How long does an implant rupture go without symptoms? Mammoplasty and its complications: ways to eliminate them and reoperation. Contouring the implant under the epidermis layer

Usually, many patients of plastic surgeons diligently ignore the topic of complications after surgery to correct the shape and volume of the breast, so as not to get upset. Plastic surgeons themselves are also in no hurry to talk about possible adverse consequences, limiting themselves only to the remark that a positive attitude helps to survive the operation and the rehabilitation period without problems.

A positive attitude is really great. But it is better if it is combined with knowledge about what problems can arise with the operated breast, and what can be done to eliminate these problems.

Complications can occur after any breast surgery, but most often it concerns breast augmentation with implants, since such patients are in the majority among those who perform breast surgery.

Conventionally, all complications can be divided into those that develop immediately after surgery, and those that appear after 1-2 months and even later.

Breast swelling

It happens to everyone without exception. Associated with tissue trauma during surgery. Edema becomes a problem when it does not subside for more than 2 weeks.

Usually the cause of persistent edema is:

• early refusal of compression underwear;
• thermal procedures and any effect of heat even in a bathhouse, even on a beach, even in a bath;
• untimely physical activity.

Therefore, if you follow the recommendations of the doctor, then there are no problems with the subsidence of edema.

In the photo - the development of seroma on the one hand.

Seroma is an accumulation of serous (intercellular) fluid in the cavity around the implant. In this case, the mammary gland significantly increases in size.

If a seroma develops, fluid is removed from the cavity with a syringe under ultrasound guidance.

Bleeding

It happens that the surgeon may not see the bleeding vessel and not sew it up. But this is casuistry. It happens that a damaged vessel, in which the blood has clotted, for a number of reasons, begins to bleed again after the end of the operation. In both cases, a hematoma forms in the cavity around the implant.

It is manifested by a change in the shape and symmetry of the mammary glands. The part of the chest in which it is located becomes larger in size, sometimes the accumulation of blood is noticeable to the eye as a brown clot under the skin.

Pain is not an indicator in this case, since strong painkillers are prescribed after the operation.

The blood, even if the bleeding has stopped, will not resolve itself, therefore the only way to eliminate it is to make a puncture or incision and drain the postoperative pocket for the prosthesis.

Video: Possible consequences of breast augmentation surgery

Loss of skin elasticity and mastoptosis

Usually, mastotosis develops faster when the prosthesis is placed under the mammary gland than under the muscle. It is difficult to predict the rate of its development before surgery. But ptosis develops rapidly in those who had the first signs of breast sagging even before the operation.

Contouring the implant under the skin

It happens in very slender girls, whose skin is practically devoid of subcutaneous fatty tissue, in girls whose own mammary glands do not have enough layer of adipose tissue to cover the prosthesis, in those who decide to lose weight after surgery.

The solution to the problem is the introduction of fillers or breast lipofilling.

Any implant migrates before it is firmly fixed in the tissues. But the degree of its displacement is small and it is usually controlled by the use of compression underwear, limitation of physical activity and sleep on the side and back.

Implants can migrate symmetrically, in which case the breast loses its desired shape due to the fact that the part of the breast above the nipple collapses, and the part under the nipple becomes disproportionately large.

It may also be that the implants are displaced asymmetrically, which becomes a serious cosmetic defect and requires a second operation.

Unnatural looking breasts

Not many people think about the shape of their breasts when they agree to an operation. Minds are only concerned with how to choose a good surgeon, and where to get money for the operation. In the photo of the star, whose new forms look unnatural.

As a result, the quality of the result suffers. Enlarged breasts become easily recognizable both to the touch and visually.

The most important feature of an artificial breast is a wide distance between the mammary glands. The main problem of modern women is megalomania.- the desire to do more, without taking into account the amount of one's own tissues, to close the implant, the subsequent convenience in everyday life of breasts of 3-4-5 sizes.

In order to accommodate a large volume, surgeons are forced to use "high" prostheses, i.e. those to which the diameter is equal to or less than the diameter of the mammary gland, and the height is much greater than the woman actually needs. The result is an excessively protruding chest, which looks unnatural.

