What to Expect After Breast Implant Removal without Replacement, Raleigh NC*

Breast implant removal has become a more popular procedure. There are a variety of reasons that women choose to do this among them, implant related problems , weight gain , sagging; concerns about breast implant illness and chronic physical discomfort. When patients consider this procedure without implant replacement, they wish to know what they will look like after explantation. An experienced plastic surgeon can offer predictions; however, no guarantees of the breast's post operative appearance can be given. The factors that go into this assessment are breast implant size, location of breast implant (under muscle, over muscle), presence of capsular contracture, the need for extensive capsulectomy and degree of ptosis. It is often very difficult to predict a postoperative cup size even when the breast implant size is known ahead of time but generally cup size will decrease 1- 3 sizes. For patient's desiring similar volume after explantation, fat transfer can be considered but rarely results in the same cup size postoperatively. In many cases, if the position of the nipple is low, breast implant removal will make it even lower and more ptotic. In these cases, breast lifting is usually recommended. This 32-year-old woman had concerns about breast implant illness and desired explantation. She had 485 cc breast implants but had fairly good residual volume so she was relatively pleased with her smaller breasts.