Is Breast Augmentation a One Time Procedure?

Breast augmentation is one of the most common cosmetic procedures worldwide. It is a surgery that increases the size of a person’s breasts. In most breast augmentation surgeries, implants are used to enhance breast size. Fat from another part of the body can also be used. There are three main types of breast implants: saline, silicone or alternative composite.

People get breast augmentation surgery for a variety of reasons: to enhance physical appearance and boost self-confidence, to reconstruct the breast after a mastectomy or another breast surgery, to adjust uneven breasts due to surgery or another condition or to increase breast size after pregnancy and breastfeeding. In most cases, recovery takes 6 to 8 weeks.

Breast Implant Maintenance

Before undergoing breast augmentation, you should ask all the questions you might have to your surgeon, who will be able to answer them and give you all the tools you need to make an informed decision. Breast augmentation is a surgery and before you decide to get it, make sure you understand the risks and the benefits and how to care for your implants over time.

A very important question is whether breast augmentation is a one-time procedure or not. It is important to highlight that breast implants do not last a lifetime. It is likely that they’ll need replacement at some point. Women who have implant surgery usually have one or more surgeries at some point because of a complication or to improve how their breast look and feel. The longer you have implants, the greater the chance that they will develop a complication or they will need to be replaced.

Why do patients have a second breast augmentation procedure?

There are several reasons why patients may need to have a second breast augmentation procedure:

1. To replace existing implants with smaller implants.

This could be because you have lost or gained a significant amount of weight and the implants are not proportionate with your body shape anymore, or because they feel too large or too heavy, or you are experiencing back pain or discomfort because of large implants.

2. To replace existing implants with bigger implants.

If after the first operation your breasts are smaller than you expected, you might decide to have a second breast augmentation surgery to increase the size.

3. Your implants need replacement due to complications.

Although it’s rare, it can happen that your implants need to be replaced due to complications. The most common complications that require a second procedure are capsular contraction (hard tissue forming around the implant, causing it to feel hard and look uncomfortable) and implant rupture (a tear or hole in the implant shell that causes the saline or silicone solution to leak from the implant). These complications can happen at any point after the first breast augmentation procedure. However, 50% of the breast implants rupture occur in implants that are over 15 years old.

If the idea of having multiple surgical procedures does not appeal to you, you might want to consider a non-surgical breast augmentation.