The second problem is the preference for a chest height that is not age appropriate. As a result, a very high placement of implants is chosen, which looks good in a girl of 18-20 years old, but looks unnatural in a woman of 30 years and older.

Well, the third problem is the fear of soft and elastic breasts, which, without the support of a bra, do not stick forward like the stern of a ship.

Natural breasts without underwear support in most cases do not have the same shape as in a bra. The same effect is given by Soft Touch implants, which have the same density as breast tissue.

But more often, patients of plastic surgeons choose something harder. Hence, there are so many opponents of silicone breasts among men, and so much criticism of breast augmentation from women.

Suppuration after mammoplasty

There may be several reasons why suppuration develops. The main ones are the rejection of the implant by the woman's body, and the development of a purulent process when pathogenic bacteria enter the wound.

It all starts with an increase in body temperature and severe pain, which painkillers can only dull, but rarely relieve. Above the area of ​​inflammation, the skin becomes sharply red and hot to the touch. Sometimes redness and pain can be all over the breast.

The tactics of treatment with the development of suppuration is as follows:

• first, drainage tubes are installed in the suppuration area, washings and intensive antibiotic therapy are carried out (large doses of antibiotics are given);
• if drainage is ineffective, the implant is removed.

If drainage helped, then in the long term complications such as severe fibrosis, breast asymmetry may develop.

Scars and scars

What postoperative scars will be depends largely on the body's tendency to form keloid and hypertrophic scars, as well as on the thoroughness of care for the area of ​​surgical incisions.

Even before the start, you need to agree that thin scars will remain, since they do not disappear without a trace from anyone. But they should not be too noticeable either.

The most important rule of care is to minimize tissue tension on both sides of the scar. For this, paper strips (adhesive strips that do not allow the edges of the wound to diverge), and silicone stickers on the seams, and wearing compression underwear all the time until the scars are completely formed will be good.

Also, do not massage the scars once again, intensively rub any ointments and creams into them, it is too early to start using Contractubex cream.

Any absorbable preparations can be used only when the connective tissue in the scar area has matured. Before, you will only hurt.

Therefore, if the type of scars does not suit you, you can again contact a cosmetologist to “polish” the scars with a laser or make them less noticeable in other ways.

With such a feature of the body as the formation of convex wide scars, nothing can be done.

If keloid scars have already formed in the past, then it is better to refuse any operation that is not performed according to emergency indications.

After breast augmentation, a woman may feel quite strong discomfort, skin tension at the site of swelling, and even moderate pain. Details in the article -.

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Do you think it is possible to enlarge breasts with iodine? Read about it.

Loss of skin sensation

Loss of sensation is due to the fact that during the operation the nerves that go to the skin are damaged. Most often, this complication occurs when an incision is made around the nipple. But it can also be when performing an operation from the axillary or infra-breast access.

Sensitivity rarely goes away forever. In most cases, it recovers 2-6 months after the operation.

Cracks and ruptures of implants

The implants of the third generation of those manufacturers that have proven themselves are safe. These include McGan, Mentor, Silimed. Usually high-quality breast prostheses are made of non-fluid, sticky silicone, which does not spread even when the implant breaks, and if it is squeezed out of the shell (in case of severe chest injury, for example), it remains in the cavity that was created surgically for the prosthesis. The shell of modern implants is two-layered. The inner layer is silicone, the outer layer prevents the gel from seeping out of the implant cavity.

The reason for the ruptures of prostheses of previous generations was the wear of the walls due to their constant flexion and extension under the influence of the respiratory movements of the chest.

Therefore, such implants had to be changed every five years. Modern implants of the third generation are designed for 300 years of regular flexion-extension during breathing, therefore spontaneous rupture of the third generation prosthesis is excluded.

If, under the influence of a mechanical injury to the chest, the implant ruptures, then it must be removed or replaced in a planned manner.

But cases are still known when low-quality implants enter the market and give serious complications when they break, crack, or when the gel seeps through the shell.

