. Revision surgery is also expensive and has more risks for larger incisions, increased bleeding and increased complications. We all read about these risks but always assume it won’t happen to us. Unfortunately the statistics tell the real story that most of us will need repeated surgeries every 10-15 years. I’ve heard of women having good implants for 20 years. I’m not one of them.
My story: SURGERY ONE: my first implants in 1998 (?) were saline behind the muscle. They were my first boobs about a 34C; that got me back to my pre-childbirth and pre-nursing days. Sometimes I could feel the edges but I had no ripples and was very pleased.
SURGERY TWO: In 2011 my left one ruptured and I had a flat boob. I met with a PS and he showed me silicone that did feel nice so that’s what I got. Silicone felt amazing and looked very natural. I felt like I had gotten an upgrade. And my husband said they felt so soft and real.
SURGERY THREE: Only 4 years later one of the implants began to protrude thru the muscle somehow. I could feel like a hard knot on my breast. My PS placed a mesh material in my breast to hold the implant in place.
SURGERY FOUR: Another 4 years later I decide to get a routine mammogram. It showed a possible tear. I began to have weird pains that would come and go in that breast. And it looks bigger to me. I had to have an MRI. That was more painful than the mammogram. It didn’t hurt the boobs- it was like hanging on a cross where all the weight was on my breast bone and arms above my head for 30 minutes. It confirmed an intracapsular rupture. My PS said I needed an en bloc capsulectomy and then remove or replace. I was very disappointed about the enbloc capsulectomy. It would require a much larger incision, bleeding risks, and longer recovery. I met with another PS who could place the IDEAL implants. He is going to take a more conservative approach and take out the ruptured silicone implant and look at the capsule. He plans on just cleaning it out and putting in a new implants. Leaving the option of course if a total capsulectomy is needed- he will do it. I was more comfortable with this plan so I have my surgery scheduled in August. I’m not using silicone anymore because of the silent rupture. There’s no way to know if they rupture unless you have a mammogram or MRI. And then to think I would need total capsulectomy to make sure silicone doesn’t migrate to my lungs or arms is scary. I’m an ER nurse so I’m not uneducated or squeamish. The new silicone isn’t supposed to migrate so why do they have to do capsulectomys to get all traces of silicone? So I’m just not comfortable with silicone anymore. I thought the IDEAL implants were a great product. I have a video of me holding a traditional saline on left and the IDEAL implant on the right. But my Allergan implants were still under warranty and I want to wait a few years to make sure the IDEAL company will survive. So I will update after my surgery in August on how it went.

Updated on 14 Aug 2019:
I had my surgery yesterday. Things I’m glad I had at home beforehand: Aleve, chicken noodle soup, yogurt, soft foods, and my bed set up with 5 pillows. I think it went very well considering. I went in at 5am and surgery was at 7. I went to recovery at 9:30 and woke up at 10:15. The PS said “it was a mess”. That’s always fun to hear. the “mesh” material placed in 2014 to fix a protruding implant was “the mess” I think. He said it almost looked like a sponge was left in from a previous surgery. I’m not exactly sure of the details but will find out and get to see my old implants at my checkup next week. He said he ended up needing to do a capsulectomy on the breast that had ruptured silicone. The first PS opinion I had gotten said I needed an enbloc capsulectomy. Guess he was right but I went with this PS because he was going to try to be conservative and hopefully just clean it out before placing the new implant since the MRI indicated intracapsular not extracapsular rupture. He said it came out in pieces and some was stuck on my ribs. ****The good news is I have no drains, minimal swelling and pain is controlled with hydrocodone (Percocet) every 4 hours. I’m also taking 2 Aleve twice a day. I hope this regimen will only be needed for the first 2 days. I was surprised at how much my throat hurt -but it is because of the intubation and 2 1/2 hour surgery. (Chicken noodle soup and yogurt hit the spot). ****Sleeping on a homemade wedge is wonderful and really decreases pain and swelling. Plus soft pillows under each arm. I asked for same size as before and last night I was thinking for all this pain I should have gone bigger and at least had something to show for it! But this morning I feel much better and I think I am going to like the results considering I initially considered explanting when I found out I had silicone rupture and pain. Will update with pics later.

Updated on 16 Aug 2019:
My left breast looks funky I know but it had a lot of issues. When I have my surgery bra on, they look fine so I’m not overly concerned- at least trying not to be. My left incision is at least an inch more higher than my right. Not sure why that is. Is that because the incision is dictated by where your natural inframammary fold is? Will ask at follow up appointment.

