The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons issued a guidance advising an estimated 50,000 British women to seek corrective surgery if their French-made Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP) breast implants are found to have ruptured. The guidance was issued after an inquiry by the French Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons revealed that PIP implants lack a protective barrier that makes them more prone to rupture, a potential health risk since the implants were filled with an unapproved silicone gel that had not undergone safety tests.
Although ruptures are uncommon in the safe, FDA-approved breast implants used in the U.S., breast augmentation patients should be aware of the options that exist to correct ruptured breast implants and know how to detect a rupture in their breast implants if implant malfunction or trauma occurs.
Options for corrective surgery include:
- Breast augmentation revision, or implant exchange
- Breast explant surgery, or implant removal
- Breast lift with breast implant exchange or removal
Many women who experience a rupture in one or both breast implants choose to undergo breast augmentation revision, or implant exchange, while others choose to simply undergo breast explant surgery, or implant removal, and do not have their implants replaced.
A breast lift, or mastopexy, is typically recommended when implants are removed and not replaced in order to remove any stretched, excess skin left by the breast implants. A breast lift may also be recommended in combination with breast augmentation revision, or implant exchange, if breasts have begun to sag since the initial breast augmentation surgery.
In order to detect a rupture in silicone breast implants, an MRI must be performed. However, it is obvious when saline breast implants have ruptured, as the implants deflate and experience noticeable volume loss.
If you discover your breast implants have ruptured, remain calm, as there is no immediate health risk. Consult a board-certified plastic surgeon with significant breast revision surgery experience to help you decide whether breast augmentation revision or breast implant removal, with or without a breast lift, is the best option for you.
