I had an augmentation in 2011, I was told to wait 9 mos then 12 mos then 18 mos post op to let my breasts even out. My left one still rides up Into my armpit and up to my collarbone voluntarily when I flex and involuntarily when I lay down or am in different positions. After a work out is most uncomfortable as well. My right one is perfect. Is there something I can do to get the left one to drop or am I going to need another surgery? My plastic surgeon says they're fine, I know they're not.
Answer: My Left Breast Implant Hasn't Dropped After 3 Years - What Do You Recommend? From your pictures and the description you give of your implant moving upward during exercise, I would deduce that your implants are below the muscle. Implants in this position are trapped inferiorly by the bottom of your pectoralis muscle, and therefore cannot move down. A second surgery to reposition the implant downward is necessary to get symmetrical breasts. If you were my patient, I would do a periareolar incision to get complete control over the entire breast pocket. Your implant is in the complete subpectoral space. It needs to be removed. A scaffolding such as Seri needs to be placed to prevent the new implant from traveling into the shoulder area, and then a new implant placed in the partially subpectoral (dual plane) position.
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Answer: My Left Breast Implant Hasn't Dropped After 3 Years - What Do You Recommend? From your pictures and the description you give of your implant moving upward during exercise, I would deduce that your implants are below the muscle. Implants in this position are trapped inferiorly by the bottom of your pectoralis muscle, and therefore cannot move down. A second surgery to reposition the implant downward is necessary to get symmetrical breasts. If you were my patient, I would do a periareolar incision to get complete control over the entire breast pocket. Your implant is in the complete subpectoral space. It needs to be removed. A scaffolding such as Seri needs to be placed to prevent the new implant from traveling into the shoulder area, and then a new implant placed in the partially subpectoral (dual plane) position.
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Answer: Implants are unlikely to drop more at this point. This
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Answer: Implants are unlikely to drop more at this point. This
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August 11, 2014
Answer: An implant approaching the collarbone or armpit 3 years post-op is unlikely to change at this point While it is difficult to give specific advice without looking at your preop images to assess for symmetry and breast or nipple position, or having the opportunity to examine you in person, from the images that you show and your description of things, I think you are absolutely right, there is something that is amiss with your implants. This kind of thing can happen in the normal course of events with breast augmentation, so it is hard to be critical of your surgeon just on that account, however, the one criticism that I can make is that if he or she in fact told you to wait this long before determining if the implant would change or not, or if he or she in fact thinks "they're fine," I disagree. There is clearly asymmetry of the breasts with superior malposition of the left implant, and if they haven't changed by now, they aren't going to. In fact, I would venture to say that if they didn't change in the first six to nine months they weren't going to, and that is even on the long side. If you wish to correct this deformity and asymmetry, you will most likely require another operation to remove part or all of the capsule on the left together with repositioning of the implant and possibly changing implant volume altogether to achieve ideal symmetry, if necessary and desired. While this current situation isn't a medical problem, as you have pointed out it does create an obvious aesthetic deformity, and it is uncomfortable. If you can't get your current plastic surgeon on board with listening to your concerns and helping you to achieve the end result that you want, it's time to find another plastic surgeon.
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August 11, 2014
Answer: An implant approaching the collarbone or armpit 3 years post-op is unlikely to change at this point While it is difficult to give specific advice without looking at your preop images to assess for symmetry and breast or nipple position, or having the opportunity to examine you in person, from the images that you show and your description of things, I think you are absolutely right, there is something that is amiss with your implants. This kind of thing can happen in the normal course of events with breast augmentation, so it is hard to be critical of your surgeon just on that account, however, the one criticism that I can make is that if he or she in fact told you to wait this long before determining if the implant would change or not, or if he or she in fact thinks "they're fine," I disagree. There is clearly asymmetry of the breasts with superior malposition of the left implant, and if they haven't changed by now, they aren't going to. In fact, I would venture to say that if they didn't change in the first six to nine months they weren't going to, and that is even on the long side. If you wish to correct this deformity and asymmetry, you will most likely require another operation to remove part or all of the capsule on the left together with repositioning of the implant and possibly changing implant volume altogether to achieve ideal symmetry, if necessary and desired. While this current situation isn't a medical problem, as you have pointed out it does create an obvious aesthetic deformity, and it is uncomfortable. If you can't get your current plastic surgeon on board with listening to your concerns and helping you to achieve the end result that you want, it's time to find another plastic surgeon.
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August 10, 2014
Answer: Malposition I can't see the right breast preop but I would presume there was some asymmetry beforehand. It looks like the breast tissue is lower on the left and the implant higher. You may well have early capsular contracture. You may need a periareola lift on the left to symmetrize or one could use a different implant and alter the capsule and pocket. I doubt an implant exchange and pocket alteration will get the nipples and the breast at the same height. It would be good to see your right breast preop images.
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August 10, 2014
Answer: Malposition I can't see the right breast preop but I would presume there was some asymmetry beforehand. It looks like the breast tissue is lower on the left and the implant higher. You may well have early capsular contracture. You may need a periareola lift on the left to symmetrize or one could use a different implant and alter the capsule and pocket. I doubt an implant exchange and pocket alteration will get the nipples and the breast at the same height. It would be good to see your right breast preop images.
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August 10, 2014
Answer: Revision may be needed to get breast implant to drop after 3 years I do see that the left implant is high. After 3 years it is unlikely to drop further. My suspicion based on your history is that the implant pocket will need to be lowered and the high side of the pocket closed to prevent the movement up towards the arm pit. Seek a second opinion if your plastic surgeon will not take care of you.
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August 10, 2014
Answer: Revision may be needed to get breast implant to drop after 3 years I do see that the left implant is high. After 3 years it is unlikely to drop further. My suspicion based on your history is that the implant pocket will need to be lowered and the high side of the pocket closed to prevent the movement up towards the arm pit. Seek a second opinion if your plastic surgeon will not take care of you.
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