Risks to Know Before Choosing Breast Augmentation Surgery

Breast augmentation surgery is one of the top growing industries these days due to its remarkable results. It imparts self-confidence among the women who are conscious about their looks and personality. The surgery gives them a new hope of acquiring an appearance that they desire, while bidding adieu to their smaller breasts. Nevertheless, like all the other surgeries, breast augmentation is equally likely to associate risks with it. The need is hence to be aware of them first hand so that you could be well prepared in your mind before going under the knife for the surgery.
Here it is important to note that the complications mentioned here are rare, with just under 1 percent of patients becoming victims to them. Hence, there is a very high chance of surgery to go successful for you. Let’s find out more about these probable risks or complications of breast augmentation surgery.

1. Asymmetry – The breasts might look uneven in appearance like size or shape after surgery. But this is very less likely as the surgeons put in a lot of effort on dimensions before setting the implants.
2. Deflation – Implants have saline water or silicone gel filled in them, which might leak if there is any rupture in it. It can lead to any partial or complete disintegration of the implants.
3. Capsular Contracture – Sometimes the tissues around the implants start contracting, reducing the flexibility and eventually hardening the breasts. If the problem persists then it might squeeze the implants inside and rupture them.
4. Pain in breasts – In the long run, you might feel pain around nipular area.
5. Extreme extrusion – The tissues might break making the implants visible from outside.
6. Breast tissue thinning – It is the initial problem that might lead to the extrusion if not taken care.
7. Chest deformity – The weights of the implants might affect the chest ribs, which could eventually deform the cage structure and cage wall in future, thereby leading to posture damage.
8. Incision Recovery – Recovery time for the incisions can be very long in some cases and might not heal itself at times. In this case, the surgeon would suggest several external interventions to fasten the recovery process.
9. Calcium Lumps inside – Lumps of calcium might accumulate inside the breasts and around the implants. This would necessitate the need for another surgery to remove the lump. Some people mistake it with breast cancer but actually, the calcification process is the main culprit, as it leads to collection of calcium in the form of lumps.
10. Hematoma – It is generally the post surgery symptom but doctors have detected it even after the recovery time in some of the patients. Hematoma is the collection of blood in the surgical area around the incisions, which may lead to swelling of skin and pain. Some of it is gradually absorbed by the body itself but if the condition worsens, prompt medical intervention becomes inevitable.
11.Displacement of implant – over time, the implants delocalize sometimes moving from their original position caused by gravity, external force and capsular contracture. This will lead to asymmetry among the breasts that might need another operation.
12. Lymphadenopathy – This condition arises when lymph nodes are enlarged due to swelling.
13. Inflammation – After the surgery, implants may not settle perfectly and the body starts showing some resistance. Common symptoms are redness, itchiness, irritation, pain or swelling sometimes. The worst effect can be seen as loss of some functions.
14. Necrosis – It is the dead skin collecting outside the breasts and emerges as an after effect of smoking, chemotherapy, steroid shots, or other interventions. Sometimes other therapies and consumption of foreign particles leads to extreme effects.
15. Ptosis – It leads to loosening of skin, which is a natural process and happens mainly due to aging, fat loss or saggy skin.
16. Sensation around breasts – After the surgery, there might be changes in your sensational response to outer touch like breast feeding and sexual responses. It can be temporary and possibly will vanish with time.
17. Palpability – Sometimes the implants can be felt directly through skin due to thinning of tissues.
18. Seroma – It is the release of body fluids around the implants inside the skin causing swelling, pain or other problems. Some amounts can be treated with medication but extreme situations will need a drain arrangement to remove the fluid directly.
19. Implant malfunction – If the implant gets saggy inside and folds or gets wrinkles, it might be visible from outside causing changes in appearance.
20. Infection due to toxicity – During the surgery or recovery period, the incisions might get infected. Moreover, it can happen anytime at a later stage as well. The harmful microorganisms that have penetrated to your body need to be tackled by medications. In case the problem persists, removal of the implant is the last resort.
21. BIA-ALCL – Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is not breast cancer, as it is not found in breast tissue itself. Instead, it could be a cancer of the immune system, resulting due to breast implants. It is a rare type of T cell lymphoma, which is found in scar tissues of the body around the implants. However, it can spread throughout the body in some cases.

More on BIA-ALCL
It was first detected by the FDA in 2011 in some patients. But due to lack of collective data about the breast augmentation surgeries, it took time to gather information about it. In 2016, due to its effects, WHO declared ALCL a T cell lymphoma.
Talking about the treatment, it is mostly cured by chemotherapy or radiotherapy in patients. In the worst case scenario, the implant needs to be removed before the condition spreads to the other body parts.
The most common symptoms of BIA-ALCL are pain around the implant, swelling due to collection of body fluids, lumps under the skin and capsular contracture. However, these conditions can be detected otherwise just after the surgery as post surgery effects. Therefore, it needs a separate medical examination to verify it.

What do the doctors have to say about it?
Various experts in this field have talked on this topic and enlightened the patients by giving useful tips about how to go for breast augmentation surgeries through their lifelong experience.
Let’s look at the most important suggestions that one might learn before deciding for breast augmentation surgery.

• FDA Safety Communication mentions the number of implants in its 2019 list that one must cease to use. So before considering which implants to finalize, do go through the list to ensure what not to use.
• If you are still using the implants that the doctors do not recommend anymore, your doctor must inform you about it. In any such case, periodic examinations are important to check any symptoms that may arise.
• Routine removal and placement of implants must be discouraged if patients are not showing any discomfort and are working completely fine with their implants.
• Whatever implants you are considering, do check their manufacturing details. Also, make sure to go through any precautions and directions listed by the company.
• If BIA-ALCL is suspected in any case, visit your surgeon immediately for the confirmation. It would be better to consider removal of affected implants and the scar tissues in any such event.

Last word
When you are placing a foreign object in your body, it is likely to come with various complications as the body might not accept it always and you might feel discomfort most of the time. As for Implants, they do not come with a lifetime guarantee. According to a report released by FDA, 20 percent of the patients choose to remove implants in the next 8 to 10 years.
You may start getting troubles at any point of time after the surgery. Though it has been proven to satisfying for most people, there is always a possibility of getting into multiple complications.
So if you are considering breast augmentation surgery, make sure to go through its positive and negative points to make a balance. Your decision must also consist of the perspective about plans of breastfeeding in future.
After a thorough consultation with the surgeon, you can be in a better condition to decide for the surgery. You can talk about the potential risks that you might face after the surgery, the implant quality and all the other pros and cons of breast augmentation surgery. Hopefully, this information will help you to make a wise decision for yourself.