A 19-year follow-up on a patient with saline breast implants. Our patient is an RN in her early 60s who had saline breast augmentation with us 19 years ago. She has done great, is still pleased with her result and size, and wants to know when she needs to have her implants replaced. She has heard and seen various statements on the internet and I thought discussing her case would help other patients who are wondering. Our only old photos were polaroids which had been scanned into her electronic medical record so I apologize about the quality of the “before” photos, but they will serve the purpose.
Her breasts remain soft bilaterally ( Bakers class I). Her records were reviewed and she has Mentor smooth round saline moderate profile implants 300-325 cc filled to 325 cc. They were placed in a partial subpectoral ( under the muscle) position through an inframammary incision (at the breastfold)
Because she has saline implants she needs to do nothing until she develops a spontaneous deflation – with saline implants this will be obvious because the breast will decrease in size.
If she had silicone gel implants, the current FDA recommendation in asymptomatic patients is to start screening with ultrasound starting 5-6 years after initial surgery and then repeat every 2-3 years.
An implant that has not failed does not need to be replaced until it does as long as it is serving its purpose.
Our patient case also illustrates the benefit of careful sizing of implants to match the breast diameter and therefore decrease the risk of excessive stretching of the breast tissue. Nearly 20 years after her surgery, she continues to do well and remains pleased with her breast augmentation.
Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Specialist
"I treat my patients like I would treat
- Jonathan D. Hall, MD, FACSmembers of my own family."
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