Surgery to Remove Silicone Gel Inplants: What was your experience?

I think @huey @gina1963 @conniep79 @cindy1ann @buttrd @cvsnow may have experiences to share with you about breast implants and surgery to remove them.

@hello1234, just to clarify, were you implants related to reconstruction related to breast cancer?

Hi @colleenyoung 😊 Thanks so much for bringing everyone into the conversation. I really appreciate it! Yes, 6 year silicone gel implants for reconstruction....now rupture and possible removal? Not sure what's easier on the body. Replacement or Removal. I would prefer to remove but that sounds like more extensive surgery. I am curious what other ladies did in this situation. Thank you again Colleen!

Yes. My implants are from reconstruction after breast cancer. 4.5 years and I love them. No problems yet!

I had one implant placed after right side mastectomy. It has been in place since early in 2017. No problems yet. However I am concerned about the chance of developing problems(lymphoma) as the implant ages. I get an annual exam. I do not want the imaging test that uses gadolinium as it can cause its own issues with the brain. I am in a holding pattern. If it is replaced how am I to be sure the next one will not have issues down the line? There are worse things than being flat chested.

Hi @cindy1ann Thank you for sharing your feelings about your implant. I agree with you! My original implants were replaced in 2016 and now the same side is ruptured again. I am thinking of removing them and not replacing them this time, but I heard the removal of the implant and capsule is very involved (including drains, recovery time, etc) I am really not looking forward to a surgery like that. I was hoping someone had the implant removal surgery and could tell me about their experience. (I am hoping it's not as bad as I am imagining). Do you know anyone who had their implant removed or have you heard about what's involved?
Thank you again for jumping in to help me!

Let me share what I have recently learned about breast implant problems. I’m only referring to implants secondary to mastectomy after breast cancer.
I had a mastectomy for breast cancer 30 years ago. I had a saline implant placed at that time. There were not any initial problems with it, but after a few years it became very hard- capsule forming. 18 years ago I had it replaced with a silicone implant. I have been concerned about the silicone causing the autoimmune illness I have dealt with. However, it had not ruptured or leaked.
During the past year I have noticed that it has been displaced upwards! Not far from my collarbone. I have consulted with a plastic surgeon. It does not seem to be leaking, just a capsule forming and pushing it up- causing no danger now. However, it’s uncomfortable. My first instinct is to remove it. I don’t want it in my body. The problem is that I still have one breast- will look weird.
Apparently, there is a new method of placement. Instead of traditionally placing it under the muscle, it will be placed under the skin- basically not inside your body.
I would pick a saline one. If they leak, the body absorbs it.
The recovery is 6 weeks not lifting anything heavier than 5 lbs. There are also drains initially.
I’m going to go through with it, but not just now. I can’t avoid lifting things for 6 weeks.
This procedure seems “safer” to me.

I had a skin sparing mastectomy strait to implants in May. By October I’d developed and infection and they had to be removed. Wasn’t painful at all. Good luck!

Thank you @astaingegerdm, @cindy1ann @huey and @beltonite410 for sharing your implant story with me. It is very helpful emotionally to know that others that are having similar complications and feeling okay about the possible surgical solutions. At this point, any surgical procedure is upsetting to me. Each surgery has risks, pain and recovery times with very limited lifting requirements. As much as I am not looking forward to the implant removal surgery, I will proceed with the hope that all will be well. Thank you for being there ladies!!

Thank you all for your input. I am also looking into having my silicone implants removed. I had them placed post mastectomy in 2013 with lat flap reconstruction. I consulted with one surgeon in April and will have another consult in May. I am dreading the drains and another surgery too but tired of the way I feel. I am not sure if scar tissue has developed or what is going on. They look very pretty but I often feel a very tight band around my chest, tenderness where the scars are and they are very cold against my chest wall. The first surgeon said they can be removed and scar tissue addressed and I will still most likely be a B-cup but he could not guarantee what it would look like. He said we would go one step at a time.

I had breast implants put in place over 30 years ago. Mine were for ego. Hopefully, my experience that I can share will help someone who has the same questions about implants, removal, recovery.

Last year when I had the bilateral lumpectomies, I chose to have the implants removed. They had been leaking, they had ruptured, and they were hard as a rock. The plastic surgeon that worked with the general surgeon who did the bilateral lumpectomy’s (one OR experience) has done a really good job of putting my breasts back together, moving my nipples and removing the excess skin from the stretched breast.

Yes I did have drains for a period of time. They were more an inconvenience than a pain or problem. Yes, there was a limit on weights I could lift. However, being a planner, I had figured out how to run my household with the weight lifting limits. That turned out to be a non-problem for me.

I’ve been using silicone gel on the incisions and that has helped reduce the scarring. I went from a D+ cup to perhaps a B/C cup now. I like the way my smaller breasts look - perky. My healing has, thankfully, come along very nicely. Overall, I am really glad that I had to the implants removed and the reconstruction surgery done.