New York Breast Implants | Risks
Serving New York City In Manhattan And Surrounding Areas
Breast Enhancement or Enlargement Surgery Risks
Although every operation involves some risks, breast augmentation is generally not considered to be high-risk surgery. There are, however, several risks associated with breast enlargement of which you need to be aware. (Remember that a risk is something that the surgeon cannot control, so misplacement of the implant, for example, is not a risk. If your prospective surgeon does not describe all the risks of your surgery, do not let him or her operate on you. Find someone else!)
Infection
Infection is extremely uncommon. Infection in Dr. Bellin’s experience is very rare—about one in one thousand operations. Dr. Bellin gives you antibiotics right after your surgery to help prevent an infection from occurring. However, if an infection should occur adjacent to your implant, it might be necessary to remove your implant to eliminate what is causing your infection. Dr. Bellin would then replace your breast implant later on at no additional charge.
Bleeding
Bleeding after your surgery is also very unusual. Only about one in one hundred patients experience bleeding, and it is not life threatening. This complication may happen if a small blood vessel opens up a few hours after your surgery and begins to ooze. Your breast tissue may swell a lot and could become fairly sore. If this happens, it would probably require returning to the operating room to stop the bleeding, eliminate excess blood, or remove a collection of blood, called a hematoma. Dr. Bellin stresses that this is not a dangerous condition; it is only something which needs additional treatment.
Hardness of Your Breast
The most common risk associated with breast enhancement surgery is that you may lose some softness in one or both of your breasts which might make them feel less natural to you. (The overall risk in Dr. Bellin’s practice is about 10 % to 15 %.)
Hardness of your breast results from your body's reaction to silicone bags because your body "walls off" your implant (your body’s natural response to a “foreign” object) by surrounding it with a scar-like fibrous covering which is referred to as a capsule. (Silicone cannot be rejected by your body, so in a sense, it is just isolated within your body).
If your body forms a thin capsule around your implant, your breasts will feel soft. In severe cases, your body will form a thick capsule which can also cause pain or discomfort and can lead to the formation of fine calcium deposits. In early stages of capsule formation, the hardness can be prevented by gentle external massage. In more severe cases, however, further surgery is required to correct the problem. This condition is called capsular contracture. This problem does not cause illness. It is simply unaesthetic or unappealing. In the past, surgeons often recommended firm compression to treat capsular contractures, a maneuver called closed capsulotomy. When the capsule breaks, it lets the space the implant is in expand and the implant will again feel soft under the breast. However, this procedure is not usually performed or recommended any more because it has its own risks: the risk of breaking the outer shell of your implant or the risk that you could experience additional bleeding. Note: You should never attempt to perform this or any other procedure on your own. Please see your surgeon!
Years ago a surgical procedure call open capsulotomy was performed. This entailed opening your old incision and removing your capsule. It was soon learned, however, that this was fruitless, since your body almost always formed a capsule again in the same way. Since this procedure didn’t correct the problem and had the risks inherent in all surgeries, it was discontinued.
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Rippling of Your Implant
Sometimes when your capsule (see Hardness of Your Breast) forms, it can pull your implant in such a way that it causes your implant to ripple. This is sometimes felt and less frequently seen. It is mainly a problem caused by saline-filled implants and tends to occur more frequently if you have severe stretch marks on your breasts or if you have very thin breast tissue due to pregnancy and childbirth.
Also, if your breast implant bag is incompletely filled, it may cause your implant to wrinkle, showing through as strange ripples in your skin. There is nothing that can be done once this occurs.
However, recently Dr. Bellin has begun slightly over-inflating your implant. Adding this slight bit of tension seems to prevent rippling in most of Dr. Bellin’s cases. Rippling is much more evident with saline-filled implants than with silicone gel-filled implants. This is due to the fact that the silicone gel adheres to the inside of your breast implant shell and prevents rippling. On occasion, however, silicone gel-filled implants can fold slightly so that an edge of the implant fold can be felt.
