A mother in her later 50’s who was treated for bilateral ruptured silicone breast implants and bilateral nipple hypertrophy. She had had breast augmentation in the late 80’s by a plastic surgeon who had since retired. Her breasts had been hard since her surgery. She was also bothered by “long nipples” that were overly prominent in clothing and for which she would wear silicone nipple shields to hide them. The nipples were also very sensitive in the shower and in her clo6hing. I recommended an MRI to assess her implants which had been in place for 23 years, and it showed that bilateral subglandular silicones implants with intracapsular ruptured. Her original operative report was obtained and showed that she had 175 cc silicone gel implants. She wished to be a little fuller but still wanted a very natural look. She is petite at 5’2” and 115 lbs and is active at the gym, so did not want to appear unnatural in workout gear.
Sizing was performed in the office and she elected for a very modest increase in size to 250 cc moderate plus smooth round implants. Although there are benefits of placing the implant below the muscle, she did not want to worry about an animation deformity and elected to keep her implants in the subglandular space. She and family members have a history of easy bleeding and bruising and although a hematology workup was non-specific, I recommended against textured implants in her case which, although they may decrease the risk of capsular contracture in a subglandular position can have a potential problem with late bleeding and hematoma which I felt she was at more of a risk for.
She is shown before and again, 3 years after bilateral removal of her ruptured implants and creation of a new pocket below her breast capsule but above the muscle. A “top hat flap” nipple reduction was performed at the same time to reduce the projection and diameter or her nipples. She remains quite pleased with her new size. Her breasts have remained soft. And she no longer has nipple irritation in clothing or the shower, and no longer is embarrassed by excessive nipple projection.
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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