Breast implant removal

[Ollyraffiki]

I have 20 year old implants and one is now problematic for which I am under investigation. Inevitably they will need removal. My dilemma is whether of not to have them replaced. My sensible head tells me to not but I am very concerned as to how the resulting lack of breast and saggy skin will affect my mental health. I have lived with an eating disorder since my teens ( am now 64 ) and subsequently have a lot of issues around body image. My sensible head tells me not to have a replacement and potentially problems again in the future. Is there anyone else out there that has had this dilemma. Thanks.

Have you changed your username mid thread OP? Are you @banana47 now? I didn’t think that was possible now?

Thanks for your kind words.

Thanks. I hope your op goes well.

I have no idea how that has happened. Banana47 is a user name I used donkeys years ago. I’ve only just joined this site 🥴

I had this problem and without a doubt have new implants put back in. They are a lot different to what they were 20 odd years ago. My surgeon showed me photos of what breasts look like without implants and I know I could not have lived with how they would have looked.

I'm not sure that removal without replacement is necessarily the "sensible" option. It's just one option. Take the moralising out of the equation. How you feel about your body matters. You're only in your early 60s so if you prefer your figure with a fuller breast, implant replacement at the same time as your revision surgery would seem just as "sensible".
Not for OP but generally... I hope people are aware that nowadays you're not advised to routinely replace implants after a certain number of years, only if you have a problem. A friend is in her 80s and still very happy with her implants, which she's had for around 30 years I think.

That’s good to know @Cornucopia55 I have had my my implants for over 20 years and was concerned reading this thread that I should have them replaced as a matter of course.

I understand your dilemma, as I had a very similar situation. I had 460cc for 15 years, as I was so flat chested I wasn’t huge and most people didn’t know I had implants. When I started experiencing issues i made the choice to have removed and not replaced, I’d had other health issues and was worried the implants could be making me sick. Fast forward 5 years and I can honestly say I don’t regret my decision, yes it’s been an adjustment (and people have commented I’ve lost weight - probably not brave enough to ask where my boobs have gone?!) but im not unhappy with how I look. I also used to have disordered eating and felt the need to be super skinny to match my small chest, but I’m gradually gettIng more comfortable in my own skin. Speak to your surgeon about having a mini lift so you aren’t left with saggy skin, my surgeon reassured me that I’d be small but they’d look nice - I had loose skin removed and been left with hardly any scarring. If your surgeon says replacement is the only option and you’re not sure that’s what you want then get another opinion. Mr David Floyd did my surgery and you can see examples of his work online. All the best x

My surgeon said not to leave mine 25 years again and to have them checked as and when if needs be and around the 15 year mark. My pockets were very thick, misshaped with calcified capsules and the implants were found to have virtually disintegrated. They are being sent away to be tested.
I knew the old ones were not perfect but over time you forget what they were once like. It also feels that there were 10 years old and next thing, here I am 25 years later!

What issues did you have @User2606? Mine still look good and so far no issues, they don’t look or feel any different, no hardness or anything.

@Theresabatinmykitchen it was going for my latest mammogram that prompted me to go for a consultation, the nurse said they were firm as she was doing the procedure.
I know they had drooped due to age and they were firmer but I can’t remember what they felt like many years ago, I had aged with them. He also mentioned that I had a waterfall deformity where my natural breast tissue droops over the implant.
I could have an uplift in the future as he would not do both at the same time due to risks and complications. I am happy as I am now, I look like me when dressed and don’t need to be turning back the clock with a young looking body. Well it would be more than breasts that would need work!

I work in plastic surgery and explant is an increasingly popular surgery. Like a previous poster said many people fell for the fashion trend at the time.

Rarely do we replace with another implant (maybe 20% of the time)

most patients want them removed and then an ‘auto augmentation lift’ - basically reshaping the breast tissue to a fuller more projected position and removing any loose skin.

I'd get mine replaced if I had to have them removed.

Thanks that’s very generous of you 🤣

Thanks.

Many thanks for this advise.

Thanks.

I'm not sure that's correct. What the surgeon is likely to have said is that nowadays implants are much improved over how they were 25 years ago and so it is not necessarily the case that a new implant would need removing after 20 years. That doesn't mean that old ones should not be removed/replaced.

Mine are 25 years old and mammogram showed they are in bits. I've breast fed two babies but haven't otherwise been particularly rough with them. I was told that there will be literally thousands of women walking around with ruptured implants and most don't know and might not ever know unless/until they have a mammogram. Rupture isn't even necessarily a problem in itself always however the silicon can migrate and block the lymph nodes.

Thanks for your input. I’ve today had results from my ultrasound and mammogram. One implant shows early signs of rupture and there is evidence of silicone in my lymph nodes . The the other has capsular contracture. I’m now awaiting an MRI. I know they will both need removing. The dilemma remains !

It sounds like removal and a breast lift is likely to be the best option. I was quoted about £12k for this option (Midlands)

I had the pip implants and had to have them removed. I could have had them replaced free of charge but opted to pay for un uplift and full removal. I'm so happy that I did. It's a weight off my mind knowing I'll never have to go through having them removed again.

And yet an uplift and reshaping of breast tissue is a more complicated surgery with longer recovery than a simple augmentation.

I considered heavily whether to have a lift when I had my explant but I decided to just have the explant, wait for a year and see how things were and then decide on the lift.
I'm so glad I did. I love my new boobs and they didn't need a lift.

When I researched explant I went on Realself a lot and saw some horrific results of poor women who looked like they'd been mutilated (and their Dr's were struck off) but those were women in the States where cosmetic surgery isn't regulated. It terrified me at the time. I also saw before and afters of some amazing results.

I had BII and the general consensus was to get them out and let your body detox and heal before deciding. I did stay in tight post surgical bras for pretty much the first year and to be honest I think it helped towards a good result. They will change a lot in the first couple of years.

Implants are endocrine disruptors and can cause a myriad of health issues that you wouldn't realise are connected to the implants. I didn't join up the dots until the year before explant. I still have a bit of trouble with some lymph nodes which flare up if I'm under the weather.

Have you decided what to do? Same boat.

I’m waiting on the MRI result.