An example of such implants was the products of the French company PolyImplantProsthesis (PIP), which were filled with technical silicone, which could migrate and have a toxic effect on the body, and a single-layer shell that did not prevent the gel from seeping out of the implant into the tissues.

If the silicone gel enters the tissues, it can migrate under the skin of the chest and abdomen, forming tumor-like seals - silicomas. The gel can also migrate down the intermuscular channels of the arm. Also, the gel can accumulate in the lymph nodes.

Any such spread of silicone gel requires extensive surgery to remove the implant and tissue damaged by the silicone.

Video: PIP-1 implant replacement

The video shows the process of replacing the implant, through the shell of which the gel seeps through. And this video shows the process of removing a ruptured implant. The gel soaked nearby lymph nodes.

Video: PiP-2 Implant Removal

The photo shows the result of an unoperated implant rupture: the contents of the implant are released along with pus through a skin fistula (a hole in the skin that forms independently during the purulent process). The last photo shows the shell of the implant.

If you are planning to do breast augmentation in a serious clinic that purchases prostheses from serious manufacturers, then you have nothing to worry about.

If you think that prostheses are not the main thing and you can save on them by buying cheaper implants on your own (and in many places you can now buy a couple of implants very cheaply), then be prepared for any result of your decision.

Capsular contracture

The development of connective tissue occurs around any foreign body in the body. The breast implant is no exception. The fibrous capsule becomes a problem when it begins to shrink around the implant and deform it.

Until now, the reasons for the formation of contractures are not known. It has been suggested that infection, regular physical activity, a tendency to form hypertrophic scars, or improper preparation of the implant before surgery can contribute to its development. But no one can predict how the body will react.

In order to distinguish between normal and pathological cases of the formation of a fibrous capsule, a Baker classification was created:

• 1 degree– the breast looks natural, soft to the touch;
• 2 degree- the breast looks natural, the implants do not change shape, but are compacted to the touch;
• 3 degree- a change in the shape of the breast becomes noticeable, the chest is firm to the touch;
• 4 degree- the chest is deformed, heavy and very dense, sometimes painful.

At the first and second degree, correction is not required. In the third degree, the capsule is surgically excised (capsulectomy is performed).

In the case of the development of capsular contracture of the fourth degree, it is necessary to replace or completely remove the implant. The likelihood of re-development of contracture is very high.

To prevent the development of capsular contracture, implants with a textured surface are used, breast massage is carried out in courses, ultrasound therapy procedures, vitamin E intake is recommended.

As a rule, skin ripples are not static. It can either appear or disappear depending on the change in the position of the body or when moving. It can have varying degrees of severity. Waves can be visible on the skin without clothes, but can only be felt.

The appearance of skin ripples can be affected by:

• the condition of the patient's skin, its elasticity, a sufficient layer of subcutaneous fatty tissue;
• the shape and size of the implant;
• operation technique.

Most often, the “washboard effect” occurs in thin women with a small volume of their own breasts. The larger the prosthesis, the more likely it is that “waves” will occur, especially if the width of the prosthesis is greater than the width of your own breast.

The appearance of skin ripples is enhanced by salt implants, which are specially overfilled in order to avoid splashing and rolling of the liquid inside the prosthesis. Soft gel dentures will create fewer ripples.

Implants with a textured surface create more ripples than smooth implants, as they are more strongly fixed by tissues.

The risk of developing "waves" is lower when the implant is placed partially or completely under the muscle.

To eliminate skin ripples, you can:

• add volume around the implant due to feeders such as Macroline or Alloderm;
• carry out breast lipofilling around the implant;
• replacing a saline implant with a gel one;
• transplantation of the implant under the muscle, if it was previously located between the muscle and the mammary gland;
• replacing the implant with a smaller one.

In fact, not everyone agrees to a second operation, especially to replacing the implant with a smaller one, since skin ripples in most cases do not become a serious cosmetic problem.

Damage to the ducts and tissue of the mammary glands

This does not happen after every operation. This complication should be prepared for those who:

• make an incision around the nipple;
• place the implant under the glandular part of the mammary gland.

If a woman is not going to breastfeed her children anymore, then this will not cause her much trouble. If pregnancy is planned or expected, then the child will have to be immediately transferred to artificial feeding.

