Breast Implant Folds after Breast Augmentation
Palpable folds beneath the breast skin are the most common complaint I hear among women who have had saline breast implant breast augmenatation.
Breast augmentation or breast enlargement with breast implants is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures. Results are usually excellent and patient satisfaction is very high.
Above: Before and after breast augmentation
Breast augmentation is also frequently done in combination with a breast lift for patients who have had sagging or breast ptosis after having children:
Above: Before and after breast lift and breast augmentation
Unfortunately a very high per cent age of Saline breast Implants do develop palpable, and occasionally visible folds after a number of years. The problem is intrinsic to the saline implant and is the most common complaint I receive. The breasts usually look excellent but patients just don’t like the feel of the saline implant especially if they feel the fold. Most commonly the fold occurs, as it has in you, at the bottom of the breast and towards the side.
Most plastic surgeons over fill the saline implants to avoid this problem but folds still do occur.
The new silicone gel breast implants are much less likely to cause folds and generally feel more natural than saline breast implants. Safety data for the new silicone gel breast implants for breast augmentation and breast enlargement is excellent and complication results are very similar for saline implants and the new generation of silicone gel implants.
Breast implant folds are felt to be more common with low profile breast implants. The low profile implants have a wider base and less projection and do have a greater tendency in my experience to cause folds.
Today I more frequently choose a moderate or medium profile implant which projects the breast more forward and has fewer tendencies to fold.
In patients who complain of folds in their saline breast implants my recommendation would be to replace the saline breast implant with a moderate profile silicone gel breast implant, possibly a bit larger to fill the space and compensate for any stretching of the skin from your previous breast implants.
My experience with the new silicone gel breast implants has been very positive. Patient satisfaction with the silicone gel breast implants has been very high and patients who have replaced their saline breast implants with the new silicone gel moderate profile breast implants have been very happy with the results.
The safety data are very similar for both the saline and new silicone gel breast implants. The one downside is that the FDA recommends follow up MRI scans to check the implant at 2 years. This is a safety feature but can be an inconvenience to you.
Typically the procedure to remove your old saline breast implants and replace them with new silicone gel breast implants is a very simple procedure with less discomfort and recovery than was experienced with the initial breast implantation or breast augmentation surgery.
Thank you for your excellent question.
If you would like to learn more about plastic surgery or breast implants please visit DrSeckel.com or contact me at 978-369-4499.
Be sure to sign up for my newsletter to learn about new developments in breast augmentation and plastic surgery.
Thank you,
978-369-4499