20 Year Old Saline Implants, Capsular Contracture in One Breast. Will It Be Straight Forward to Removed Them Both? (photo)

Thank you for the question and pictures.  Given your history of very little change in body type over the years, it is likely that your breasts will “bounce back” relatively nicely after removal of breast implants. Of course, the breasts will be quite small;  hopefully you will be okay with the aesthetic outcome of this procedure.  You may find the attached link helpful to you;  patients who have undergone this procedure discuss their experience.

The procedure of breast implant removal itself should be quite straightforward and associated with minimal discomfort afterwards. Given that you have thickened capsule tissue, I would recommend that you have this tissue carefully removed at the time of breast implant removal also. Otherwise, this thickened tissue will remain in place, creating a firmer feel of the breast and potentially causing confusion when mammography is done.

 Select your plastic surgeon carefully.  Best wishes.

Thanks for your question. It is difficult to assess your case accurately as the photos are not ideal. However, it is usually relatively straightforward to remove breast implants (with or without the surrounding capsule). If you do not want to have breast implants any more then sometimes implant removal is combined with a breast uplift procedure to maintain an aesthetically pleasing breast shape. The pros and cons of different techniques should be discussed with a plastic surgeon with a specialist interest in breast surgery.

Removing your old implants along with the surrounding scar tissue capsules should be a fairly straightforward proposal.  Some capsules are easier to remove than others.  If your implants were not placed under the chest muscle originally then I might suggest putting them under the muscle when you have them replaced to minimize the risk of future capsular contractures.