Breast Implant Removal

What implant removal involves

Breast implants are not permanent. The FDA is explicit about it: implants are not lifetime devices, and the longer you have them, the more likely it becomes that you will have them removed or replaced.

Some women come in because something has changed with the implants themselves. Others come in because what they wanted at thirty is not what they want now. Either way, removal is its own operation with its own decisions, not an augmentation run backwards.

Removal suits healthy women who want their implants out, whether the reason is something found on a scan or simply a change of mind.

Most removals go through an incision you already have, usually the fold beneath the breast or the edge of the areola, so the operation rarely adds a new scar. What happens to the capsule is the decision that matters most. Removing the entire capsule is a bigger operation than removing the implant alone: more dissection, more time, and more risk. Capsular malignancy is the one absolute reason to do it. Capsular contracture, a ruptured gel implant, and removal of textured implants are relative ones. For systemic symptoms in the absence of any of those, the plastic surgery societies state there is currently no good peer-reviewed evidence that removing the capsule is required for symptoms to improve.

A lift is often done at the same time, because when implants come out the skin that stretched to hold them stays stretched. Be prepared for a real change in shape. The FDA notes that women who have implants removed without replacement may see dimpling, hollowing of the chest wall, puckering, wrinkling, and loss of breast tissue. A lift addresses some of that. It does not undo all of it. Small drains are sometimes placed to clear fluid in the first days, and you will be in a support garment while swelling settles.

Bring your implant records if you have them: the type, the size, and the year they went in. If you have had recent imaging, bring that too. If you are coming in because you feel unwell, say so directly, and bring what your other doctors have found. It changes the conversation for the better.

The typical patient meets with Dr. Hosn three times before proceeding with any major procedure. That matters especially for breast surgery, where those conversations define your expectations for size, shape, and scarring well before any commitment is made.