Implant Strength

A Blog About the Durability of Implants by Dr. Loftus

Women commonly ask me about how long breast implants last. It is impossible to know how long these devices will last in any given person, but we can make estimates. Breast implants are not permanent devices. They have a usable lifespan and then they wear out.

The way implants wear out is typically through a process called "fold failure." This happens slowly over time. The shell of the implant is very flexible and develops wrinkles or folds as the saline or silicone gel moves inside. Imagine the shell of the breast implant resembles a piece of paper. If you fold a piece of paper in the same place time after time, it will weaken and easily tear at that place. The shell likewise weakens from bending and flexing millions of times. At some point, it may start to leak.

Silicone and saline implants seem to leak at the same rate. One is not stronger than the other is. The estimated chance of an implant rupturing is thought to be 4% the first year, and this number increases by 1% each year the implants are in place.

It makes sense that the gentler you are on your implants, the longer they will last. However, implants are quite strong. This is evident in the stomp test. This is an unofficial test not recommended by the manufacturer and definitely not to be tried at home!. The point of this demonstration is to show that you can play sports, exercise, hug people, have sex, drive a car and sky dive after a breast augmentation without restriction. The chance that your normal activities will break your breast implants is very small. So what happens if they do break? First of all, it is not the end of the world! The implants simply need to be replaced. The bottom line is, satisfaction after breast augmentation is very high because you CAN do the things you want to do in addition to getting the benefits of a more feminine shape.