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Risks
By Mayo Clinic staffBe aware of the risks associated with breast augmentation surgery:
- Repeat surgery. You may need more surgery down the road, either to replace the implants or to remove them altogether. In clinical trials studying the safety and effectiveness of saline-filled breast implants, as many as one in four women required a second operation within five years of the initial surgery.
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Rupture. Implants can rupture, causing fluid to leak into your breast and surrounding tissue. This can happen as a result of a blunt-force injury — if you're thrown against the steering wheel in a car accident, for example — or from tiny cracks in the implant shell that can occur over time.
If you have a saline-filled implant, a rupture will cause your implant to lose its original size or shape. If you have a silicone gel-filled implant, a rupture may not be as obvious. Your surgeon may use imaging tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging, to check for signs of rupture or other implant problems.
- Deflation. A rupture or a slow leak can cause an implant to collapse, deflating the size of your breast. This may result in breasts that are noticeably different in size or in a change to the cosmetic appearance of your breast, such as sagging or wrinkling.
- Capsular contracture. Fibrous scar tissue forms a capsule around your breast implant. The scar tissue may build up over time and constrict your implant — a painful and potentially disfiguring condition. Surgery is usually necessary to correct capsular contracture.
- Infection. One potential complication of breast augmentation surgery is infection. Medications may help, but antibiotics aren't always successful in treating infections of this type. Removing your breast implants may be necessary if you develop a severe infection. You may have to wait six months to a year after implant removal before you can get new implants placed.
- Hematoma. Blood and other fluids can pool around the implant, causing pain, infection or other problems. If you develop a hematoma, you might need to go back into the operating room so that your doctor can find the cause of the bleeding.
- Pain. You could experience significant pain after surgery — more than what's considered normal — which indicates a bigger problem, such as implant rupture or capsular contracture. To remedy the problem, you may need surgery to remove or replace the breast implants.
- Dissatisfaction with the results. You might experience changes in the sensation of your breasts and nipples, or you might be able to feel the implant beneath the surface of your breast tissue.
- Top five surgical cosmetic procedures in 2007. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/media/statistics/index.cfm. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- Breast augmentation. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/patients_consumers/procedures/AugmentationMammoplasty.cfm. Accessed Dec.2, 2008.
- Breast augmentation. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.surgery.org/public/procedures/breast_augmentation. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- FDA breast implant consumer handbook - 2004. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/indexbip.html. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- Breast implant questions and answers (2006). U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/qa2006.html. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- Breast augmentation: Your surgical experience. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.surgery.org/public/procedure/breast_augmentation/3. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
- Breast augmentation: What should I expect during the recovery process? The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.surgery.org/public/procedure/breast_augmentation/6. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
