How Many Times Can You Have Breast Augmention if Not Satisfied with Results?

Your breasts are constantly changing. Even without surgery, they will not remain the same. Therefore, it is not reasonable to expect that one surgery will take care of it. As plastic surgeons, we would love the ability to mold the breasts out of a mold and create a perfectly symmetric and predictable result. Alas this is not possible. We are dealing with biology. Once you have had implants, you are almost guaranteeing yourself of having future surgery, Even if the breast implants remain intact for 40 years, Your breasts will age over the implant or with the implant. This will likely result in the need for future surgery.

In reality, there is no definitive answer to how many time syou can redo a breast augmentation.  Certainly, everytime you go back in there, the chance for complications arises again.  However, there are some women who have surgery 5-6 times for wahtever reason ( changing sizes, types of implant, etc), and never have a complication.  It all depends on your tissue characteristics and your ability to heal.

The number of breast augmentation procedures a woman can undergo depends on her unique circumstances. If for whatever reason a patient is unhappy with the results of her breast augmentation procedure, breast revision surgery may be of assistance. Breast revision involves removing and/or replacing the breast implants that were used during a patient’s initial breast augmentation procedure to help achieve a more satisfactory result. This procedure can also help women who experience capsular contracture or other breast implant complications (although these are rare). Because a prior breast surgery can cause scar tissue, it’s important to first speak to a board-certified plastic surgeon in-person to be evaluated and confirm that you are a good candidate for breast revision.

Is this a trick question? Are your expectations realistic? Be sure prior to any surgery you fully understand the risk/benefit ratios before asking can I redo it over and over again. There is NO perfect result.

From MIAMI Dr. B

Having multiple operations on the breasts changes the dynamics.  The tissues get scarred and more than likely thinned. Do not do it too often to get "perfect" breasts.  Perfection is impossible.

The best time to"get it right" with a breast augmentation is the first time. Each operation changes the tissues irreversibly and cannot be completely undone. Moreover, each redo or revision operation hastens the next operation.
In my opinion you should never have any Cosmetic Surgery without fully understanding everything about it or mistakenly believing it can be redone endlessly until you are happy. The odds areyou will not be.

Theoretically there is really no limit to the number of times one can undergo revisionary breast augmentation surgery. However, if after two or three attempts and you are still not satisfied then seek another surgical opinion and or reevaluate your personal goals for this operation with the second surgeon. You may have set the bar too high for what is achievable with your particular anatomy.

I agree with Dr. Aldea. You should never have but one breast augmentation. This is the best chance to have a long lasting result that looks and feels natural. Every subsequent operation adds scar that can detract from the result. Although the studies done by the implant companies showed a redo rate around 20%, many of us believe this should never be greater than 2-3%. Although this may sound like a huge difference, a number of studies and my evaluation of my patients have shown this to be very possible with careful pre-operative planning and surgical execution.