Do Breast Implants change or stay the same forever?

Hi & thanks for your question!
Breast implants can change over the years. Weight loss/gain, as well as pregnancy can change the look of the breasts. Continue your to see your surgeon with post operative follow up appointments to address any changes. Best wishes!

I recommend an in person evaluation with a plastic surgeon to be measured and discuss your goals. After I measure and discuss goals with my patients, we then look at pictures of women (my patients) with similar measurements with different size and style breast implants. They also get to see what they would look like when the breasts have fully dropped and fluffed and in clothes. You get to see actual results and the surgeon's experience and not a virtual idea of what can be achieved. Women tell me that this process is very helpful in determining what size and style breast implant is right for them. Mildly Sagging Breasts: If your breasts are mildly droopy, a saline or silicone gel implant placed behind the pectoral muscle might help create the illusion of perkiness. That’s because as the implant fills out the top of the breast, it also fills out the bottom, making it look as if the nipple has moved higher. It hasn’t. You can always get a lift later if you feel you are not perky enough when fully settled and healed. Dr. Ted Eisenberg, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and Author. RealSelf Distinguished Hall of Fame Inductee. Philadelphia, Pa., USA

Breast implant manufacturers state that implants are not meant to be lifetime devices. Patients should expect to change them at least once in their life. Having said that however, it is not unusual for some patients to never have to change their implants. Therefore, if you aren’t experiencing any issues with your implants, there’s no need to change them.

Please note that the breasts do change with aging, weight fluctuations and other factors. While the implants themselves may not change, your breasts will most likely change in shape/size.

Dear Hepburnn,
your breasts will change with time even after you get implants. That is why I recommend my patients to replace implants every 10 years. If you are considering a surgery, I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

There is no specific life span for implants. It is not uncommon for patients to return after some years to make changes to their implants. Some may find they need a lift after pregnancy or aging. Some prefer to exchange their implants for a larger or smaller implant. And some patients want them out all together. Silicone implants will not lose their volume over time. Saline implants have the risk of deflating if the implant ruptures.

The implant bag may break or get a hole in it with trauma over time and then you would need to replace the implant. The average lifespan of the implant is 10-20 years, but I have seen saline implants that looked great at 40 years. Saline implants will be very obvious when the bag breaks since you will deflate and your body will absorb the salt water. A tiny hole in the gel implants may not be noticeable. The gel is not liquid so it does not go anywhere.

Hello and thanks for your question. Thanks to the development in the medicine industry, breast implants are lasting much longer than it used to be. There is no specific time period that implants has to be replaced. After breast implant operation, regular follow-ups are very important. The implants and the breast tissue have to be scanned and checked in every 6 months or 1 year of time. I do recommend our patients to have follow-up controls regularly. Implants are suggested to change if there is any problems in the scan and tests.