Management of the breast explantation patient: Technique and breast reshaping

The number of explantations performed for breast implants since 1992 has increased because of multiple factors, including the Food and Drug Administration's stance on silicone breast implants. Reasons for implant removal can be as subjective as a patient's choice to objective findings of contracture, rupture, and implant life greater than 15 years old. Plastic surgeons not only remove the offending implant, but also recreate the breast in as aesthetically pleasing a way as possible. The purpose of this article is threefold: to enumerate the indications for explantation and capsulectomy; to provide an algorithm for the aesthetic management of breast reshaping if needed after explantation; and to illustrate the technique of explantation and capsulectomy.