Length of Time Breast Implants Last?

Breast Implants are a man made product, they eventually wear out and leak. Just like cars do not last forever, planes fall out of the sky, trains fall off tracks, global warming the wourld is falling apart etc, etc. How long they can last is controversial; most manufacturers and plastic surgery societies say they should be changed every 10 years. I am not convinced this has to be done, being in practice over 12 years I have seen many patients with them longer and have not had any problems. If they are around 8-10 years and you have problems like capsular contracture, leaking etc then the should be changed, but if you like the way they look and feel I do not think you have to change them.

If they are saline implants and there are no problems with them they should be fine.  If there is a problem, have it evaluated by a plastic surgeon.  If you have silicone implants that are 30 years old, you should probably have them replaced.

         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 ten 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 one
percent at one year and three percent at three 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 implants for at least ten 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.