Breast implants have been around for many years, and they are used by women worldwide for various reasons. Some of the reasons why people have breast implants include;
- One breast being permanently smaller than the other.
- To correct the size and shape of the breast.
- To restore the size, shape, and tightness of their breast after breast cancer treatment, breastfeeding, or weight loss.
Over the years they have been in the market, breast implants have undergone a lot of changes and improvements, being under constant quality and safety checks. People have developed different types of breast implants, making it easier for clients to choose what they want.
- Silicone gel breast implants- These have an outer silicone shell that is filled with plastic gel inside.
- Saline breast implants- They have a silicone shell that is filled with a saline/ sterilized saltwater.
- Gummy bear implants- They have a silicone shell with a thicker silicone gel inside.
After a breast implant, patients see the results immediately. However, one fear that many patients live with is breast implant rapture. The chances of a breast implant rupture are usually slim immediately after the surgery, but after 6-8 years, the chances are high.
Breast implant rapture could either be an intracapsular or extracapsular rapture. An intracapsular rupture means that the filling of the implant remains in the peri-prosthetic capsule.
An extracapsular rapture, on the other hand, means that the breast implant filling may spread to the breast capsule and might even spread to the nearby lymph nodes.
Reasons For A Breast Implant Rupture
Breast implants are normally very resilient and don’t easily rapture. However, some factors may cause its rapture like;
1. Accidents during placement of the implant
Before getting a breast implant, all patients ensure that they go to the best doctors. However, there might be an accident during the implant placement that may cause a small perforation in the silicon shell.
Over time, that small perforation grows into a bigger hole and eventually causes the breast implant to rupture. This is the leading cause of more than half of the breast implant rapture cases reported.
2. Aging of the implant
Having your implants for a long time could cause them to suffer wear and tear, which may cause a rapture. That may worsen if your surgeon did not properly select or place the implant.
Physical trauma
Breast implants are at constant risk of getting ruptured from external forces. However, not all forces are strong enough to capture them. Only hard and intense traumas like car accidents or getting hit by a ball directly to the breast can trigger a breast implant rupture.
3. Accidents during a biopsy
A biopsy is a procedure that involves the doctor taking a small amount of tissue from your body. This is one of the main ways that doctors check for breast cancer or other medical conditions in your breast.
If you undergo a biopsy in your breast and the surgeon accidentally perforates your breast implants, it could result in them rapturing. You should let the doctor know that you have breast implants before undergoing the biopsy.
4. Compression during a mammogram
Mammograms are X-rays of the breast used to detect certain breast diseases like breast cancer. Excess compression of the breast during the procedure could trigger a breast implant rupture, especially if you have had them for a long time.
5. Type of implant
There are some implants, especially those in the beginning, that have softer shells. That makes them more likely to rapture, even when exposed to little amounts of pressure or trauma.
6. Under filling and overfilling the breast implants
All breast implants have a minimum and maximum fill level. If the fill level is above the maximum, that is considered as an overfill, and if it is below the minimum, that is an underfill.
Overfills make the breast implants firmer and may increase the pressure on the implant shell. That increased pressure may weaken the shell, increasing the chances of a rapture.
Under fills, on the other hand, cause the breast implant hells to have folds in them, which reduce the integrity of the shells. Constant rubbing of the folds on the shell could weaken those areas and eventually cause the breast implant to rupture.
7. Capsular contracture
Once you get a breast implant, your body may think of it as an ‘enemy.’ To stop it from growing and spreading to other body parts and organs, the body forms a scar tissue capsule or sac around it.
That tissue capsule may tighten around your breast and squeeze your breast and the breast implants, causing them to rapture.
8. Closed capsulotomy
After the formation of capsular contracture, the doctor may recommend removing it because it may be causing you discomfort and pain.
One of the ways to remove it is Closed Capsulotomy. This is a procedure that involves vigorous compression of the breast to break the sac around the breast implant. However, applying too much pressure could cause rupture of the breast implant.
9. Fold flow failure
Folding in a breast implant is normal. However, sometimes the fold can be too big, which compromises and weakens the implant shell, causing it to rapture.
Signs Of Breast Implant Rupture
Depending on the type of breast implant you get during a breast augmentation in Houston TX, there are chances you can tell immediately they rapture, and there are times it gets hard to tell.
With saline-filled implants, you can see the effects of a breast implant rapture almost immediately. That is because the saline solution is not thick, and it drains quickly, causing an almost immediate change in your breast.
With silicone gel breast implants, however, it is hard to tell because the silicone gel is thick, and it drains slowly, making the effects hard to notice. Also, unlike saline solution, silicone gel is not absorbed by the body.
Some of the symptoms you should look out for to determine if your breast implant is raptured or not include;
- Decrease in breast size- This happens quickly in saline-filled implants because the liquid drains within days, and the body absorbs it.
- Persistent pain in your breast and surrounding tissues- This results from the implant filler material pushing against your natural breast tissue.
- Breast lumps- This mainly happens with silicone gel implants. Since the body does not absorb the filler into the body, it forms lumps on the breast.
- Misshapen breast- The filler liquid all over the natural breast tissue could make it droop and lose its firmness.
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