How Often Do You Have to Get Your Breasts "Refreshed"?

One of the common myths about
breast implants is that they need to changed every 10 years. This is definitely
NOT TRUE. As long as your implants/breasts continue to look and feel good,
nothing needs to change. So potentially they could last a lifetime.

However, your body will continue to change over time
implants or not - time, gravity, weight fluctuations, pregnancy, breast
feeding, lifestyle, genetics etc.....things will change. So for these reasons,
you may wish to have further surgery at some later date.

Also large breasted women, whether they are natural or
implants, gravity is far less kind to them than smaller breasted women. So it's
really important to always wear good supportive bras all the time, except for
those odd occasions that warrant no bra. You support them as much as possible,
and they'll look after you as long as possible. Yes, things such as rupture and capsular contracture can also occur and these may also warrant further surgery but these affect only a small percentage of women and are unpredictable.

Thank you for your question. It's important to know that implants do not require replacement simply because you've had them for a certain amount of time. Implants can last indefinitely, but most women should plan to have some type of surgery every 10 to 15 years. This may include a size change, changing from saline to silicone, or replacement after rupture. Saline implants have a 10% risk of rupture over 10 years. The latest silicone-gel implants have a 2.5% rupture risk over nine years. If things are going well, and there is no implant rupture, then I recommend not having any surgery at all.

This is a commonly asked question and a frequent source of
confusion amongst patients.There is a
general misconception that breast implants should be replaced every 10
years.The origin of this belief is
unclear, but is probably secondary to misinterpretation of implant warranty
terminology. The
manufacturers of breast implants clearly state that these devices are not
intended to last a lifetime.Despite
this, many patients can expect to have implants last their entire
lifetime.Current studies suggest that
implants deflate at a rate of 1% at 1 year and 3% at 3 years.Over time, this number can be expected to
grow.Implants
may deflate with no apparent cause or may deflate secondary to some type of
trauma.Under these circumstances, the
decision to replace implants is easy.In
our practice, we routinely replace implants in patients who are undergoing
secondary surgery for reasons not directly related to the implants, such as
capsular contracture, if the patient has had breast implants for at least 10
years.If a patient is doing well and
not having problems with breast implants, we see no reason to routinely replace
implants just because a set time period has passed.

There is no finite period of time for the implants to be replaced.  Just keep in mind that despite having implants, all breasts will normally sag with time, thus requiring corrective surgery.

No that is not true. All breast augmentation will have to undergo more surgery at some point but that is no predictable. It could be 2, 10 or 20 years or some other number of years. In the absence of deflation or capsular contracture there is no need to go in and replace breast implants no matter how long they have been there. You want to choose your initial surgeon and the specific type of augmentation that will maximize the number of years between breast operations.

There is no reason to "refresh" or change your breast implants unless there is a problem with them such as capsular contraction, infection or leak / deflation.  I tell all my augmentation patients that implants are man made devices and as such they may not last their lifetimes.  The present day implants have rates of deflation of 6 - 10% at 10 years and as the implants age the rate does increase slowly.  You will know if your saline implants are leaking as the volume will gradually get smaller as the fluid is absorbed.   An MRI is needed to check for leaks in silicone implants.  That said, many patients have their implants for many years without any problems.

There are lots of rumors and repeated statements about replacing implants every 10 years but this had been promulgated with relatively little true scientific data. Reported saline/silicone rupture rates at 10 years varies from 6-10%. This means that if surgeons were to replace implants routinely at 10 years, anywhere from 90-94% of implants would still be intact. In the case of saline implants the consequences of delayed treatment are relatively few. In the case of silicone implants, it is preferred to remove these when the rupture is detected and using MRI maybe a less invasive option.

Unless you have a problem, you never have to have your implants replaced. Patients should be prepared for the probability that at some time in their life they will have to have their augmentation redone. Now that the silicone implants are once again available, the FDA recommends that patients have an MRI every two to three years to be sure they do not have a "silent leak". If a saline implants leaks, you will know it as your chest will deflate. the saline is not harmful and will be absorbed by the body, but you will need a new implant. Most implants have a 10 year warranty so if there is a problem the manufacturer will replace the implant at no charge. Some women develop a capsular contracture, which is scar tissue forming around the implant which doesn't allow the implant to move freely, and makes it feel hard, so this would be reason to have a redo.

I'm not certain who is promoting this unfortunate bit of misinformation- but unless you are having an issue with a breast implant (capsular contracture, malposition, leaking) there is no requirement, or even recommendation, to replace them. The latest generation of cohesive silicone gel implants are terrific - I think we'll have many patients that keep their current implants as 'lifetime' implants, especially when they are appropriately sized, submuscular, and placed with good surgical technique.

This is one of those great myths about breast augmentation and implants.  You never have to change them if you are not having any issues with them.  Certainly, the older the implants, the greater the chance that the shell may develop a tear, but the data at 10 years for a saline implant rupture  is 7-9% and for a silcione implant rupture is 6%.  Plenty of patients have their implants for twenty years without having any sort of problem.  I hope this helps