I had B.A. 2 yrs ago & within a yr my left side ruptured. I think it had a slow leak from day 1. I'd of $8,000. So I went back, my surgeon was supposed to replace both while there, since the implant had lifetime warranty. I have a feeling, he just refilled it! It's been 11 mos. & Here I am again! It's been slowly leaking the whole time! Now at this point it' obvious. He said he'd tell me what the
Dear Timelessmac, Sorry for your bad luck! Many women with saline implants go their whole lives never having to replace them. However, they do run a risk of failure due to the fact that they are slightly underfilled so they'll feel soft, and when you move you can create folds in the implant normally. I liken it to a credit card you bend back and forth, it can eventually crack. I had a patient once whose implant failed after a few years. I replaced it and it failed again in a few months! I replaced it again and the next one failed in 3 years! Crazy. Replacement number3 is holding steady, thank goodness. Fortunately, replacing a saline implant is a pretty quick swap out. Your implants are warrantied, and the company will pay towards the OR since it's been less than 10 years. I highly doubt your surgeon would have refilled a leaking implant; since the replacement implant was free, it makes no sense. You should return to your surgeon, or use the Find-a-Surgeon tool here.
It’s unlikely you can refill a ruptured saline implant. You just got unlucky. Time to say good bye to saline and join the modern world of silicone gel implants. Best of luck.
Dear Timelessmac,
I am sorry to hear you are having a difficult time with your saline breast implants. It would be very unlikely that you would experience a slow leak over a years time. Most implants leak over days to a few weeks. Also, you should have received a new implant card with type and serial numbers for the new implants that were placed. Though very rase, I have had a handful of patients who have had multiple leaks in a 10 year period. You may also consider the cohesive gel implants. The FDA does not consider any implant "permanent device" and recognizes their life span to be 10 - 15 years max for both gel and saline implants. Hope this helps. Best wishes, Dr. D.
Thank you for sharing your excellent question and I am sorry to hear of your BA issues. In general a ruptured implant can not be refilled and another implant would have been required. I would recommend seeking a second opinion to discover what may be taking place and the appropriate treatment.