If the ducts or tissue of the gland is damaged, then it will not be possible to return integrity and patency.

The debate over the safety of silicone implants has been going on for years. There is no evidence known to science that a ruptured silicone implant caused serious health problems, especially such as cancer or autoimmune diseases. The main problem associated with implant rupture is the formation of scar tissue in the mammary gland, which can lead to disfigurement of the shape of the breast and pain.

When foreign material, such as an implant, enters the body, it forms scar tissue around the implant. This also happens normally. If the scar tissue remains soft and elastic, there is no problem. However, if the silicone implant ruptures, the body may react to the new foreign material—the leaked silicone gel—by forming new scar tissue. The result can be a hard capsule around the ruptured implant, which can deform the shape of the breast and cause pain or discomfort. Treatment may include surgical removal of the ruptured implant and scar tissue and the insertion of a new, replacement implant.

In some women, silicone implant rupture is asymptomatic.

Others may have:

• breast pain or tenderness when touched;
• the formation of dense nodules in the mammary gland;
• reduction in the size of the breast;
• deformation of the shape of the mammary gland.

How to determine damage to a breast implant?

If your breast implants are filled with saline, then the rupture will be clearly visible. The breast implant will become flattened, its size and shape will change as saline flows out of the implant shell. The advantage is that the leaked saline solution is easily and safely absorbed into the surrounding tissues without any effect on the body.

Tears in silicone breast implants can be intracapsular—within the scar tissue that surrounds the implant shortly after it is placed—or extracapsular, where the silicone gel leaks out of the scar tissue. Ruptures in silicone implants are difficult to detect with a mammogram, and it's likely that you won't have any signs of a rupture. This is the so-called "silent" gap (asymptomatic). Although some women experience slight changes in the size, shape, and shape of their breasts, magnetic resonance imaging is usually needed to determine if the tear is intracapsular or extracapsular. Since intracapsular tears can progress to extracapsular tears if the problem is left unresolved, doctors usually recommend removal or replacement of such implants.

Because silicone implant rupture is difficult to detect by palpation, women with silicone implants should have an MRI scan every 2 years starting at year 4 postoperatively.

What to do if an implant ruptures?

If there is a tear, then you need surgery to remove the implant. It is usually done through the same small incisions that were made during the original operation. In most cases, you can have a new implant placed right away. Most often this is quite simple, but it can be difficult to remove the leaked silicone, and then a wider operating incision will be needed.

Breast augmentation surgeries are among the most sought after. After all, such an intervention solves not only aesthetic, but also psychological problems, often relieving complexes. But mammoplasty can also cause complications. Problems are of different nature, and there are many reasons for their appearance.

Read in this article

Possible problems

Mammoplasty is a major surgical intervention performed under general anesthesia. During the operation, living tissues are damaged, which then must heal. All this does not exclude the appearance of problems inherent in any surgical manipulation. Their occurrence is not at all necessary, but possible. Complications can be divided into general and specific.

Surgical

Common complications include the following:

• Development of the infectious process. The problem is detected in a few days, less often - weeks after the operation. The pain characteristic of this period does not subside, as it should, but intensifies. Swelling and redness of the skin also increase, and purulent fluid is released from the sutures. If you catch a complication at the initial stage, you can eliminate it by taking antibiotics. In other cases, it is necessary to remove the implant, carry out treatment, and only then do mammoplasty again.

Leaving a problem unattended is dangerous. The infection can develop to toxic shock, manifested by a sudden rise in temperature, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, loss of consciousness. This is a deadly condition.

• Hematoma and seroma. They are collections of blood and serous fluid. A hematoma can form as a result of leakage from a vessel damaged during the intervention. Sometimes its walls are injured in the postoperative period. Seroma occurs in a similar pattern, but contains serous fluid. Small formations disappear without intervention.

But if the fluid continues to flow into them, increasing the problem to a significant size, it is necessary to drain the formation and suture the vessel. Otherwise, you can bring the complication to infection and more complex conditions.

