Breast Revision Surgery

What Is a Breast Implant Revision Surgery?

Breast revision is a plastic surgical procedure to correct complications from a previous breast augmentation procedure. One of the reasons for getting breast enhancement surgery is to improve your appearance so you feel good about yourself. But the feeling of the breast implants may not meet your expectations, or the problems inherent with larger breasts — back and shoulder pain, for instance — may become more problematic than you expected.

Whatever the reason, despite your high expectations, the results of your breast augmentation have been unsatisfactory. In such a case, you can opt for additional surgery to remove the implants, replace them or choose a different size or shape. The goal of breast revision surgery is to help you attain the desired shape, size, projection and symmetry for your bust.

Undergoing breast augmentation is a big decision for any woman. If you’re dissatisfied by your results, search for the best breast revision surgeons in New York City or New Jersey, and you find the board certified breast surgeons at Rowe Plastic Surgery. Rowe Plastic Surgery on the Upper East Side. These experienced plastic surgeons have the skills to help you regain control of your life and your figure through innovative breast procedures.

Who Needs a Breast Revision?

There are many reasons to want a breast augmentation revision. The breast augmentation process is still heavily dependent on the expertise of your surgeon, and breast surgery complications do sometimes occur. If you’ve decided to pursue a breast implant revision procedure, you want better results. Reasons you may need a breast revision include:

• An implant has deflated. The implants develop capsular contracture, meaning they’ve become hard to the touch.
• You’re experiencing pain caused by the capsular contracture.
• There’s a leak in your implant.
• You develop symmastia, usually a congenital issue, which has caused the breast implant pockets merge on your chest.
• You’re a candidate for a breast lift, and you want your implants removed or changed.
• The results weren’t satisfactory because you didn’t like your new look or the way the implants feel.
• The breast size isn’t what you wanted, so you’re interested in downsizing your implants.
• You want to correct rippling or folding that appeared.
• You’re experiencing breast droopiness, called ptosis.
• The surgical scar tissue tightened around your breast area, causing discomfort.
• The implants have shifted from their position, creating a lopsided appearance.
• You want to replace your saline implants with silicone ones, or vice versa.
• There’s been a change in your breast tissue because of a weight gain or loss.
• Your breasts suffered trauma from an accident.
• You just want your implants removed.

Every woman reacts to breast implants in her own way. Breast augmentation should boost the quality of your life. If it hasn’t, consider breast augmentation revision at Rowe Plastic Surgery in New Jersey and New York City. Talk to a cosmetic surgeon about your goals and expectations for a revision. Be clear about what made you dissatisfied. Your doctor can correct the unsatisfactory results by removing or replacing your breast implants, while clearly explaining what to expect during and after your breast revision surgery.

Is It Time to Redo My Breast Implants?

Silicone and saline implants can last anywhere from 10 to 20 years. After a successful breast implant surgery, most women want to enjoy the results for the rest of their lives. But some situations necessitate a breast implant revision. If you’ve had your breasts for a number of years, you may want to redo them to renew your look or simply replace the aging implants. If you’re thinking it may be time to redo your implants, some factors to help you make the best decision include:

• Redoing your implants if you’re not comfortable about how your breasts have changed since you first got the implants
• Renewing the implants you’ve had for a long time because they no longer fit the look you want
• Replacing implants that have shown signs of decay or are reaching the end of their useful life
• Removing your implants because your doctor suggests it for medical reasons

Breast implants don’t have a fixed lifespan. As you age, many things change in your life. You may decide your implants are no longer necessary. You may want to go for smaller or larger implants to suit your lifestyle. Whatever your reason, the breast surgeons at Rowe Plastic Surgery listen to your goals before they advise you.

What Are the Benefits of Breast Augmentation Revision?

If you’ve had breast augmentation, but you’re not satisfied with the results, you have a chance to do it over. But it does require another surgical procedure. Breast revision surgery shouldn’t be a fast decision, but consider the benefits it can deliver, including:

• Revision surgery improves your self-image and self-confidence.
• The procedure, as performed by a board certified plastic surgeon, restores the desired youthful look to your breasts.
• The surgery improves the quality of your life and removes your hesitancy toward intimacy.
• Having smaller breasts lets you enjoy a more active lifestyle.
• The procedure allows you to go back to wearing the clothes you love.

After you originally got your breast implants, you expected amazing results. If you didn’t achieve those results, for whatever reason, don’t feel like you have to compromise. It’s not an either-or scenario. Don’t live with breasts you don’t love. After your surgeon listens to your expectations and examines your breasts, he develops a tailored plan to deliver the results you really want.

Are There Different Types of Breast Implant Revision?

If you’ve decided to undergo a breast revision, you may as well go for breasts that are perfect for you. You now have some experience with breast implants, so you know better what you like and dislike about them. When you consult with an experienced breast surgeon, be clear about exactly what you want.
The cosmetic breast surgeon first determines whether you’re a good candidate for breast implant revision surgery. After an examination, you and your doctor discuss possible procedures and combinations of procedures to give you what you want. Some of the most common breast revision options include:

• A breast revision together with a breast lift or breast reduction
• Breast revision surgery to reshape your breast implant pocket
• Revision surgery to reposition the breast implants on your chest, either over or under your chest muscle
• A breast revision to increase or decrease the size, shape, or style of implants
• Breast revision surgery to reposition your nipples and areolas higher on your breasts
• Surgery to create a breast in patients who have never had any reconstruction (also known as delayed reconstruction)
• A breast revision to switch from implants to your body’s own tissue, like a DIEP flap
• A breast revision in combination with a tummy tuck

Breast revision surgeons offer custom procedures based on your conversation and an examination. The procedure chosen to correct your breast implants also depends on what you want to achieve. A top NJ and NYC breast surgeon carries out these procedures at a state-of-the-art facility for enhanced safety and best results.

