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How to deal with 16 year old leaking silicon implants?
I’m looking for others’ experience with aging silicon breast implants. I’m 69 and had a unilateral mastectomy with silicon implant 16 years ago after stage 2 infiltrating lobular tumor. The surgeon put in a small cosmetic implant on the healthy breast to give it a more matching rounder appearance. All went well. I’ve had periodic MRIs to check on them. A small leak in the small cosmetic implant was detected a few years ago. My surgeon told me it wasn’t a health risk. Over time the natural breast has slowly dropped while the reconstructed breast has stayed in place. The imbalance is addressed with a bra with a fill-in prosthetic pad under the reconstructed breast. Medicare covers that.
All that said, what do others with silicon implants do when time has passed, breast cancer is in the rearview mirror, and we know implants don’t last a life time. Replace? Remove? Re-work the entire reconstruction to even out the breasts? The surgeon just says it’s up to me, I don’t want to wait too long and be too frail later to have this elective surgery. I’d love to hear thoughts and experiences from others.
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I had breast implant back in 1978, it was due to loosing all the fat tissue in my breasts after two births, I had silicone the first time and I developed an terrible infection and a year later they removed them and were replaced by saline implants, the surgeon said that there’s less chance of the same reaction with them. Several years later it became apparent that my right breast was deformed, due to all the scar tissue inside, this made it impossible for the implant to sit properly. I can definitely hide the differences by wearing a bra because I don’t want to go through more surgery unless it’s necessary, I sometimes want to have them removed but it’s unsightly to see what’s left and also I’ve had two surgeries for cancer so I’m loathe to go to the operating room for ascetic reasons. I’m a senior now and happy to be alive and the rest of my body is aged to match my deformed breasts so it’ll do for now. In your case it’s truly a personal decision that only you can make, many ladies don’t want implants after breast cancer surgery for very viable reasons but at the end of the day it really comes down to what would make you feel better about yourself, best wishes.
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1 Reactionjdwelch2025:
My answer is short, sweet but works for me: Bilateral mastectomy in May 2025. No reconstructive surgery. I am 70 years young. I felt there were too many "potential" complications in placing implants. I have several other serious health issues. I did not want to take any chances, when I didn't HAVE to have the implants. Husband supportive as well as friends. Who wants to undergo more breast procedures under general anesthesia when one doesn't have to? That was my decision and I don't regret one iota!! I decided flat is fine with me. And I am so glad I went the way I did. Of course, it's a personal decision.
But I have not looked back and never will. It was enough to handle with the bilateral mastectomy.
Best wishes to you in your decision!
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3 ReactionsThank you for your endorsement of bilateral mastectomies. My sister chose that and never looked back. I am so supportive of that (and all other choices!).
The reconstruction was right for me but now after 16 years I’m in a bit of a no man’s land (is that a pun?). There is a lot of information for making a choice in the moment (although the whirlwind of what to do immediately after the diagnosis doesn’t allow meaningful research time), but little to none about what happens 20 years later when the implants are aging and the idea of elective surgery is unwelcome when the implants may need to be replaced.
I guess I’m trying to find out what happens if you do nothing and leave the implants in place for life. Do they really need replacing? Is preemptive replacement a good idea when younger? This is not any sort of emergency but I’m curious about what other reconstruction survivors have done.
Thanks!
I had silicone implants in 2004 following a bilateral mastectomy. In 2017, while traveling in CA, I suddenly became critically ill with sepsis due to a leaking implant. It had it be immediately removed, and due to radiation damage to the skin replacing it was not an option. Now I am asking for regular annual scans of the other implant to check for leaks. I'm not excited about preemptive replacement at my age, so if the second one needs to just go, so be it!
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4 ReactionsI had a single mastectomy in 2015 with an implant one year later. My surgeon told me to always wear a bra (even at night!) to prevent it from folding or slipping. Everything is good so far, knock on wood. Wondering if any of you have received the same advice?
I had saline implant 22 years ago and never given that advice. I am a big fan of chatGPT.
After my 2009 silicone implant surgery, my surgeon said to wear a surgical bra continuously for some period of time after the surgery but I don't remember for how long but it was limited. I was told to massage the breast every day for several months to help prevent too much scar tissue from forming. After a year there aren’t really any restrictions if there are no problems. I like wearing a compression sports bra but am finding it a challenge to find them anymore in a style I like.
Here are a few related discussions:
- Surgery to Remove Silicone Gel Inplants: What was your experience? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/silicone-gel-inplants-and-removal/
- Options for Explanting: What did you choose to do? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/options-for-explanting/