Are There Any Risks or Complications Associated with Breast Explant Surgery?

In our previous episodes, we mentioned a variety of reasons why patients decide to undergo breast implant removal. Regardless of the reason, it's crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the potential risks or complications associated with this breast explant surgery.

That’s why today’s episode is another important one. Knowledge of the potential risks allows individuals to make informed decisions about whether to proceed with the procedure and enables them to prepare and prioritize their health and safety.

Risks or complications associated with breast explant surgery

One of the complications after a breast surgery, although quite rare, is pneumothorax, which is an incidence of injury in the chest cavity. I’ve personally performed almost 1,200 explants. Such an incident of injury has happened to me 5 out of 1,200 explant cases, which is a very low incidence.

As with any surgical procedure, there is a risk of bleeding and infection. One of the more concerning complications involving bleeding is hematoma. And fortunately, I haven’t encountered one of those in several years. I also haven’t had an infection case due to drains in over a couple of years.

Optimizing patients with low BMI

As with any surgical procedure, scarring is a common risk. The visibility of the scars depends on various factors such as the surgical technique used, the patient's healing process, and more. However, it's important to note that while scarring can happen, there are measures and techniques available to help reduce the visibility of scars and promote optimal healing.

Personally, I think fat transfer helps with some of these aesthetic issues, which is why I usually do it and recommend it to my patients. Additionally, I work very hard with diet supplements and other testing to optimize patients and lower their inflammation.

As much as we can, we really ensure that we get to optimize the patient’s hormone levels and enhance recovery any way we can. With regard to BMI, I think patients with low BMI and big implants are the most difficult patients. They are more prone to breasts sagging or drooping in the long run but they can have a delayed fat transfer.

To minimize any risks or complications, we do all of the testing through our Holistic Accelerated Recovery Program (HARP), alongside optimization with supplements, proper diet, treatments, and lymphatic massages because we always want to provide our patients with the best care possible.

Links and Resources
Dr. Robert Whitfield’s Website