Updated on 16 Aug 2019:


Updated on 16 Aug 2019:
Does anyone know how to delete an update or add photos to an update already posted? And why are my photos so magnified that you don’t see both breasts?

Updated on 20 Aug 2019:
Postop day 7- I went for my follow up appointment today. I got to see my old silicone implants before they send them back to Allergan. The right one looks perfectly intact like it should be. The left one is the one that was ruptured. These were put in 2011 and they were cohesive gel. These are not supposed to “leak- become runny, or liquify”. They are supposed to remain intact even if you cut them. But you can tell how much mine did! I am sore on my left with some bruising. He said the bruising is much less than he expected due to everything they had to do to remove the gel and capsule. I’m super glad to have silicone out of my body. The saline implants are very soft and so far I’m glad I exchanged the saline for silicone. I don’t think my pictures do them justice- they look like the left one is higher. But They look very similar to my before pictures in that manner. My left one is swollen and very tender. So I’ll post some pictures in a few week when things settle down.

Updated on 20 Aug 2019:
I hate mammograms because they are painful and scare me that it would damage my implant. I had not had one in 5 years, so when my PCP suggested it, I decided to give in. My mammogram said I had a possible rupture. The MRI confirmed it. But if I had not had the mammogram, I could still have gooey silicone leaking into my chest! Who knows how long the implant had been ruptured. MRI’s are recommended every 3 years to screen for silicone ruptures but maybe just a mammogram would suffice? I’m just amazed at how NOT cohesive my ruptured implant was. once inside the body it became liquidy, gooey, and yellow!

I recommend that you visit more than one plastic surgeon and find one you like. After seeing the 1st one I left his office crying. I knew I had to beat this for my children. If you are about to have this done ask questions from others who have had it done and find the right doctor MOST IMPORTANT....

I am in the last stages of my reconstruction and I will post pictures. The picture I am posting is of the ex panders. They will be removed and implants put in around the first of March.Please keep in mind these are NOT the finished product...



Updated on 5 Mar 2013:
Well I went for my last expansion before surgery yesterday. My surgery to remove the expanders and put my implants in is scheduled for April 16th. I am so excited that I will finally feel normal again. I have decided to go with the saline implants rather than the silicone. If something were to ever happen to one of them my body can absorb saline with no problems. Three months after I get the implants I will go back and Dr. Wilson will make me some nipples. I will be sending pictures once i have my implants in and then with my new nipples.

Updated on 29 Jan 2014:
I now have my implants, just had surgery on Dec 26th, liposuction on abdomen. Took fat from sides & ab area and added the fat to chest area to fill in around my implants. They also added some in my upper chest area where there was no tissue. I am so happy with the results. I need to get someone to take better pictures for me and I will do that and post some more later. All I need now is nipples.

I have scoured the pages of Real Self and haven't yet found a story quite like mine. I'm writing this in the hope that someone else in my situation is out there and is looking to have a breast lift or already has.
I had breast augmentation at 20 years old using around 400cc saline implants. They are still perfectly in place with no rippling or hardness. I revisited my plastic surgeon a year or so ago to talk about some options and he said that the notion that implants need replacing after a number of years is simply a myth. Breast implants fall into the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" category, he says. My problem then is this. They're saggy now after I gained and lost 60 lbs rather quickly once my father died a few years ago. I'm back to being very happy with my body, but not my once perfect breasts. My only big hang-up is the scarring. I don't want to go to all the trouble of lifting my breasts and be left with two big vertical scars that I dislike as much as as I did the sag.
I have looked into the "scarless breast lift" offered by Florida doc Hilton Becker. It's really a subareolar mastopexy using an internal mesh that provides support for the new breast shape until it dissolves away. This reduces stress on the areola which is sometimes too much to bear in the areola incision only type of breast lift. I called Dr. Becker's coordinator and asked if this can be done with existing implants and she said yes. I've just never read about how this worked out for someone else who's already done so. Good or bad, I'd love to know.
I'm still in the daydreaming stages of planning for my surgery and don't have any date in mind. Doing all the research I can before choosing to shell out the big bucks that this type of lift costs. It's much more than my plastic surgeon was going to charge for a traditional "lollipop" scar lift. No matter the cost, I am committed to seeing this through and feeling as good about my breasts as I did before I did this damage. Pics to follow soon. Suffice it to say that I have large, round breasts that hang too low. :-)