Removing 1000cc Breast Implants, Replace With 500cc, Then Lift; Can it Be Done in One Procedure? (photo)

Sometimes it's unclear how removing your large implants will affect your breast.  Your surgeon is proposing to break it up into steps so that he can see what happens after each step so that he can best plan the next step.

To do everything in once step is also a very reasonable approach but requires careful planning and understanding that additional touchups may be necessary.  Perhaps this would be a better option for you if you do not wish to go without implants for several months.  This way you may still end up with three surgeries but in the mean time you maintained a reasonable cup size.

As others have suggested, letting saline leak out (you most likely have saline implants if you really are 1000cc) just prior to the surgery would be a great option as well.  This way you get the best of both worlds... you don't go without implants (for more than a couple of days) and the surgeon gets a getter idea of how to plan the lift.

Sincerely,

Martin Jugenburg, MD, FRCSC

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon

 

There are multiple options for approaching your situation.  Your surgeon's approach is okay, just on the conservative side.  I agree that if they are saline, preoperative deflation will allow the skin to shrink some and may necessitate less skin removal and scarring with the mastopexy.  This will leave you with a flat chest for a few weeks.  It is also possible to just replace the implants and do a lift at the same time, but requires a lifting technique that only repositions the nipple and removes skin, not rearranging breast tissue excessively due to the increased risk of tissue necrosis.

What your surgeon is suggesting is a standard approach.  However, doing both procedures at the same time (the implant exchange and the lift) is also a viable option.  A third option, if you have saline implants, is to deflate the implant in the office a few weeks before the implant exchange and then go ahead with the planned surgery.

 

Good Luck.

The optimal way to correct your problem in my opinion is to remove the implants and let the pocket settle for a few months

Human tissue has a certain ability to contract , however in an unpredictable fashion.Therefore after about three months you will be able to assess whether you in fact even want implants any more ,whether  a lift will be sufficient  or if implants are necessary with or without a lift

Alternatively you could remove the 1000cc implants and replace them with the 500ccimplants without performing the lift at the same time .If a lift is necessary later it would be easier to assess what type of lift would be best .A smaller lift could even be done under local anesthetic

Without knowing the details of the case, a definitive evaluation of the surgical plan can not be made. Typically, there should not be a problem to perform the implant exchange and lift at the same time.  As others have pointed out, the photo does not depict a typical result with 1000 cc. To verify the optimal surgical plan, consult with 3 - 4 experienced and expert board certified plastic surgeons.

I don't think there's anything special that would make considering doing this in one stage a problem. We do this frequently without much issue. I am skeptical however that you actually have a 1000cc implant in. Do you have records that confirm that? It would be important for figuringing out the implant size and style that might need to be available for your surgery

This is not an unusual problem and can present several problems.  If your breast tissue has been excessively stretched then you have to be concerned about the blood supply.  Depending upon the thickness of your tissue overlying the implant this could be either a one or two stage procedure.  Removing the fluid from the implant can give your breast tissue a chance to contract and can be a safer way to perform the procedure

Your problem is very common.  If you have saline implants your dr can remove the fluid on the day of surgery  with a needle.  This makes it easier to mark the lift you can also see what 500 cc looks like before the surgery.  If your surgeon doesn't do this. Find another.

There are many approaches. If you have alot of breast tissue, it is probably OK to do the lift and implant excahgne as one procedure.  Some would consider deflating them if they are saline and then doing the procedure a few months later, and others will recomment what your surgeon stated.  Good luck.

Whenever someone is going down in breast size there tend to be several options. The safest is what your surgeon has recommended. The riskiest is doing it all at one time. Regarding safety we are primarily concerned with wound healing and with nipple loss due to lack of blood supply. If that happens neither the surgeon nor the patient will be glad that they took the faster course. 

If you have saline implants you can deflate them with a needle and syringe in the office and just leave them in place, thus eliminating one on the steps. This also allows the patient and Dr to see how much residual breast tissue we are working with and also estimate better what size implants to use.