Breast Implant Exchange

Many women come to Dr. Jacobsen thinking that they need to have their breast implants changed because 10 years or more have elapsed. This is a rumor but an inaccurate rumor that implants must be changed every 10 years. They do not need to be changed every 10 years. If your breast exam is normal and the breast implants appear to be in an advantageous position and are soft you do not need to have her implants exchanged. The 10-year rule that the breast implants must be exchanged is entirely false. It is however statistically true that most women after 10 years have something done with their breasts they wish to have something changed. They wish to either be higher lower smaller larger or have them removed. So, the statistics roughly show that women every 10 years have something done with their breasts but is not necessary to do so. Dr. Jacobsen has had patients that had these in for 20 years or even more. He has seen patients with normal examinations that have had breast implants in for over 30 years and do not need to have these exchanged. The intent is that once your breast augmentation or breast reconstruction is done that you are implants will never have to be changed throughout your lifetime.

Women sometimes need their implant breasts exchanged for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they require exchange because one implant is ruptured. If you are having surgery for another reason such as capsular contracture mastopexy and your implants have been in for several years it is best to have the implants changed at the same time as the additional surgery is performed. Once you have had the breast implants in for several years if there are additional surgical procedures for your breasts that are planned for other reasons or for your appearance or reconstruction the implants cannot be removed and placed back in under the same operation. They should be replaced. Is not standard to replace the same implants years after they have been in place in order to save money.

Please feel free to have a look at our page for Dr. Jacobsen’s breast implant recommendations to learn more about Dr. Jacobsen’s approach.