Revision Augmentation Including Implant Remove And Replace
There are a number of reasons why a patient may wish to have revision breast implant surgery. The most common of these is that a patient has had implants for a long time and either wishes to revise the size of implant, there may be suggestion on examination or through imaging that there may be an implant rupture or just replace an older implant with a newer model. Implants are not lifetime devices. There are also other reasons, less common, where the implant position may require some adjustment, there may be a ‘double bubble’ appearance or there may be suggestions of a capsular contracture or ‘hardening of the breast implant’.
Revision of a Breast Augmentation may also be performed to lift the breast and implant after either a loss of weight or pregnancy and breastfeeding. During both pregnancy and breastfeeding and weight loss the skin on the breast may stretch, leaving the implant sitting low in the breast and the nipple pointing low. In these cases, a breast lift and change of implants may be the recommended treatment.
Revision of Breast Augmentation can involve anything from a minor position adjustment of the implant, to a complex surgery involving changing of the implant, removal of the implant, fat grafting to the breast region and adjustment of the fold under the breast. In some cases, Dr Craig Layt may recommend multiple stages of surgery.
If you are seeing Dr Layt for the first time and your surgery was performed by another surgeon, we ask that you request information of your previous breast operations from your previous surgeon. It is very important to provide as much information and detail as possible about all of your previous surgeries including implants used. This enables Dr Layt to provide more information about the revision surgery he would recommend and why. Full disclosure is important in order to enable Dr Layt to achieve the best possible results in each individual case of revision surgery.
In some circumstances, you may be requested to obtain clinical imaging, such as ultrasound or MRI scans of your breasts and the implants. If there is fluid around the breast implant, you may also be required to have an aspiration of the fluid and to send this fluid to a pathologist for evaluation.
The costs of any Breast Revision Surgery will depend on many factors such as the complexity of the surgery, the time it will take for the surgery, whether new implants are required or if specific equipment is required. Most revision surgery of breast implants is considered cosmetic and will incur out of pocket expenses.
All surgery carries risks and it is important to understand these. Revision surgery is also often complex and more involved than initial surgery.