You service your car by the mile and your house by the season, but the silicone and saline devices from a cosmetic breast augmentation keep a schedule all their own.

The classic answer is that you run them until they break — no surgeon, manufacturer, or FDA rule forces a replacement while the device is still performing. What sends someone back to the OR isn't a date on the calendar but events: capsular contracture that firms up or distorts the shape, and the rupture or deflation of a saline or silicone gel breast implant.

Your breasts change on their own, too. Pregnancy, weight shifts, and gravity add droopiness over 10, 20, or 30 years, until the implant and the breast can stop lining up. Dr. Bass and co-host Summer Hardy walk through when a size change, a breast lift, or a full swap makes sense, whether an implant can ever be reused, and why an intact device is far easier to remove than a ruptured one.

The bottom line: a touch of firmness or mild asymmetry usually isn't worth a trip to the OR, but any real change in the size, shape, firmness, or feel of the breast means it's time to call your surgeon right away. You can run implants until they break — or get more out of them, and a better result, with a little upkeep along the way.

Questions answered by this episode:

1. Do breast implants need to be replaced on a schedule? 2. How long do breast implants actually last? 3. What is capsular contracture, and does it mean you need surgery? 4. How do you know if a breast implant has ruptured or deflated? 5. What is the rupture or deflation rate in the first 10 years? 6. Can a breast implant be reused during a revision, or does it have to be replaced? 7. How do pregnancy, weight changes, and aging affect the breasts after augmentation? 8. When does it make sense to add a breast lift while replacing implants? 9. Will a mammogram damage a breast implant? 10. How often should you see your plastic surgeon after breast augmentation?

About Dr. Lawrence Bass

Innovator. Industry veteran. In-demand Park Avenue board certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Bass is a true master of his craft, not only in the OR but as an industry pioneer in the development and evaluation of new aesthetic technologies. With locations in both Manhattan (on Park Avenue between 62nd and 63rd Streets) and in Great Neck, Long Island, Dr. Bass has earned his reputation as the plastic surgeon for the most discerning patients in NYC and beyond.

To learn more, visit the Bass Plastic Surgery website or follow the team on Instagram @drbassnyc

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