Breast Augmentation FAQ

Do breast implants affect mammograms?

After breast augmentation with saline or silicone breast implants women can have breast cancer detection by mammography, but need to have the “Eklund’s Displacement Technique”. Technically speaking, Breast implants can obscure approximately a 10% area of the outer breast in those who have very small breasts and have their implants in the sub-glandular pocket. Breast implants do not hinder a woman’s ability to perform breast self-examination, nor does they impede palpation and detection of breast masses through breast examination. If you are going to have a breast biopsy, the placement of an implant under the muscle (sub-muscular placement) reduces the chance of potentially damaging your breast implant.

Do breast implants cause cancer?

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) women with breast implants may have a very small, but increased risk of developing anaplastic large cell lymphoma, or ALCL. With an estimated 5- 10 million women who have had breast implants worldwide, FDA experts say the known ALCL cases are too few to say conclusively that breast implants cause the disease. FDA believes there are about 60 of these ALCL cases worldwide, though that number is difficult to verify because not all of them were chronicled in scientific publications and some reports may have been duplicated. In an effort to gather more information, FDA and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons are establishing a registry of ALCL patients who have breast implants. FDA scientists hope the registry yields enough information in order to better understand what the risks for developing ALCL are for women with breast implants.

Breast self-exam with breast implants – Breast cancer detection with breast augmentation

ba-img-47Women can continue to do breast self-examination after breast augmentation in the same way that they did before. Some women believe that it might be easier to feel a breast lump when the breast implant is placed under the breast muscle, or in the sub-muscular pocket. If you feel a suspicious breast lump please let your primary doctor, gynecologist, or plastic surgeon know. This can be followed by a mammogram and if necessary, a breast biopsy can be safely performed with breast implants.

Do Breast implants affect breastfeeding?

Breast implants do not hinder breastfeeding, but about 5-15% of women who have had breast augmentation lose their ability to breast feed because of the surgical incision and technique. Dr. Younai has found that his patients have been able to breast feed after breast augmentation via a peri-areolar or sub-mammary incision. Breast milk does not contain silicone in women who have had breast implants.

Breast augmentation for Bodybuilders and athletes

ba-img-49Bodybuilders and athletic women get breast implants in order to replace lost breast volume after becoming lean. Bodybuilders choose breast augmentation in order to become curvy and to have proportionate bodies. Dr. Sean Younai who is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who specializes in breast augmentation has excellent experience with breast augmentation for bodybuilders and serious athletes. Athletic women know that breast implants are designed to withstand a lot of impact. Kick boxers, police officers, and wrestlers enjoy implants without any deflation or other bad side effects. As far as resuming your exercise routine, most women can do light cardio within a week. However, you cannot do heavy upper body workout or power lifting for 3-4 weeks after breast augmentation. Running, jogging, and climbing does not harm or displace breast implants that are placed sub-muscular or “under the muscle.”

Do breast implants expire?

According to FDA breast implants are not life time devices, which means that they will deflate in some time. The deflation rate of saline and silicone breast implants is about 1% per year. Saline breast implants go flat if deflated and the released saline is harmless. On the other hand, it is not easy to notice silicone breast implant rupture. Therefore, FDA recommends that women with silicone breast implants get an MRI every other year in order to check the integrity of these silicone filled breast implants.

Do breast implants sag?

Breasts naturally start to sag with age, pregnancy, or weight loss. Small to medium size breast implants which are placed under the chest muscle do not increase the rate of breast sagging. On the other hand, very large and heavy breast implants can hasten the sagging of breasts. Wearing bras and good breast support slows breast sagging.