Breast implant revision with Dr. Claire Duggal
Breast Implant Revision & Removal
When you had your original breast augmentation, it probably wasn’t part of your plans to have another procedure. But lifestyle changes, evolving aesthetic ideals, and, more rarely, medical issues, lead some women to seek revision or removal.
At a glance
Surgeon
Dr. Claire Duggal
Procedure time
2–3 hours
Anesthesia
General, or local for some removals
Setting
West Annapolis Surgery Center
No driving
First 10 days
Office work
Within a week
Strenuous activity
After 2–3 weeks
Final results
About a year
What is breast implant revision or removal?
Breast implant revision is a procedure to replace or reposition breast implants. You might want to change the size of your implants or switch to a different shape or material. Dr. Duggal might also make adjustments to the pocket where the implant sits to improve its position — over time implants can fall to the side, and patients elect to have them adjusted for more cleavage and better shape.
Breast implant removal allows the breasts to go back to their natural size. For patients with saline implants, the implant can be deflated in the office to see what you would look like without implants. It can then be removed or exchanged for another implant at a later date.
In some cases, Dr. Duggal may also need to remove the thin layer of tissue surrounding the implant, known as a capsule. Capsule formation is a normal reaction by the body to a foreign object — it occurs with pacemakers and hip replacements too, usually with no ill effect. Tissue removal may be necessary when the capsule thickens in a response known as capsular contracture.
Personal reasons patients choose it
A desire to have a more slender figure
A change to a more active lifestyle
Discomfort from the size of the augmented breasts
Medical reasons
Thickening and hardening of the tissue around the implant, as happens with capsular contracture
Leaked material from a silicone gel implant
Pain from the implants
Infection in the tissue around an implant
Concern about the accuracy of cancer detection in mammography imaging
Evidence of ALCL, a treatable form of lymphoma linked in rare cases with certain textured implants
Concern that implants are affecting overall health, from a process known as Breast Implant Illness
Related procedures
Five approaches
How Dr. Duggal performs the procedure.
The approach depends on the reason for the revision or removal and the outcome you want.
The day of your procedure
Your surgery will take place in our West Annapolis Surgery Center. Dr. Duggal typically makes the incisions along the same lines as those from the original procedure for discreet healing.
In simple revision surgery, she removes the old implants and places new ones in the same procedure, or repositions the existing implants. If a breast lift is part of a combined procedure, she removes a thin strip of extra skin and raises and reshapes the breast, and may reduce areola size to harmonize with your new breast size.
The surgery usually takes between two and three hours. You may have temporary drains placed to minimize swelling. You will be able to go home, with someone to drive you, once you have recovered from the anesthesia. If your implants are removed under local anesthesia, you will be able to drive yourself home.
Recovery, and how you will look
Recovery is similar to breast augmentation, with a bit more time needed after en bloc removal. You will need a few days of rest with minimal activity. We advise you not to drive for the first 10 days, and to avoid strenuous activity for two to three weeks. Most patients return to office-type work within a week, wearing a surgical support bra for the first few weeks.
You will experience some swelling in the days and weeks after surgery, after which your breasts will gradually assume their new size and shape. Final results are visible after about a year.
If implants are removed and not replaced, breasts may appear deflated at first, with hollowed areas where the implants were. The shape changes and improves over a few weeks to months. Autologous fat grafting can add volume without implants, and a breast lift can restore a younger, natural look if skin has stretched.
Questions patients ask.
Talk it through with Dr. Duggal.
She will help you understand how your breasts will change with revision or removal, and whether a breast lift should be part of, or a follow-up to, the procedure.