“What happens if you don't replace your breast implants?”

It is your choice to replace your breast implants. If you do not wish to do so, you can keep them. Most of my patients will wait until they are undergoing another procedure like a breast lift and use this opportunity to swap them out. A board certified plastic surgeon can evaluate you if you have any concerns about your implants.

The rate and risk of rupture increase every year. It is a less complex surgery to replace an intact implant versus a ruptured implant, although your warranty usually provides new implants if yours rupture.

Don’t fix what ain’t broke. Ok to leave them if not having any issues

Realistically, the 10 year replacement mark is a recommendation based on the fact that implants have an increasingly growing risk of rupture each year. If your implants are doing well and there are no issues then you can leave them in place. Consider that if they are sailine, a rupture would result in a smaller breast and subsequent contracture of that breast which may make replacement difficult. There is no rush or urgency at this time, however, it may be some thing to start considering and thinking about changing them out in the near future.

Leland Webb

If you don't have problem with your breasts, there is no urgency to replace them. However, at some point the implants have to be replaced. Usually, patients have to go back in for breast lifts or removing capsules contracture then it might make sense to replace them the same time.

There is no rule that you need to have your implants replaced every 10 years. The current FDA recommendation is for patients with silicone implants to get either an MRI or high resolution ultrasound 5-6 years after placement, then every 2-3 years.

Hi,

With regard to the new silicone gel implants, they come with a 10-year warranty that covers both "parts" and some "labor." Meaning that if a crack is identified in the shell of the implant (possibly on mammogram, or other screening studies), then the company will replace the implants bilaterally, and also pay some of the associated OR and anesthesia costs. After 10 years, the implants have a lifetime parts only replacement warranty for any implant defect. It is important for patients to realize that implants don't ever "rupture." The shell merely develops a crack, and the silicone gel does not leak. This 10-year warranty is where the concept that implants have to be replaced after 10 years comes from. This is simply not true. Silicone gel implants have a risk of developing a crack in the shell of 1% per year per implant. So, after 10 years, there is only a 20% risk that one of the implants have a silent "rupture" (2 x 10 = 20). Meaning there is an 80% chance that the implants are perfectly fine. If I started having all my patients come back every 10 years to remove their implants, that would be a lot of unnecessary surgery! Follow the FDA recommendations for screening MRI scans to look for silent implant "rupture," and you should be just fine. Yesterday, I removed an old (more than 30 years old) pair of implants with calcified capsules, and the patient was fine.
Hope this helps....