Every surgical intervention involves a degree of uncertainty and risk.
If your breast enlargement is carried out by a qualified plastic surgeon, complications are extremely rare and usually insignificant.
As in any surgical intervention, there are certain risks involved in the operation itself and specific possible complications related to the particular operation.
After a breast enlargement a capsule fibrosis may occur. The body recognises any implant as a foreign body and forms a fine coating of connective tissue around the foreign body to isolate it.
In the vast majority of cases this coating is so fine that it cannot be detected by touch and does not affect the postoperative result.
In a few cases, however, the contraction of this coating puts pressure on the initially soft implant, which then feels hard. More extreme capsule fibroses has to be corrected surgically, usually by the surgical removal of the capsule from the connective tissue and the insertion of a new implant.
As in any operation, postoperative bleeding may occur with considerable swelling and pain. With unusually excessive swelling after the operation, it may be necessary to remove this haematoma in a further operation.
In the event of infection occurring in the implant pocket after the operation, the implant normally has to be removed. A new implant can only be inserted after 6-12 months have passed.
In a few patients oversensitivity or numbness is experienced in the nipples after the operation. The skin in the region of the incision may also be numb.
As a rule these changes revert to normal over the course of time, but may remain permanent in a very few patients. The ability to breastfeed is not impaired by a breast implant.
Should your breast implant become damaged by external force, it will have to be surgically removed and can usually be replaced by a new implant. If you need to have mammography as part of breast cancer screening, you must inform the person carrying out the mammography that you have a breast implant.
Mammography can be carried out on a person with a breast implant, but the operator must be informed so that the equipment can be adjusted accordingly. Both the mammary glands and the implant can be examined for any changes using ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging.