Is it safe to leave drained saline implants in for 4-6 weeks?

Hi, that is a great question. It generally is safe to leave in ruptured saline implants as long as no infection or other issue occurs. I do regularly offer this to patients who plan to have them removed, and wish to know what their breasts will look like in their natural form. It is helpful for planning future surgery of the breast, such as lifting or fat transfer.

I will often drain saline implants several weeks before removal especially if I am planning on doing a breast lift at the time of implant removal.  Deflation of the implants allows the breast tissue, muscle and skin to tighten a little bit and makes planning the lift more accurate.  It is also extremely useful when there is size or shape asymmetry of the breasts that is masked by the implants.  I do the deflation in my exam room.  It usually takes about 30 minutes.