UCI Plastic Surgery
UCI Plastic Surgery 
Breast Implant Removal
Breast Implant Removal in Orange County
Some women who have breast augmentation surgery later choose to have the implants removed. You might be considering breast implant removal because your lifestyle or your ideals for your body have changed. Or, you may wish to correct one or more problems you have experienced with the implants. (If aesthetic and medical issues with the implants are your concern, you may also want to learn about breast revision, with or without removing implants.)
Whatever the reason for your decision, you’ll want to choose a skilled and experienced plastic surgeon for the procedure, someone with the medical background and aesthetic sensibility to restore your body to the way you’d like it to be. To learn more about our practice and the options for breast implant removal, contact UCI Plastic Surgery to schedule a consultation. We have five locations serving Orange County and Los Angeles County: in Orange, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Yorba Linda, and Newport Beach, CA.
What Is Breast Implant Removal?
Breast implant removal is a surgical procedure to remove implants placed as part of a breast augmentation or breast reconstruction procedure. You might choose to get your implants removed if you no longer want to have larger breasts, or for health or medical reasons.
In some cases, it is only necessary to remove the implants. In others, such as capsular contracture, it may be best for your health to remove hardened tissue surrounding the implant. A skilled surgeon can simultaneously remove capsular tissue and the implant in a procedure known as en bloc implant removal.
Selective issue removal might also be necessary when a silicone implant ruptures and the gel enters the surrounding tissue. In very rare cases, you may need to have your implants removed to treat a form of cancer, anaplastic large cell lymphoma, associated with specific types of textured implants.
Why Might I Consider Breast Implant Removal?
You might choose to have your breast implants removed for personal or aesthetic reasons, such as:
- A desire to return to a slimmer figure
- Changes in your body with age or after childbearing
- Discomfort from large breasts, especially when engaging in exercise, sports, or other physical activities
You might also consider breast implant removal or breast revision because of health and medical concerns, such as:
- Rupture or leakage of a silicone implant or deflation of a saline implant
- Pain from the implants
- Infection or bleeding
- Difficulty in obtaining clear mammography imaging for cancer screening
- Capsular contracture — the hardening and thickening of tissue around the implant
- Indications of ALCL, a rare form of lymphoma linked to specific types of textured implants
What Are the Options for Breast Implant Removal?
There are three primary approaches to breast implant removal, depending on the reasons for the removal and your aesthetic goals.
- Simple breast implant removal: We typically recommend removing the implant without any surrounding tissue when you have implants removed for primarily cosmetic reasons, the implants are intact, and the tissue around the implants is normal and healthy.
- En bloc breast implant removal: We suggest removing a layer of surrounding tissue along with the implant to correct capsular contracture or a significant leakage of silicone gel.
- Breast implant removal with breast lift: When implant removal, by itself, would leave the breasts sagging and flattened, you might choose to combine the procedure with a breast lift.
Start Your Journey Today!
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Planning Your Breast Implant Removal
In a private consultation at UCI Plastic Surgery, your surgeon will ask about your reasons for the procedure and goals for your appearance afterward. Your surgeon will examine your breast and body proportions and recommend an approach for the procedure. The objective of this careful consultation and planning is to give you the look and peace of mind you are seeking.
What Happens in a Breast Implant Removal Procedure?
Breast implant removal usually takes place while patients are under general anesthesia. Once you are unconscious, the surgeon will make incisions, typically along the same lines as your original breast surgery incisions, and remove the implants.
In an en bloc implant removal procedure, the surgeon will also remove damaged or affected tissue surrounding the implant. When you choose to combine implant removal with a breast lift, your surgeon will remove excess skin and reposition tissue inside the breasts to raise and round them for a younger look. They may also reduce your areolas in size and reposition them for a natural-looking fit with your new breast shape.
The procedure’s length will depend on the extent of the corrections. After the surgical team has completed their work and you are fully alert, you will be clear to go home with a friend or family member to drive you.
What Can I Expect After I Have My Breast Implants Removed?
Your recovery after breast implant removal is usually much like your experience after the original augmentation procedure. In the first days after surgery, you’ll experience some bruising and swelling. Most women can return to light-duty or office-type work after about 48 hours. While you can take brief walks to stimulate your circulation, you’ll need to refrain from exercise for two weeks after surgery. After that, you can gradually get back to your exercise routine, resuming more strenuous activities after four to six weeks.
We will provide detailed recovery instructions, including how to contact us with questions or concerns and a plan for follow-up appointments.
As the swelling goes down, your breasts should gradually return to the size they were before you had your implants placed, but they won’t go back to their original shape right away. If you don’t have a breast lift with your implant removal procedure, your breasts will likely look deflated at first, with indents where the implants had been. This flattened, hollowed shape will slowly fill in as your breast tissue shifts to fill the gap left by the implant. You may also find that the stretching effect of the implants, combined with the aging process, can leave your breasts sagging. If this bothers you, consider having a breast lift done later. Fat grafting can also replace some of the volume lost with implant removal.
Schedule a Consultation in Orange County
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn more about breast implant removal. Our surgeons will answer your questions and explain how the procedure can address your concerns. We serve Orange County and the Los Angeles area, with offices in Orange, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Yorba Linda, and Newport Beach, CA.
The doctors at UCI Plastic Surgery are leaders in the field of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Through their teaching and lecturing roles at UCI, they stay current with state-of-the-art techniques and technology. With their advanced technical skills, they consistently produce better, more natural-looking results for their patients.