How Will I Know if My Breast Implant Has Ruptured?

 Sorry to hear about the trauma you have sustained.

 With silicone gel breast implants, unlike saline breast implants, you may not know that there has been a rupture ( this is called a “clinically silent rupture”). If you wish to rule out rupture of a silicone gel breast implant, an MRI study will be necessary.  If you  are otherwise pleased with the shape, size, feel of your breasts,  I would not suggest removal/replacement surgery unless there is a specific indication.

 Best wishes.

Hope you are doing well after your incident. It is highly unlikely that your breast implants will burst after a fall. However, if you notice bumps in your breasts, deflation, chest pain and/or swelling, or if your breasts suddenly become hard, it is very likely that your implants have ruptured and I advise you to see your surgeon immediately.

For Saline implants - its simple - just look in a mirror and see if you are flat on one side. For silicone implants prior to 2006, ruptures occur at rates of approximately 1-2% per year for the first ten years then markedly increases after that time period. A rupture or deflation of the implant may be experienced at any point after the initial augmentation; this complication may be increased by an under-filling or overfilling of saline solution into the implant, excessive compression, trauma, and other causes. (If the implant shell if not filled with the correct amount of saline, there may be a crease or fold in the shell which often leads to a rupture). You will be able to self-diagnose the need for an implant exchange (if using a saline implant) because if the current implant ruptures, the breast will shrink to approximately its preoperative size. A silicone implant that has a rupture is usually noted on a routine mammogram or MRI scan. In either case although the situation needs to be corrected on a timely basis, it is not dangerous to your health from our current knowledge base. Silicone implants after 2006 are more cohesive and less likely to leak.