When You Change Your Mind About Implants
Everyone knows that it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind. If you’ve begun to have second thoughts about your implants, the solution may be breast revision. Below, trusted Albany plastic surgeon Dr. Sanjiv Kayastha reviews some of the many choices you have when changing your mind means changing the contours of your profile.
Removing or Replacing Implants
Breast revision is a popular choice for women who decide that, for whatever reason, implants were no longer desired.
When implants are removed, the space that held the implant must sometimes be addressed to restore a pleasing shape.This might involve a procedure similar to breast lift. The skill of your surgeon is especially important in cases in which large implants are removed: The skin may have a stretched look, and the breasts may appear to sag or have a deflated appearance. Efficient tightening of the skin and precise placement of tissue to refill the area are critical to ensuring your satisfaction with the final result.
Breast revision is commonly performed to “swap” implants. Some women decide that saline implants feel less natural than they expected, and opt for surgery to swap saline for a silicone gel variety. Other women may have safety concerns about silicone gel implants, and choose saline for their breast revision procedure. If you select smaller implants, the area surrounding the new implant will need to be tightened, and skin may need to be lifted.
Medical Complications
Sometimes the decision to remove implants is not based on aesthetic preference, but performed for other reasons. A patient may have a health condition, such as an autoimmune disease, that is felt to be aggravated by the presence of implants. Other times implants have lost integrity, drifted or even damaged surrounding tissue. Capsular contracture, for example, develops when deforming scar tissue forms around an implant. With this condition, patients might feel pain, notice a change in breast appearance, or feel hardening of the breast. This can be associated with an implant rupture.
Symmastia is a condition in which migration of the implants or improper positioning makes it look like the breasts are joined in the middle of the chest. Drifting or incorrect surgical placement can also make breasts look asymmetrical. In other cases, the outline of implants becomes visible on the surface, and may even give the skin a “rippling” appearance. Rupture of the implant may require immediate attention to replace the implant.
Whatever the reason for breast revision, Dr. Kayastha is skilled in removing or changing implants with safe surgical options that will improve your quality of life. He is also experienced in performing concurrent procedures during implant removal, such as lifting the breasts on the chest and even adjusting the angle of the nipple and reducing the size of the areola.
To learn more about implants and breast revision options, we invite you to contact Dr. Kayastha’s Albany practice today.
