The saline and silicone breast implants available in the US are supplied by two companies at this time, Mentor and Allergan.  Both companies recommend their customers to have the breast implants replaced in 10 years.  However this doesn’t mean you have to change them at that time.

If the breast implants are not deflated, not changed in shape or the way they feel and not causing any problems, it is not necessary to risk anesthesia, surgery, post operative pain and the extra cost to have the implants removed and replaced. 

One of the main reasons to change the implants is deflation in case of saline and rupture for silicone implants.  With saline implants, if it deflates, you will see the breast get smaller and smaller over 48 hours.  In case of silicone gel implants, the FDA recommends an MRI every 3 years to check the integrity of the implants.

So the answer is no, you don’t have to change implants every 10 years as long as there are no complications noted.

For more information please contact our office at 310.360.0504.