The appearance of a woman’s breasts can have a significant impact on her mental and emotional well-being. Women can often develop a deep sense of unhappiness when their breasts’ size, shape, or feel significant changes. A loss of self-confidence can result in increased stress and anxiety when trying to form intimate relationships. In some cases, depression may develop. Cosmetic breast surgery is one of the most commonly performed types of cosmetic surgery in the UK.
As with any cosmetic surgery procedure, breast surgery will have specific risks depending on the type of breast procedure undertaken. Many women may have had a breast procedure and have been unhappy with the results. Some may have sought to choose a clinic or surgeon offering the lowest prices rather than basing their decision on choosing a quality provider with an excellent reputation. In these cases, breast revision surgery, also known as corrective breast revision, is an effective option to restore a desirable appearance to the breasts. Certain risks and complications may develop after surgery and may not be related to errors or mishaps but to how your body heals. Results of certain types of breast surgery naturally change over time, such as breast augmentation. Women may find their breasts after having breast implants to develop sagging with age. Breast revision surgery is commonly performed at our state-of-the-art London facility for patients who have had surgery elsewhere, often in Turkey.
What does breast revision surgery involve?
Breast revision surgery involves correcting problems from previous surgery, which include breast augmentation, breast lift or breast reduction. After these procedures, breast asymmetry may persist, leading to the appearance of uneven-looking breasts. The outcome of breast surgery may have produced results that are not in line with patient’s treatment goals. Corrective breast surgery is the ideal procedure for patients looking to improve the look and feel of their breasts to enjoy the results of the procedure. Although many women may go into revision breast surgery feeling disappointed, a properly planned procedure carried out correctly allows women to regain their self-confidence.
Corrective breast revision surgery is designed to address:
- Abnormal or excessive scars
- Achieve a size of breast that patients are happy with
- Correct excessive breast asymmetry
- Address saggy breasts caused by the ageing process
- Treat capsular contracture or implant rupture
What is breast augmentation revision?
Breast augmentation is the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure in the UK. Every woman has different expectations for treatment, and each procedure must be customised to the needs of the individual patient. In some cases, the first surgery they have involves inserting implants that appear too small. Revision breast augmentation can be a straightforward procedure involving breast implant removal only, or it can be a complex procedure involving combined breast implant replacement, capsulectomy and breast uplift. The exact treatment plan will depend on the surgeon listening carefully to the patient’s wishes and performing a thorough physical examination to plan what can be realistically achieved following revision breast surgery. You will have the opportunity to ask your surgeon questions, which will allow you to build an accurate picture of what the revision breast implant procedure will involve.
Examples of breast augmentation revision procedures include:
- Breast implant removal or explant
- Breast implant replacement or implant exchange
- Fat transfer to breasts
- Breast lift
- Scar revision
What does revision breast reduction involve?
Although surgery to increase the size of the breasts with breast augmentation is the most common type of breast procedure, many women would like to reduce the size of large and heavy breasts. Breast reduction is a highly successful procedure for reducing the size of large breasts, which is often a source of significant discomfort for many women. Many women suffer from severe back pain from having heavy breasts and can live pain-free after breast reduction with smaller and better-shaped breasts. Other women may feel a lot of confidence from having large breasts, which may be an unwanted source of attention.
In a small number of cases, women may be unhappy with their breast reduction results and may request revision breast surgery to improve breast appearance.
Typical scenarios for needing breast reduction revision include:
- Patients are unhappy with the amount of breast tissue removed and still feel the breasts are too large.
- Patients may feel the breasts are excessively small following press reduction.
- Patients have developed an excessive degree of breast asymmetry.
- Patients are unhappy with the appearance of their breast reduction scars.
What are the different types of revision breast surgery?
Breast revision surgery is tailored to the individual patient, and your surgeon will advise you of the optimal treatment after clinically assessing you and your expectations for treatment. Commonly performed types of corrective breast surgery include:
- Breast implant removal – often, many women decide they do not want to have breast implants anymore, or they may have developed a complication related to having breast implants. Breast implant removal can be performed on its own without breast implant replacement.
- Breast implant replacement – some women may have developed complications such as breast implant rupture and will need to have these removed and replaced with new implants. Some may be unhappy with the size of their breasts after breast augmentation and desire to go bigger or smaller with new breast implants, swapping out the old ones.
- Breast fat transfer – fat is first removed from unwanted parts of the body using liposuction, followed by its purification. The purified fat is then injected into the breasts to enhance their size and shape. Fat transfer to the breasts can be combined with other types of revision breast surgery to improve overall breast contour.
- Breast lift revision – women’s breasts naturally develop sagging over time as a result of the ageing process. The breasts may appear more droopy than when you were younger. A Breast lift revision procedure can be performed to produce perkier-looking breasts and can be combined with implants.
- Surgical scar revision – our plastic surgeons have a special interest in minimising the appearance of scars following breast surgery. In a small number of cases, particularly in darker-skinned women, excessive scarring may develop. We have a full range of non-surgical and surgical techniques to improve the appearance of scars after breast surgery.
Can I have breast revision surgery?
It is essential to consider all the available options before deciding to have revision breast surgery. The best way to determine appropriate treatment is to have a face-to-face consultation with an experienced breast surgeon who carries out many types of revision breast surgery regularly. It is essential to have realistic expectations as two what to expect from having corrective press surgery. Surgery should be considered if non-surgical options are considered inappropriate. Unfortunately, breast revision surgery is commonly required when the first procedure is not carried out competently. This is often because an inexperienced surgeon performed the surgery. We would always recommend having any cosmetic surgery in the UK where you can access your surgeon after the procedure. Your surgeon will personally monitor your car to ensure you are healing as expected. Having surgery overseas denies you access to this possibility for ongoing post-operative care. Even by choosing a reputable UK cosmetic surgery clinic, there may still be a need for revision breast surgery, particularly if your healing did not proceed as planned. Developing certain complications after breast surgery should not be viewed as a failure of the original surgery. Breast surgery may often be required for women who are still unhappy with the size or shape of their breasts. Other women may still have persistent back pain after breast reduction surgery which often requires further breast tissue removal. Some women may develop thick and prominent scarring after breast reduction that does not improve naturally with time. These are all examples of problems that can be corrected with breast revision surgery.
Breast implant surgery has specific complications related to the insertion of breast implants, and these include:
- Capsular contracture.
- Breast implant rupture.
- Implant malposition.
- Breast asymmetry.
- Breast sagging due to having heavy implants.
- An unnatural appearance due to breast implants being placed on top of the muscle in slim women with minimal breast tissue.