• Rough scar formation. Normally, healed sutures should be inconspicuous. But if the body has a tendency to hypertrophic fusion of tissues or the appearance of keloid scars, a problem will arise. When mammoplasty is the first surgical intervention, such a feature cannot be predicted. But if it is known before the operation, it is better not to do the operation, but to correct the breast in other ways.

However, a hypertrophic suture can form due to severe healing caused by improper care, suppuration. In any case, to get rid of the problem, you will need additional treatment.

• Change in the sensitivity of the nipples and areolas, mammary glands in general. The complication has a dual manifestation - pain or numbness in this area.

The first is justified by tissue damage. But if the nerves are injured or pinched, there is no freedom of muscle contractions, pain will be present even after a considerable time after the operation. It already needs to be treated. Damaged nerves can lead to loss of sensation, which also needs to be addressed.

• Increased body temperature. If it is slightly more than normal, the sign is considered as a natural reaction to surgery. But the cause of the rise in temperature is also the developed inflammation. Here you will need to take antibiotics, while in the first case, a simple observation is enough.

Specific

Complications after mammoplasty are also of a special nature, directly related to damage to mammary gland tissues and the introduction of implants into this area:

• Capsular contracture. The endoprosthesis should be overgrown in the process of engraftment with a shell of fibrous tissue. But if it is too thick and dense, it causes discomfort. The chest becomes hard, painful, fullness is felt in it. And the implant is squeezed, which can cause damage, displacement, protrusion through the skin. This requires an intervention with the extraction of the endoprosthesis, removal of the contracture, and then the installation of a new one. But no one can guarantee that the complication will not happen again.

• Rupture of the implant shell. If it is salty, the chest will immediately change its shape, becoming wrinkled. When a silicone endoprosthesis ruptures, the problem is not always obvious. It is found during hardware research. But this complication in any case will require replacement of the implant.

• Asymmetry of the mammary glands. Often occurs against the background of implant displacement. The problem is also caused by defects in engraftment and with its correct position. Own tissues can behave unpredictably due to individual characteristics. The complication can be eliminated by a second operation.

• Breast deformity. An external defect in the zone of the mammary glands can be expressed not only by their asymmetry. For example, there is such a disadvantage as . These are additional hemispheres just below the mammary glands. There is a problem when the implants slip shortly after the operation or after a year and a half.

Another defect is simmastia, in which the mammary glands look fused. Both problems are treated surgically, that is, by repeated mammoplasty.

• Allergy to the implant. This is a rare complication that is characteristic of those who, in principle, have intolerance to many substances and materials. It is manifested by swelling of the chest, rashes on the skin, redness. If conservative treatment does not help, the implant will have to be removed.

• Calcification. Under the influence of the presence of a foreign object, islands of seals can form in the thickness of living tissues. This is the deposition of calcium salts, which, although rare, causes problems. If the complication is extensive, it is necessary to remove the implants.

• Necrosis of breast tissue. Areas located around the implant are subject to dying off. The scar tissue formed here is deprived of normal blood supply due to the pressure of the endoprostheses. The skin suffers more often due to the peculiarities of their installation.

• Atrophy of breast tissue. It manifests itself over time after a long stay in the mammary glands of implants or their removal without replacement with new ones. The tissues become thinner, the breast acquires an unaesthetic appearance, unevenness, flabbiness.

• Inability to lactate after the birth of a child. Surgeons argue that a well-performed intervention does not affect the ability to breastfeed. But according to statistics, 67% of women with implants do not have lactation, despite the safety of the milk ducts. Among mothers who have not had mammoplasty, this number is 7%.

Other

Mammoplasty also gives complications after surgery, as if not directly related to the presence of implants:

• Connective tissue pathology. Statistically, the effect of endoprostheses on the occurrence of autoimmune diseases has not been proven. But it cannot be denied that the operation and the adaptation of tissues to the presence of a foreign body force the immune system to work in an enhanced mode. This weakens it, which can give a chance to a systemic disease.

• Malignant tumors of the mammary glands. It is known that the presence of an implant does not affect their appearance. But after installation, mammographic examination of the breast, which is the most informative in the diagnosis of cancer, is difficult. And a benign tumor unnoticed in time has time to be reborn.

