Hi, I've had saline implants for 10+ years and it's time to redo them (too big, uneven height). My surgeon suggests that we deflate and drain them now, let the skin heal/shrink back if possible then do the new breast augmentation in 3-4 months. The goal being that perhaps I'll need less of a breast lift and smaller implants placed if we give it more time to heal. Is this a realistic plan?
Yes, that is a very reasonable plan. Deflating the implants makes them immediately smaller and the breast size more comfortable. You can then assess the size of your natural breasts and be better able to decide if you want to replace the implants and what size. Also the skin will have a chance to shrink a bit (kind of like after having a baby for the tummy skin) so you can decide if you need a breast lift and if so what scars you would end up with. I usually wait 3 months in between deflation and the surgery. Good luck!
Very reasonable. I would do the same.
The reasonableness of this depends on how much you want to downsize, how much breast drooping is present and your age. The older you are, the more breast drooping you have and the greater the difference between the 2 implant sizes the less difference this approach will make as the expected amount of shrinkage is limited.
That’s a very safe plan, but unnecessary for a surgeon that is expert in revision breast surgery. I’m not sure what you mean by ‘less of a breast lift’, but if you’re thinking a periareolar lift versus a formal lift, that determination can be made now, regardless of how much skin ‘tightens up’.
This can be done, yes. I usually do not wait that long between deflation and surgery but there is no real issue in waiting longer. Hope this helps.