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What is The Life of Breast Implants?
Breast Augmentation
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Breast augmentation is by far the most popular plastic surgery procedure in US. It has been successful in fulfilling the dreams of many women and letting them achieve the desired body figure.
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Breast augmentation enables them to increase their breast size with placement of breast implants-resulting in a fuller and confident appeal.
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Despite the success, there are still questions not answered. There are women who are still confused about the durability and life of breast implants that they receive.
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Although there are various supportive statements for varying lasting times of implants, but the truth is-there is no exact expiration date or shelf life for breast implants.
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So, What is The Life of Breast Implants?
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The most common misconception about the life span of breast implant is a “given time period”. Implants and their replacement vary individually and cannot be same for every patient; in some cases they will need to be replaced after the first few years of placement, while others can last as long as 25 years.
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Generally, manufacturers of breast implants say the product should last for a time of 10 years, on average. The health of individual, normal activities and other such reasons will move or shift the implants within the body, eventually wearing down and needing replacement. But if your implants don’t show any problem, then you won’t need to replace them.
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The two implant kinds include: Silicone and Saline implants.
The leak in saline implant is easily identified, since the patients can easily confirm deflating of breast and becoming smaller in size. However, no pain is felt and neither any harm is done, since the saline water gets absorbed by the body. Despite the leak of saline implants, no critical harm is done to the body but replacement is still required.
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With Silicone implants, the rupture is or leak becomes hard to tell. Silicone gel stays in the same and does not diffuse; the size of the implant also stays the same. The rate of rupture in the newer generation is far less than the older implants, but detection of the implant is still the same.
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The Life of Breast Implants
Breast Implant Rupture Evaluation:
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You can walk through some of these evaluating procedures to detect implant rupture; the first is physical examination by the plastic surgeon-the prominent sign of this is thickening of tissues around the implant.
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Second is MRI-you can always confirm the leak with an MRI. If you are satisfied with your breast implants even after 10 years and there are no prominent problems, then your plastic surgeon will not recommend removal or replacement.
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However, the most prominent problems where you will need a replacement or removal include:
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Rupturing of the Implant:
Implants are made from silicone shells with either a filling of saline or silicone solution. If the skin of the implant breaks under various circumstances, the solution from either implant will leak. Older implants can rupture more easily as they have worn down. The symptoms will include decrease in shape and size of the breast, tingling numbness, minor pain, and nodules. Proceed with a regular MRI to confirm if the implant is still intact.
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Rippling of the Implant:
As the time passes, the breast implants can begin to ripple due to shift of the shell and filler material. This can happen in case of a slender women getting implants placed over the chest muscles, instead of the under mammary glands. When the implants don’t find enough tissue to cover, they appear fine in the start but then, fold in on themselves. Precisely, rippling is more obvious in skinnier women.
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Hardening of the Implant:
Capsular contracture results due to body’s side effect caused by placing the implants. Body’s immune system responds to the implants and forms scar tissue around the implant. The signs of capsular contracture include pain with hardening of the breasts. If any case, you feel this happening, contact your surgeon as soon as possible.
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