• Deterioration of sexual life. Loss of breast sensation, which persists for a long time in some, deprives a woman of the usual sensations during lovemaking. And this area by nature should be an erogenous zone.

About what complications are most common after mammoplasty, see this video:

Factors that will affect the result

The possibility of getting a complication after mammoplasty is not at all predetermined. What determines the successful outcome of the operation and a trouble-free life with implants:

• Choosing an operating doctor and clinic. Many complications arise due to incorrect installation of the implant, violations of sterility during surgery, careless manipulation of surgical instruments. These are infections, necrosis, hematomas, seromas, damage to areas that should remain intact during the intervention.

Postoperative care provided in the hospital also affects the outcome. Equally important is the doctor's taking into account the characteristics of the patient's body at the stage of preparation for mammoplasty.

• Preparation for surgery and rehabilitation. You can not ignore the results of tests taken to identify contraindications. It is important to make an effort to prepare the body for it and facilitate recovery after. It is forbidden to drink alcohol, smoke and take blood-thinning drugs.

Mandatory wearing during compression underwear, refusal, stay in the heat. Careful care of the stitches and a timely visit to the doctor are important if something is alarming.

Mammoplasty gives a chance to correct what nature has done wrong or merciless time has done. But it requires a more attentive attitude to health, work on oneself, a lot of money, constant monitoring. If you correct the breast with implants and avoid complications, you still need to be ready to replace them in 5-15 years.

What woman does not dream of perfect breasts? Only the one that has it by nature, and there are only a few such lucky ones. The rest have to accept and admire the chic busts of models in magazines or resort to the services of plastic surgeons.

It seems that everything is simple - I chose a form, lay down on the table, closed my eyes and woke up already a gorgeous woman. But ... before each operation, surgeons give you a paper to sign about possible risks and complications, although they can, of course, hide part of the truth from you, because the operation is not cheap and you can change your mind. But you yourself must carefully and with a cold head evaluate all the pros and cons, because implants also have negative sides.

Complications during the operation

With breast augmentation, every tenth operation proceeds with complications, and this is a large percentage for surgery, out of these ten, every tenth woman has to go under the knife again and correct what she has done, sometimes up to amputation of the breast. Moreover, these repeated operations are stretched for up to six months, that will not add beauty to you . The success of the operation depends on the experience of the surgeon, and he is unlikely to admit to you that you are one of the first with him.

Problems with the implant

Often, with an incorrect axillary incision, the asymmetry of the installation of breast prostheses is obtained. The implant then moves under the influence of the force of the muscles up and towards the armpit. You can fix this by re-operating with another doctor.

Another problem can be a duplicated bulge on the chest if the surgeon does not take into account the sagging and softness of the skin and breast tissue. If the implant is placed under the muscle, it will be ugly - the breast will be bumpy, in such cases a second operation is performed, moving the implant and placing it above the muscle.

Another nuisance after the operation - in addition to the stitches themselves, of course - can be a loss of sensitivity on the nipple and areola. It can take up to six months or more to recover, and sometimes, if the prosthesis compresses a branch of the intercostal nerve, sensitivity may not be restored at all.

Seromas and hematomas

These are accumulations of ichor or blood in the area between prostheses and body tissues. They do not become infected, but create discomfort and protrusions in the area of ​​​​the surgical suture and wound, and can temporarily distort the shape of the chest.

Seromas are formed in response to tissue injury by surgery and the introduction of a foreign body, blood plasma and lymph accumulate in the tissues, blood elements - lymphocytes and leukocytes. A protrusion similar to a hernia appears in the area of ​​operation.

Hematoma- this is the accumulation of blood around the implant from a vessel injured during the operation. Sometimes, with large hematomas, removal of blood is required to stop bleeding.

The most dangerous

Of course, operations are carried out in compliance with all the rules of sterility, but it is impossible to achieve 100% sterility during the operation. Therefore, there is always a risk of infection during operations, including when implants are inserted. If an infection forms around the prosthesis, even antibiotics will not help, it will have to be removed. And the complications of the infection should be treated in a surgical hospital.

