Before and after bilateral explantation under local anesthesia in an 81-year-old woman. She was ready to have her implants removed but was concerned about a big surgery and lengthy recovery. She understandably wanted to avoid general anesthesia due to her age and health issues – and was delighted to learn she could have her implants removed in the office under local anesthesia!
Her breast implants had developed capsular contracture, with “superior malposition” (the implants sat up too high on her chest due to their submuscular position and chronic muscle contraction that pulled them upward). She also had a “Snoopy deformity”, seen on the lateral side view (the breast tissue sags and droops off a high implant, like a Snoopy nose), and she experienced pain and tightness.
Her existing scars in the fold under the breast were used to remove her implants under local anesthesia. She was also offered an oral anti-anxiety pill before surgery and laughing gas. She did not require a capsulectomy (surgical removal of scar tissue, which requires several hours under general anesthesia and drains for 1-2 weeks) since her implants were intact. After surgery, she showered in two days and resumed work and exercise in two weeks.
Follow up photos are shown just 7 weeks after surgery. The breast is a naturally a distensile (and contractile) organ. The breast skin and tissue will rebound to its former shape after surgery, as shown in this elderly patient. She is delighted with her decision to have her breast implants removed, and that it was a simple and straightforward procedure!
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