What Does the Breast Revision Procedure Involve?

Breast revision is an outpatient surgery, for which you must go under general anesthesia. You sleep through the procedure and wake up to a new figure. Unlike most breast surgeries, breast revision surgery varies from one woman to another. Your doctor tailors the surgery plan to satisfy your goals and desires. The common steps of the procedure include:

• Consultation. After you schedule a consultation with your breast surgeon, you discuss your initial surgery, any breast implant complications and the expectations from your breast revision.
• Medical examination. Your doctor requests for your medical history and may order breast diagnostic tests. The tests provide important details on factors that affect your breast surgery.
• Preparation. Depending on your health, your doctor asks you to stop taking certain medications or doing certain exercises. You also have to stop smoking and take off time from work to recover.
• Sedation. On the day of the surgery, an anesthesiologist puts you under general anesthesia. The medication makes the surgery painless, as you sleep through it. Because of the anesthesia, though, you have to bring along someone to drive you home when you’re released after the surgery.
• Incisions. The surgical procedure varies, depending on the procedure you decided on. Your breast revision surgeon may use the same incisions used in your original surgery. Common incision areas during breast augmentation revision include around the areola, below the breast, or vertically below the areola, especially with a breast revision combined with a breast lift. See breast lift before and after results.
• Implant correction. After the incision, the next step depends on what the surgeon wants to achieve. In the case of implant replacement, your surgeon uses the incision to remove the original implants and insert the new ones with the desired size and shape.
• Dressing. After the surgery, your doctor sutures the incisions to minimize scarring and dresses your breasts with bandages. Like after your original augmentation, you have to wear a surgical bra during your healing process.
• Monitoring. Your doctor and anesthesiologist monitor you for some time before releasing you to go home. You’ll leave with recovery instructions from your surgeon. Follow them to minimize your risks and increase your chances of a more desirable outcome.

The breast implant revision can change your life positively by helping you get the results you wanted from your initial surgery. The breast surgeons at Rowe Plastic Surgery are available after your breast revision surgery to answer any questions you have about the procedure or recovery. Visit one of the offices in Manhattan, Plainview or Water Mill, NY or in Red Bank or Montclair, NJ.

How Long Does It Take to Recover from Breast Implant Replacement?

Recovery after breast revision surgery depends on the complexity of your procedure and other factors. For instance, some forms of breast implant correction require more time to heal due to the types of incisions involved. If your breast revision also included a breast lift, you also need more time to recover. Important factors to remember during your breast revision recovery include:

• As the anesthesia subsides, expect some discomfort, numbness or tingling.
• You notice some immediate change in shape and size of your breasts.
• Expect visible bruising on your breasts, which normally subsides within two weeks.
• The pain and swelling in your breasts resolve within three weeks.
• Get out of bed and walk around every day during your recovery period to keep your blood flowing, which quickens your healing.
• Avoid vigorous activities for three full weeks. Give your body time to heal.
• You may see visible scarring at the incision points. The scars fade and soften for up to one year, as long as you continue to take care of the scar tissue.
• You realize the final results of the surgery, in terms of the new size and shape of your breasts, in several months.
• In case of adverse reactions, excessive pain or implant leaks, consult your doctor immediately.

The best breast revision surgeons in NJ and NYC always provide detailed post-surgery care instructions. The quality of care you give to your breasts goes a long way to how well they heal. Your plastic surgeon follows up with a post-breast revision examination to check your recovery progress.

How Much Is Breast Revision Surgery?

The cost of breast revision surgery differs from one patient to the other because of the uniqueness of every procedure. A breast implant revision often costs more than your original breast augmentation procedure. The average cost ranges from $1,000 to $4,000 for the procedure only. Other factors that add to the cost include:

• Your anesthesiologist’s fees
• The medical facility fees
• The experience of the surgeon, which is worth paying to get the best
• The extent of the revision surgery
• Whether you combined the revision with a breast lift or breast reduction
• Your geographical location

Your health insurance covers the revision procedure if it’s related to any pain, including capsular contracture. Your insurance may also cover the costs if you ended up with uneven breasts, ruptured breast implants or breast deformities after surgery. Other cases of breast revision covered by insurance include poor scarring and problems with the wound healing. The team at Rowe Plastic Surgery provides guidance on the paperwork required to get insurance coverage.

Dissatisfied with the results of your breast enhancement? Schedule an appointment with an experienced NYC plastic surgeon Dr. Rowe to achieve maximum results with minimal risks. Our skilled team at Rowe Plastic Surgery is dedicated to providing the best breast augmentation revision outcome and helping you become the best version of yourself.

Schedule My Consultation

Dr. Rowe performs breast implant revision at his private plastic surgery office to correct or adjust the results of previous breast augmentation. Breast revision performed by an ABPS board-certified plastic surgeon is a sure way to achieve fuller, more proportional breasts and feel more youthful and sensual. Contact Rowe Plastic Surgery in NYC to learn more about the breast revision surgery techniques we use and discover firsthand why so many patients consider us the best plastic surgeons specializing in correcting previous breast enhancement procedures.

212-628-7300