A second operation is possible no earlier than six months later, then it will be possible to put a new implant. And for half a year you will have to walk around with one large, another small breast - rarely the infection is bilateral. Many women usually refuse a second prosthesis, so as not to experience discomfort.

Negative effects of breast implants

Infection can develop both immediately after surgery and within two months of surgery, especially in women with diabetes and chronic diseases.

Breast-feeding

In principle, with the correct placement of the implant, prostheses cannot affect the lactation . With accesses that touch the areola and nipple, this always interferes with feeding. If you plan to breastfeed in the future, discuss this with your surgeon in advance.

Injuries and deformities of the implant

Typically, old implants that have a thin wall, a defect in the manufacture of the prosthesis, as well as those patients who have had injuries during surgery, are subject to rupture. Implants also rupture due to compression and trauma.

When the contents of the implant leak into the breast tissue, inflammation and pain begin, and it becomes unpleasant to touch the breast. Such situations require removal of the implant and fluid from the breast tissue. However, if the implant is gel, even when the shell is damaged, it retains its shape.

Breast examination

When implants are installed, the very possibility of the occurrence of breast cancer , because a foreign body is placed in it. In addition, the presence of implants interferes with the examination and self-examination of the breast for lumps. With implants, it is difficult to conduct ultrasound, X-ray or mammography of the breast, which will delay the diagnosis of the tumor. During examinations, pressure is needed - this increases the risk of ruptures in the implant area.

A rupture is a hole or even a crack that appears in the implant shell under the influence of various causes.

Causes of implant rupture

There are several reasons that can lead to damage to the prosthesis.

1. Natural wear of the implant walls under the influence of time. This is the most common reason.
2. Careless actions of the surgeon when the implant receives a hole during the operation. The operation of breast augmentation in case of detection of such a gap should be stopped. However, it will not always be immediately possible to notice such a hole.
3. Marriage, which was allowed during the production of the implant.
4. external injury. Most often, such damage occurs after car accidents, when the silicone prosthesis is torn from hitting the seat belt.
5. Surgical intervention. The implant may be damaged during an external capsulotomy.

Break detection.

It is often very difficult to detect implant damage in time. In the early stages, there may not be any symptoms that signal a rupture. That is why women with silicone breasts need to see a doctor several times a year. At the same time, the older the implants, the more often you need to visit specialists. You need to be especially careful if the service life of prostheses is more than ten years. Implant damage is most accurately diagnosed by examination using ultrasound or MRI.

Consequences of a break

Previously, when a liquid gel was used as a filler, the consequences of an implant rupture were really terrible. The filler spread over the fabrics. Now in the production of implants, a cohesive gel is used, which, even with serious injuries, does not “wander” around the body and keeps its shape. At the very least, cases where the cohesive gel enters adjacent tissues, such as the arm, are extremely rare. The consequences of implant damage are divided into local and regional depending on the degree of spread of damage.

1. Local. Despite the risk of implant rupture, breast plastic surgery usually has the most positive reviews. This is due both to the reliability of the implants and to the fact that most often only local consequences occur during a rupture. This is due to the fact that even in case of leakage outside the shell of the prosthesis, the silicone remains inside the fibrous capsule that forms around the implant. This is called an intracapsular rupture. The shape of the breast in this case changes little, most often you can not even notice a leak. If silicone is in contact with tissues for a long time, then capsular contracture may develop. If an implant with a hydrogel or saline solution was used during the operation, then in the event of a rupture, the filler is absorbed into the tissues and excreted from the body without harm.
2. Regional If the gel has penetrated beyond the fibrous capsule, then the consequences of the rupture can be immediately detected, since the volume and shape of the breast change. Usually the gel does not penetrate beyond the pocket that was formed during the operation. In this case, it is easy to remove it. Sometimes silicone penetrates into tissues, such as muscles or breasts. In this case, it may be necessary to remove part of the damaged tissue. However, such complications are almost non-existent in our time.

The article was prepared based on materials from the website about breast plastic surgery - www.uvelicheniegrudi.ru