Immediately after surgery
Most women are happy with their appearance immediately after getting breast implants, after the pain goes away and the swelling goes down. Of course, it is important to be very clear with your plastic surgeon about what you want, so that you end up with a size and position that you are comfortable with.
While most women are pleased with how they look, they are not always as happy with how their breasts feel. You may have numbness in your nipple area. It may go away, or the numbness may last forever. This is a common complication, and one that many women don’t talk about but can interfere with their sexual pleasure. Or the opposite can happen: your breasts may be supersensitive and painful to the touch. This too may go away, or last forever.
If you have pain or other problems that are not going away as quickly as expected, contact your surgeon.
Emotional Changes
Are men staring at your breasts instead of looking at your face when you talk? Some women feel fine about that, but others complain that they can’t get used to it. In fact, women who undergo breast reduction surgery often say how they appreciate the feeling that people are looking them in the eye instead of at their chest. So, this is something to think about before you get breast implants.
Some women feel very confident after getting implants, while others feel self-conscious. You might try falsies for a few weeks before surgery to see how you feel.
Saline Implants
Women with saline breast implants sometimes complain that the salt water implant doesn’t warm up the way a natural breast does, so their breasts feel cool rather than warm. The implants can get unpleasantly cold in very cold weather, according to women who like ice-skating and similar sports. Women with saline implants also complain that the implants may make a swooshing water noise that makes them feel self-conscious. This doesn’t change over time, but you may get used to it.
After a few months or years:
The appearance of your augmented breasts may change over time. The most common complication is capsular contracture, which is when the scar tissue capsule that forms around the implant becomes too small for the implant. It feels tight and makes the breast feel harder. This often starts with the breasts feeling a little firm, but after a few months or years breasts can get very hard and painful – a bursting feeling – and the shape may look unusual or unnatural, or the two breasts might look quite different from each other. Some women with capsular contracture say that it looks like they have baseballs (or melons) attached to their chest. Many women with capsular contracture tell us they avoid hugging friends because the hardness is embarrassing.
Eventually, all implants will break. When a saline implant breaks or leaks, it will probably deflate within hours and the breast will be much smaller. Surgery is required to remove the broken implant. Silicone gel implant ruptures are usually slower and can even go unnoticed in some women for years. Suddenly, years after the leak started, a woman may realize that the breast is smaller than it was. Other women who have a silicone gel leak or rupture can experience a painful burning sensation, or see lumps that may look like cancer but are actually filled with silicone.
Very large breasts can be heavy and cause back problems. That’s why women who are naturally well-endowed sometimes get breast reduction surgery. Getting very large silicone gel breast implants could eventually cause back pain or problems just as naturally large breasts do.
One rather common local complication with saline implants, particularly in women who are very thin, is a wrinkling appearance of the breast. This usually will not improve without surgery, but can’t always be corrected even with surgery.
What if I get a rash?
A rash might mean you are having an allergic reaction to the implant. Rashes may go away, or not. See a physician if you get a rash that doesn’t go away quickly.
What if my breast feels hot, looks red, or is very painful?
These can be signs of an infection. See a physician immediately for treatment.
What if I am unhappy with how my breasts look?
Plastic and cosmetic surgeons try to achieve the best possible results, but some augmentation surgeries are more successful than others, and of course some surgeons are more experienced than others. Remember that surgery results are not always perfect, and that additional surgery can’t necessarily make them perfect. Your body is not a lump of clay, and can’t be shaped exactly as you’d like it.
Did you know that any physician can call himself or herself a plastic or cosmetic surgeon, even if they are not trained or experienced in surgery? Make sure that your doctor really is trained, experienced, and board-certified in plastic surgery, not through some other kind of medical program. And, it is usually safer to go to a surgeon in the country where you live, so that if problems arise you can go back for assistance.