In most states, the hospital and doctors are required to keep records for 10 years. It is always helpful to know what implant we are dealing with before going in. Around 1989 when you had your breast augmentation there were MUCH more breast implant producers selling their products in the USA than there are now. This all changed in 1992 when the FDA stopped the general use of silicone filled implants for everyone, restricting it to a handful of categories. (This was done due to political motivation cloaked by the excuse that there was "insufficient evidence" to determine if silicone filled breast implants) were safe). Many companies stopped producing implants - some filed bankruptcy. If your implants were made by one of these companies, the serial numbers would be meaningless. After surgery, as a point of general interest, if you had the time, inclination, the implants and you had the catalogs of all these companies, you could compare the marking that sometimes preceded the numbers and maybe find out who produced your implants). Only 2 companies survived - Mentor and McGhan. McGhan changed its name to Inamed which was subsequently purchased by and became Allergan. Although most Plastic surgeons' offices have breast implants catalogs from both manufacturers this may also not be of much help for you now without knowing the serial numbers. In your case, you have the choice of having the implants removed permanently or exchanged for other implants (with or without some form of a breast lift). If you want them replaced you need to agree to the following: Since your surgeon will not know the exact volumes until he/she actually examines the implants, you and him/her can agree on a range of breast implant volumes that could be used. After the implants are removed in surgery, temporary implants of different volumes (IE SIZERS) will be placed in the breasts and their appearances will be compared. Then, the most suitably sized implants will be used. Modern implant serial numbers disclose the implant manufacturer, implant volume and style (MP vs HP). (Since the manufacturers know which serial numbers were sold to which doctor on rare occasions murders were solved by tracing the implant numbers to the surgeon who may be able to shed more light on the case). Good Luck.