Risk of Breast Implants

Breast implants are scientifically created medical devices and do not come with “perfection, no risk” guarantees. While all breast implants have been expansively tested, as with any plastic surgery procedure, risks do exists and breast implant safety should be meticulously discussed with your breast implant surgeon before proceeding with surgery.

The FDA has given patients confidence in their world-wide acceptance of breast implants with data that is safe and extensively calculated.

Many websites may downplay the risks of breast surgeries and replace the truth with glamorous content to sell breast implants. Breast implant surgeons in Mexico greatly admire and respect ALL patients who desire to have breast implant surgery and want to portray accurate and honest risks of breast surgery, the goals to minimize risks and to discuss the best after care maintenance instructions to give you the unsurpassed results.

Risks of Breast Implant Surgery

Some of the complications and adverse outcomes of breast implants include:

  • Additional surgeries, with or without removal of the device
  • Capsular contracture, scar tissue that forms around the implant and squeezes the implant
  • Breast pain
  • Changes in nipple and breast sensation
  • Rupture with deflation of saline-filled implants
  • Rupture with or without symptoms (silent rupture) of silicone gel-filled implants

Capsular Contracture

Capsular contracture is when the scar tissue or soft tissue “capsule” that normally forms around the implant tightens and squeezes the breast implant. This hardening causes the tissue to tighten, which can be painful.

Capsular contracture may be more common following infection, hematoma and seroma. However, the cause of capsular contracture is not known. Symptoms range from firmness and mild discomfort to pain, distortion of the breast and displacement of the implant.

Rippling

Rippling is a term to describe visibility of the implant ripples. All breast implant shells have some ripples at the edges. In some cases, the implant edges can be seen by deforming the skin in a rippling pattern. These look like wide wrinkles or waves in the skin. Rippling is most common at the outer part of the breasts, where the soft tissues are thinnest, but it can occur anywhere.

Rupture

Rupture is a tear or hole in the outer shell of the breast implant. When this occurs in a saline breast implant, it deflates, meaning the solution leaks from the shell. Silicone gel is thicker than saline, so when a silicone gel-filled implant ruptures, the gel may remain in the shell or in the scar tissue that forms around the implant.

You and your doctor will need to decide whether or not your implant has ruptured and if you should have breast implant revision surgery or breast implant removal without replacement.

Some possible causes of rupture of breast implants include:

  • Capsular contracture
  • Compression during a mammogram
  • Damage by surgical instruments
  • Damage during procedures to the breast, such as biopsies and fluid drainage
  • Normal aging of the implant
  • Overfilling or underfilling of saline-filled breast implants
  • Physical stresses such as trauma or intense physical pressure
  • Placement through a non-FDA approved incision site, for example the belly button
  • Too much handling during surgery

Things to Consider Before Getting Breast Implants

There are several important things to consider before deciding to undergo breast implant surgery in Mexico, including understanding your own expectations and reasons for having the surgery. The FDA recommends that you should consider the following before undergoing breast augmentation, reconstruction or revision surgery.

Breast implants are not lifetime devices; the longer you have your implants, the more likely it will be for you to have them removed.

The longer you have breast implants, the more likely you are to experience local complications and adverse outcomes.

The most common local complications and adverse outcomes are capsular contracture, reoperation and implant removal. Other complications include rupture or deflation, wrinkling, asymmetry, scarring, pain, and infection at the incision site.

If you undergo breast implant surgery, you will need to monitor your breasts for the rest of your life. If you notice any abnormal changes in your breasts, you will need to see a doctor promptly.

If you have silicone gel-filled breast implants, you will need to undergo periodic MRI examinations in order to detect ruptures that do not cause symptoms. For early detection of silent rupture, the FDA recommends that women with silicone gel-filled breast implants receive MRI screenings 3 years after they receive a new implant and every 2 years after that.

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