Breast Implant Exchange

Unfortunately, sometimes breast augmentation surgeries do not go according to plan and may have resulted in an unsatisfactory appearance. In these cases, Dr. Shapiro has a special set of procedures designed for breast augmentation revision in his Scottsdale office.

There are several breast implant revisions that can be made to a breast augmentation with less satisfactory results.

Breast Augmentation Scar Revision

Sometimes scars are placed poorly or appear wider than they ought to. Scars can be revised with surgery, even the circular areolar scars around the nipple. The areolae can also be reduced or made more symmetric after a mastopexy (breast lift) augmentation.

Changes in Breast Implant Position
In some cases, breast implants may have been placed too widely across the chest, causing the breasts to point outward, or have dropped too far out of place, or may not have slid down into a natural position at all. In this case, changes can be made to the position of breast implants by modifying the breast envelope where the implant sits internally on the chest wall.

Changes in Breast Implant Size
Changes in implant size first depend on what type of breast implant you have. To change the size of a silicone gel implant, the whole implant must be removed surgically and changed. To make a saline implant smaller, some of the sterile solution can be let out. Depending on how much room is left over in the implant to fill, the saline implant can also be filled to make the implant larger, or may require a larger saline shell.

Change in Breast Implant Type
Because there is no "one size fits all" breast implant, you may want to change the type of your implant. If you originally had a saline implant, but have found it showing ridges or feeling unnatural, a silicone gel implant is an appropriate replacement.

Fixing Capsular Contractures

A capsular contracture is caused when rigid scar tissue forms around a breast implant, squeezing it, and making the breast feel firm or even hard. This tightening of the scar tissue around the implant after breast augmentation can also affect the shape and position of the breast implants and how they look. In some patients with severe contractor, the scar tissue can be removed completely with a capsulectomy, and in less severe cases, the contracture can also be released by putting an incision in the scar tissue to allow the breast implant to assume a normal position and feel soft and natural.

Changes in Breast Implant Placement

A breast implant can be placed either above the pectoral muscle and directly beneath the breast tissue, or underneath the pectoral muscle and breast tissue together. Many patients choose to have the implant placed beneath the muscle, giving the implant a more natural look and feel. Dr. Shapiro can move your breast implant from above the muscle to below, or vice versa in his Scottsdale area office.