Can You Break Your Silicone Implant While Massaging It Too Forcefully? (photo)

Thank you for your question.If you find that your breast is tight and particularly if you went up a few cup sizes, then breast massage will help your implants settle. I typically recommend waiting a week as it sooner may be too uncomfortable. However, if you can tolerate it earlier, then you can do so. I also recommend lymphatic massage as this helps to reduce swelling much faster in the breast.As far as how to massage, I recommend displacing the implant in all four directions (up, down, left and right). Example, pinch the breast on the top to displace the implant downwards. For the lymphatic massage, it is much more of a light gentle touch. We often recommend a massage therapist to help with this or we show patients how to do this at home. You can repeat this several times a day for the first several months.  You don't have to worry about causing injury to the implant.

I dont think you can break the implant just from massaging it but it would be possible to cause a small seroma if you pushed it hard enough. I would suggest seeing your PS

The implant will not rupture from squeezing it or wrestling. It would require a sharp stab or extremely excessive force to break the implant. So massage did not break the implant. You may have some swelling which comes and goes with the pocket on the tight side. It takes some time after surgery for swelling to subside (some patients longer than others). It takes 4-6 months before you can accurately judge the size and symmetry.

It is extremely unlikely that you could massage your implants too aggressively and cause the implant to rupture. Breast implants are incredibly resilient and difficult to break. I routinely stomp on implants in my office to demonstrate how durable the implants are to my patients. I am not certain as to why your implants seem bigger or smaller at different times of the day. 

Opinions vary on implant massage. I recommend massage of implants one month after surgery. The new implants available today from the three top suppliers are almost impossible to rupture by squeezing them out of the body imagine what youn have to do to the breast once inside the body. This was not true of the older implants that were extremely easy to rupture. So don't worry but have your PS  examine you.

If you had your implants placed recently, it is highly unlikely that you can rupture the implants with massage.  The new shells of the implants are very resistant to rupture especially from forces that would be present during massage.  You may be healing differently between the two breasts.  Talk to your surgeon so he/she can do an in person examination. 

I see from your previous posts that your surgery was done in August, 2012.  The good news is silicone breast implants today have strong shells which will not rupture from forceful massaging, therefore you can eliminate this worry. 

You stated the reason for your massaging was that the implant did not move freely and it appeared smaller than the contralateral side.  The smaller breast may be because you have an early capsular contracture.  Capsular contractures make breasts look smaller as the implant is forced into a smaller area, they don't move freely, and they tend to be a little higher than their partner on the other side. 

In my practice, I personally feel that breast massaging (displacement exercises) is of little value, and the use of medication to modify your inflammatory response (capsular contracture) makes a great deal more sense.  At this point, you should speak to Dr. Sorokin about options and possibilities.

I couldn't rupture a modern silicone implant with all my strength (and I demonstrate this daily to patients during consultation), so I would say 'no' to your question. It looks like you have an excellent result. As for your other comments I suggest you talk with your plastic surgeon.

New breast implant are built to be be very resilient. They are quite hard to rupture by compression and massage. As the years pass by and the shells thin in areas of repeated compression a moderate size force (mammogram, blow to the chest etc) could cause a leak. I do not think this is the case here but you should be seen by your Plastic surgeon to advise you.

Good Luck

Peter A Aldea, MD
Memphis, TN

Actually implant rupture from massage is fairly hard to do, unless of course the implants very old, say ten years or more. There may be some asymmetry before to after, though let your surgeon have a look.