Breast augmentation has remained consistently in the top two surgical procedures since the development of breast implants in the 1960s, with over 300,000 breast augmentation surgeries performed annually. However, as our population ages, so have their breast implants.
Many patients wonder when they should replace their implants. Is it necessary every 10 years? If you’re wondering if there’s a “right” time for breast implant revision, keep scrolling for valuable insights!
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How Long Do Breast Implants Last?
The FDA recommends you change out silicone breast implants after 10 years. Why? Do they self-destruct? Of course not. The answer is quite simple, actually. When the FDA studies breast implants, they perform 10-year longitudinal studies, meaning every year, patients with implants return to be examined. After 10 years, these studies are concluded. So the FDA cannot say with scientific certainty what happens 10 years and 1 day after your implants are placed. Therefore, they advise you to have them changed. However, we find that we see many patients visit us for implant exchange or revision as long as 15 to 20 years after their initial breast surgery.
How Do You Know It’s Time for Breast Implant Exchange?
When patients learn there is no set expiration for their breast implants, their next question is usually, “So, what are the hard reasons I should have my implants exchanged or undergo a revision?” As a board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive breast implant expertise, here are some signs I encourage you to pay attention to:
Implant Rupture or Burst
Over time, friction weakens the shell, and the contents may leak out. With saline implants, the saline is reabsorbed by your body and excreted, so you will know almost immediately if there is a leak. With silicone implants, that is a different story. If silicon implants rupture, your body cannot pick up and carry the silicone around your body. Instead, the contents leak out, and your body walls them off. You may experience increased pain, firmness, or potentially nothing at all. Your annual mammogram or breast MRI will detect rupture 93 to 98% of the time. Is this harmful to you medically? The answer is no, based on all the implant studies in the scientific literature. How often does this happen? About 8% to 10% of silicone implants rupture after 10 years and 13% for saline implants.
Capsular Contracture Or Encapsulation
When there is a foreign body placed inside you, it forms a wall around it. This is called a capsule. It is formed 2 to 3 weeks after your breast implants are inserted. Typically it is soft, and you would not know it was there. Capsular contracture, or capcon, is when this capsule becomes firm to the touch, painful, or makes the breasts look weird (typically, the implants are pulled upward). This occurs at a rate of 1% a year. The exact etiology is unknown, but the most commonly accepted theory is that the breast implant becomes colonized with bacteria (not infection). Since your body cannot climb on the foreign body to eradicate the bacteria, it forms a thickened, calcified wall around the implant.
Evolving Aesthetic Ideals
This reason is the most common in our practice. This may occur shortly after the primary surgery or, in some cases, 5, 10, 15, or even 20 years after the initial surgery. You may be in a different place in life and want to be bigger, smaller, or the same size. (You can learn more about finding the right breast implant to fit your lifestyle in our related blog post.) The implants may have stretched out the pocket, and now the implants lateralize—go into your armpit when lying down—or have bottomed out. Your breast shape may have changed with pregnancy and lactation or weight loss or gain. Whatever the reason, you deserve to feel beautiful and confident in your own skin.
Our breast implant exchange patients say they feel more confident, comfortable, and aligned with their current aesthetic goals. Browse our breast revision before-and-after photos to see how this transformative procedure restores or enhances breast shape, size, and overall harmony with the body.
What’s Next?
The best way to determine whether it’s the right time for you to explore your breast implant revision options is to arrange a one-on-one consultation at our Frisco, TX, plastic surgery practice. I encourage you to request a consultation with me using our online form or by calling us at (214) 937-4879. Let’s help you achieve the look you love and live your best lifestyle!
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