Saline-filled Implant Deflation/Leakage
If a saline-filled breast implant has a manufacturer’s defect, the saline could slowly leak out and be absorbed by your body and eliminated. This is totally harmless—it is just like drinking salt water. Manufacturers guarantee their implants, so they would provide a new one for you at no charge and reimburse your surgeon for the cost of replacing your implant.
Also, the implant bag or valve may leak, causing your implant to deflate. This not only leads to you having a temporarily embarrassing appearance, but it also necessitates you having another surgery. Although the occurrence of this risk might be annoying, it is easily rectified.
Double Bubble
This is not really a risk or complication. It is due to a mistake made by the surgeon. It happens when an implant is placed below the breast fold in a futile attempt to equalize the height of the breasts. Since the fold is a permanent structure, it presses against the implant creating a crease across it. Since part of the implant is now bulging below the fold, it looks like a double bubble. The only way to fix it is to remove the implant, excise the lower part of the capsule that has formed and wait at least three months for healing before replacing the implant.
Rupture
Breast implants could rupture from: damage occurring during surgery, a manufacturer's defect, or a fold fault.
Most manufacturers guarantee their implants for at least ten years and most surgeons perform replacement surgery free of charge. If a saline-filled or hydrogel-filled breast implant ruptures, the implant filling material is completely eliminated from your body. If a silicone gel-filled implant ruptures, it is harmless. However, it might cause lumps that can be felt and will need to be removed. Silicone gel-filled implants that were put in 15 to 20 years ago have a significant incidence of rupture, but the newer models present much less of a rupture risk.
A fold fault is caused by the shell of your implant becoming folded by your capsule. The motion of your body keeps bending your implant on the fold until it wears out and ruptures. (It is similar to bending a paper clip back and forth until it breaks.)
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Displeasure
Finally, in rare instances there is a risk that you may be displeased with your implants. In this case they can be easily removed. Your breast skin almost always shrinks back to its original size.
Air in Your Implant
If your surgeon is not careful and leaves air in your implant, an unpleasant sloshing sound might be heard. Furthermore, in theory, this air could expand at high altitudes or in airplanes and cause your implant to rupture. If your surgeon is competent, he or she will always fill your implant correctly.
Too Much Cortisone in Your Implant
The injection of too much cortisone into your breast implant could cause permanent thinning and erosion of your breast tissue and skin. (In spite of this problem, many women feel that permanent softness is worth this risk.)
Stretch Marks
Occasionally, stretch marks can develop.
Breast Implants and Cancer
Breast implants have never been shown to cause any form of cancer in women. Implants do make mammography somewhat more difficult to interpret, however. This is particularly true with silicone gel-filled implants. If you are having a mammogram and have had breast implants, inform your mammogram technician about your implants so that your mammography exam can be modified to include the recommended additional views.
Costs Associated with Complications
You should be aware of all possible complications and what you can do to resolve them. While complications are infrequent occurrences, they do happen and should be considered when you are making your decision to have breast augmentation surgery. Whenever a complication requires additional office visits or surgery with your surgeon, they are almost always performed for no charge.
A Note on Silicone Gel-filled Implants
Modern silicone gel-filled breast implants have been in use for over 30 years. During that time, both silicone gel-filled and saline-filled implants have been available. There have been countless media reports and even some medical reports of patients with silicone gel-filled implants developing neurological illnesses or connective tissue disorders, implying that there might be a connection between these ailments and silicone gel-filled implants.
However, there is no known factual scientific data to support such a connection. Extensive studies have been done and there has, so far, been no evidence that the implants or silicone have any relationship to breast cancer or systemic illnesses. Indeed, several recent studies have established the safety of silicone gel-filled breast implants. Specifically, patients with silicone gel-filled breast implants have no higher incidence of autoimmune or connective-tissue diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, or lupus, than the general population. In fact, silicone gel-filled implants have been recently FDA-approved.
If you are considering breast augmentation (enhancement or enlargement) surgery in Manhattan, New York City (NYC), or greater New York, contact CosMedica. Our experienced Plastic Surgery Center in New York will give you a free consultation.
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