Concerned about leakage of silicon from ruptured breast implant. How dangerous is this?

Question

Hi doctor,

Before eight years, my daughter underwent breast surgery. After that, she had a baby who is 18 months of age now. Before a month, she felt pain in one breast and went to GP. He did an X-ray, which showed a tear in one of the implants. Yesterday she visited a surgeon. He informed her that there is no chance for any replacement surgery until the inflammation clears up entirely. He said he could take out the implants, but will not replace it until the swelling gets clear completely. She is advised to take Ibuprofen for the reduction of inflammation. She was advised to visit the surgeon after a week. My concern is whether the leakage from the silicon breast implant is going in her body? How dangerous is this leakage? Is it safe to take these implants out and inserting new ones at a later date after healing?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I can assure that silicon from the ruptured implant will stay there only and it will not go anywhere in her body. Your surgeon is correct in telling you that the replacement can be done just after the inflammatory response settles down. It is better to remove the ruptured implant and wait for a replacement with a new one until the active inflammatory response gets resolved. Taking time for an inflammatory response to settle with Ibuprofen is also a good option. Because after that, you can undergo only a single surgery rather than two.