Replacement After Removal

Implant Replacement After Removal: Considerations

There are patients who previously had implants removed and later decided they wanted implants put back in. There are a variety of circumstances in which this can occur. Some patients may have thought they simply did not want implants any longer and had them removed, even though they had not a specific complaint. Some patients had a large weight gain, had their implants removed because their breasts became too large, and later lost weight and decided they wanted implants back. After recurrent capsular contracture, some patients will have removed their implants and at some point later on decide that they want to try again to see if implants will work for them. There are also patients who needed to have their implants removed because of infection who later decide to put implants back in.

When implants were removed in which there was no specific problem, the surgery is generally straightforward. But when there was infection, there is probably an increased chance of the implant getting hard after a reimplantation, because there is a relationship between infection and hardening around the implant. Patients who had their breast implants removed after severe and recurrent capsular contracture may still be at increased risk for recurrence of capsular contracture. It is impossible to give the percentages of likelihood these problems will occur, because the circumstances are too individualized to draw general conclusions.

Dr. Teitelbaum has consulted with many patients suffering in these situations. When patients see Dr. Teitelbaum for reimplantation, they should come with a clear picture of the reasons that the implants were removed and with a vision for how they would like to look.