More women are choosing the remove their breast implants after years of having them in place. There are multiple reasons for this. Most commonly, it’s the wish to avoid the excess weight of implants. These implants served them well when younger but now are more of a nuisance than an asset. Additionally, after having implants for a while, they invariably sag more. This causes the breasts to be lower on the chest wall. For this reason, implant removal is often accompanied by a breast lift. The lift helps return the breast to a higher position and perky shape.
Steps Involved
Implant removal and capsulectomy
This procedure is necessary when the implant is an early generation silicone gel implant. It is to have ruptured. The free silicone from the ruptured implant will be inside the capsule. The capsule is a sac of tissue that forms around the implant. The capsule will also be hardened and stiff. In these cases, the implant material and capsule are removed together.
Deciding on and Choosing a Breast Implant
After implant and capsule removal, the breast has lost significant volume. Many times there is enough tissue to create a pleasing breast shape without adding another implant. Still, in some cases the volume remaining is not enough to create a pleasing breast shape. In these instances, surgeons choose a small cohesive breast implant. The implant size typically ranges from 200-225 cc. This choice provides at least some fullness to the breast. The decision whether to use an implant or not is made in surgery. If a patient is adamant about not having an implant, other options include fat grafting to the breast.
Mastopexy or Lift
The final step is the lift. It usually involves incisions around the areola. Incisions are also made along the inframammary fold. This will reshape and lift the breasts for a pleasing shape.
Recovery
The surgery takes from 3-4 hours to finish. Afterwards, you will have a support bra to use for 3 weeks. The incisions will first heal while protected by surgical tapes that stay in place for a week. These are then removed. You will place an antibiotic ointment on the incisions until they are fully healed. This process takes about 2 weeks. After this you can start a silicone gel cream to massage the scars and guarantee pleasing scars.