A guidance issued by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons advised an estimated 50,000 British women with defective Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP) breast implants to have the implants checked for rupture within the next six months and removed in tandem if rupture is discovered in even one implant. 

The guidance was issued after the French Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons discovered the PIP breast implants contain an illegal, untested silicone gel substance that makes the implants abnormally susceptible to rupture.

Unlike women with the faulty PIP breast implants, women who undergo breast enlargement with the safe, FDA-approved silicone breast implants used in the U.S. have a choice about when and how to address implant malfunction in the unlikely event of a rupture.

Rupture in saline breast implants tends to be obvious, as deflation and noticeable volume loss will occur in the implants.  However, in silicone gel breast implants, ruptures are not as obvious and an MRI is required for detection. 

When ruptured breast implants do not cause problems with breast appearance or health, occasionally women will choose to forego revision surgery, however most pursue corrective surgery. 

Options for corrective surgery include:

• Breast augmentation revision, or breast implant exchange
• Breast explant surgery, or breast implant removal
• Breast implant exchange or removal with breast lift, or mastopexy

Most women opt for breast augmentation revision to exchange ruptured implants for new ones, while others choose breast explant surgery, or breast implant removal, and do not have the ruptured implants replaced.  

When breast implants are removed and are not replaced, a breast lift may be recommended to remove the extra skin stretched by the breast implants.  A breast lift with augmentation revision may also be recommended if the breasts have begun to sag since the initial breast augmentation surgery.

If you experience a breast implant rupture, don’t panic, as there is no immediate health risk with FDA-approved implants.  Consult a highly qualified cosmetic surgeon with significant experience performing corrective breast surgery.  Once you have discussed all possible options, you and your surgeon can decide whether breast implant exchange or removal, with or without breast lift surgery, is best for you.