Breast Implant Rupture — What to Know

Breast implants are not lifetime devices, and rupture is one of the ways they eventually fail. A saline rupture announces itself — the breast visibly deflates. A silicone rupture is often silent: the gel stays in place and nothing looks different, which is why it can go unnoticed for years.

Signs worth checking

• A change in size or shape — one breast becoming smaller, firmer, or differently shaped than it was.
• New firmness or hardening — a rupture can trigger capsular contracture, the tightening of the scar shell around the implant.
• Discomfort, tingling, or swelling — new sensations around an implant that has been quiet for years.
• Nothing at all — silent rupture is real; if your silicone implants are old, absence of symptoms is not absence of rupture.

The first step is imaging, not surgery

Rupture is confirmed with imaging — typically ultrasound or MRI — not guesswork. Dr. Li examines, orders the right study, and reads the result with you. Her patients' most common reaction to a confirmed diagnosis is relief: finally an explanation, and a plan.

What happens if it is ruptured

A confirmed rupture is fixable, and the path depends on what you want next:

• Breast implant removal — taking the implant and, where appropriate, the surrounding capsule out, with a plan for the breast's shape afterwards.
• Revision augmentation — replacing the ruptured implant and correcting any contracture or malposition in the same operation.

Real cases are in the ruptured implant repair gallery, and Dr. Li's short videos on rupture are in the Learning Center.

If something about your implants has changed — or they are simply old enough to wonder about — book a consultation or call 626.888.9728.