Breast Implant Removal with Lift and Fat Transfer, Raleigh, NC*

Breast implant removal has become a more frequently requested procedure over the last 5 years. There are a number of reasons for this. Among them, fear of breast implant illness, concerns about implanted textured implants, breast implant deformities or rupture as well as weight gain and now overly large breasts. This 41-year-old woman had breast implants for 15 years and had developed a bottoming out situation that made them very uncomfortable. She also felt they were too large. She had a previous periareolar mastopexy by another surgeon at the time of her initial implants and did not like the widened appearance of the areola. She did not have information about her breast implants so that the size was not known, however she wanted to be smaller and lifted and have her implants removed. She wanted to maintain a reasonable size so some fat transfer was recommended. Dr. Lyle performed implant removal and simultaneous breast lift and conservative fat transfer placing approximately 150 cc of fat per breast. The patient healed up quite well and although some of the fat had dissipated, she was happy with her volume. Fat transfer to the breast is often performed during breast implant removal. The success rate is variable and generally some degree of resorption as expected. Overly aggressive fat transfer can result in mammographic abnormalities, oil cysts and fat necrosis so special care in the processing and delivering the fat is needed.