Explantation: More women choosing to remove their breast implants

PHOENIX - A growing number of women, both in Arizona and in other parts of the U.S., are opting for surgery to get their breast implants removed.

Local perspective:

One of those women is Carissa Schultz. She decided to have a breast augmentation in her 20s, and said she originally wanted the surgery to boost her self-confidence.

However, Schultz ended up not loving the way she looked after surgery. She lived with them for years, but right around the 10-year mark, Schultz started to think about having them removed.

"Life unfolds," Schultz said. "I became a mother. The thought of going under was daunting, and then it really came to a head in 2024. I was battling a lot of sickness. While I'm not a person who believes my implants lead to my sickness, I was just in a mental state of maybe now is the time. Let’s just remove them, and if this is impeding in any way or will help my wellbeing, let’s just get them out."

Expert Perspective:

Schultz had an explantation surgery, or the medical removal of her breast implants, about a year ago. Her surgery was performed by Dr. Ricky Brown of Brown Plastic Surgery, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Scottsdale.

After 17 years in business, Brown says he is seeing more demand for explant surgeries.

"For sure, I'd say over the last three to four years, we've seen a huge surge of explantation, so women taking them out," Brown said. "That's been a huge thing."

Brown, who performs both augmentation and explantation surgeries, says there are several reasons why more women are having them removed.

"I think partially women are saying, 'I don't need these anymore. They've served their purpose. I'm athletic, I don't want to have multiple surgeries in my life,'" Brown said. "I think people are falling back into a more natural state for their body. With social media and the topic of breast implant illness becoming bigger, I think that is something too."

Dig deeper:

Although not formally recognized as a medical diagnosis, many women believe they have breast implant illness.

"It's a tricky topic because there hasn't been any studies that we can prove," Brown said. "People who don't know what that is, there's a percentage of women who think their implants are making them sick. Things we're hearing are brain fog, joint pain, swelling, rashes they've never had before, thyroid issues, gut issues. A whole list of things. Women say, 'I've been worked up and we can't figure out what's wrong with me, so I think it's my implants.'"

While the medical field continues to study the issue, Brown says he takes his patients' concerns seriously regardless.

"The fact of the matter is we have no scientific evidence to link exactly that implants are causing these problems," Brown said. "I don't have a test that will show me a blood test where I can tell you'll be higher risk than someone else. What I do tell patients is the following: this is all about informed consent. You need to know the risks that come along with having surgery. Just like someone can be allergic to penicillin, you can be allergic to implants. I can't deny a patient is experiencing symptoms, but there is no literature. Some women get explanted and feel better, but there's equally an amount of women who explant and don't get better."

"I operate from this standpoint: you put them in electively, and if you feel like they're making you sick, let's take them out electively," Brown continued. "For new patients that come in, I inform them of all the risk. Here's what other women are talking about, so I just want you to make an informed decision. Of course, if 10% of the population was getting sick from implants we wouldn't be doing them, so I still think they are safe to do so. It's a small percentage compared to the amount of women getting implants."

Surgery results may vary after getting an explant. Brown says some women go back to looking similar to what they did before, while others will need a lift or other cosmetic surgeries to give them their desired look.

As far as price, it can range, but is similar to what patients originally paid for the first surgery.

What She Said:

As for Schultz, she says having the explant surgery was one of the best decisions she has ever made.

"I will definitely say I am more confident than I expected to be," Schultz said. "I didn't feel like my implants defined me, who I was and how I felt about myself, which was another reason why I knew why it was time to have them removed. I've felt lighter, more like myself. I've enjoyed clothes like I haven't in a really long time. I think my implants made me feel more self-conscious than they did self-confident. It's been wonderful to feel like myself again."

She is hoping other women who may feel like she did will have the confidence to move forward in whatever way makes them feel better.

"I've realized we can do things to make ourselves feel beautiful, but at the end of the day true beauty comes from within and how we view ourselves," Schultz said. "That has been one of the biggest journeys being in my 40s now. I'm grateful for a healthy, strong body. My focus is more on athletics and moving my body and feeling confident in ways like that instead of seeking external validity for my beauty. That's what I want women to know is we can be beautiful in every stage of life."

Brown Plastic Surgery

https://www.instagram.com/brownplasticsurgery/