Cosmetic Surgery Blog

Many women wonder just how long their breast implants will last. Although the general consensus is that implants are said to last approximately 7 to 12 years on average, there is no set expiration to expect. I have met women who have had implants for over 20 years, and still others who had deflations within 6 months. I have a friend who had to replace her breast implants a few months after her surgery because of a faulty valve, not because of an issue with the shell. Anything is possible.

The manufacturer has a predetermined fill ratio for each implant. Many surgeons choose to optimally fill (not the same as overfilling per se, but in truth the implants are “overfilled” past the manufacturer’s recommendations) to enhance the life expectancy of an implant. Optimally filling an implant is believed to keep the chest compressions and normal wear and tear down to a minimum. Ask if your doctor fills optimally above the manufacturer’s recommended volume.

Some of you may wonder if it is worth it to replace what you have if a newer, improved version comes along. While I don’t recommend replacing a perfectly good breast implant with a newer version simply based upon the belief it may be better. If you have other issues, say you need a breast lift, you have contour irregularities, you want to go up/down a size, etc. Then by all means, do it. I replaced by moderate profile rounds with high profiles, but not simply to get the high profiles. I wanted a lift, I wanted smaller implants and I wanted them filled optimally.

I had a breast implant removal procedure in April after much thought. After numerous breast lift failures, I wanted a breast reduction and lift that worked. In order to do this I had to remove breast implants, get the lift, heal from the breast lift and then re-implant months later. I just made my consultation for re-implantation! YAY ME!!

But I digress…I always say hope for the best, plan for the worst. Assume you will, at one point in your implanted life, need a re-operation of some sort. Whether it is a deflation, a size change, or a complication—plan for it. If you have your surgery and don’t plan for one mentally and financially, you could be in for quite a shock.