Last updated on August 30th, 2018 at 08:39 pm
Breast Implant Surgery Risks
Even with today’s technology and surgeon skills, unfortunately, there are risks with any surgery. Breast implant surgery risks can occur regardless of a surgeon’s skill or the medical staff’s degree of care. The areas where some breast implant risks can occur, are within the surgical procedures, surgical errors, and risks that can occur just based on the nature of implants, themselves.
Breast implant surgery, barring any problems, the surgery usually takes about one hour. Though rare, some major factors that can be related to the surgery itself, involve anesthesia reactions. A patient’s anesthesia risks depend upon a patient’s health, their reaction to it, and the type of anesthesia used. There are different types of anesthesia that can be used for breast implant surgery. Some risks include difficulty in breathing, allergic reasons, increased blood pressure, or an elevated heart rate.
Bleeding and infection, although rare, can occur, but can easily be controlled. If there is some bleeding during and after the breast implant surgery, then there is likely to also be some bruising. These bleeding problems are not necessarily harmful and do not imply any serious complications.
There are also risks of breast implant ruptures and leaks. The two major implants are silicone gel and saline implants. Silicone gel implants come pre-filled, while saline implants are filled by using a saline solution right at the surgery table. If there is a saline leak, it is absorbed in the body, but it’s usually harmless, unless there is a bacteria inside the implant which can cause a serious infection. Breast implants can rupture as a result of an injury or extreme pressure.
Breast implant surgery risk factors can also be related to symptons that occur after surgery. Breast implant surgery patients can experience some discomfort after surgery that include pain, swelling, tenderness, and a lack of sensation for a short period of time. Some implant surgery risk factors also occur based on the nature of the implants themselves. These include dimpling, asymmetry, wrinkling, slight puckering, and visibility of the implants.
Capsular contracture is another breast implant surgery risk. During the capsular contracture, a scar tissue that normally forms around the implant, can become very tight and an uncomfortable squeeing takes place, which could cause a rupture. Capsular contracture is generally more common following infections, bleeding and seroma. Symptoms range from hardness, slight distortion, discomfort to wear clothes or to the touch.
A more less known and rare risk factor that has been linked to breast implant surgeries is anaplastic large cell lymphoma (“ALCL”) disease. The ALCL disease has now been identified to breast implants with a possible connection to both saline and silicone gel implants. Its symptoms involve swelling and pain for a certain length of time, the development of fluid around the implants, and sometimes scarring also around the implants. This only occurs with textured implants.
Surgical professionals are experienced in the possibilities of breast implant surgical risk factors and will monitor closely their patient’s progress. They will closely evaluate patient’s general health history, go through all pre-existing health conditions, and will discuss your breast implant options with a recommendation of treatments.
