Removing Breast Implants Without Replacing Them: The "explant" Trend In 5 Questions
For years, a woman who was no longer comfortable with her breast implants had them changed. Today, more and more patients are choosing to have them removed, simply without replacing them. On social media, the word "explant" gathers thousands of testimonials. Behind the trend, there are very concrete questions.
1. Why are more and more women removing their implants?
The reasons can be divided into two main categories. On one side, there are medical reasons: a capsule (the membrane surrounding the implant hardens and deforms the breast), a rupture detected by ultrasound, an implant that has shifted. On the other side, there are personal reasons: the silhouette has changed after pregnancies or weight loss, the volume no longer matches one's self-image, or one no longer wants a foreign body in their chest.
A third category has emerged in recent years: women who attribute chronic fatigue, joint pain, or concentration issues to their implants. This condition, often referred to as "breast implant illness," currently has no diagnostic test, but it accounts for a growing share of removal requests.
2. Should you change your prostheses every 10 years?
This is the most widespread idea, and it is false. A breast implant does not have an expiration date. Manufacturers do not set a limited lifespan, and an intact, well-tolerated implant without symptoms can remain in place.
What is true is that an implant wears out over time and the risk of rupture increases over the years. Hence a simple rule: regular monitoring, through ultrasound or MRI, and intervention only if the examination or symptoms warrant it.
"An implant does not have an expiration date. What matters is monitoring it. It is removed or replaced when there is a reason, not because a calendar says so," summarizes Dr. Samuel Struk, a breast surgery expert in Paris.
3. What happens to the breast after removal?
The main fear is ending up with "deflated" or sagging breasts. This concern is not unfounded, but it is often exaggerated.
It all depends on three elements. First, the quality of the skin: elastic skin retracts and adapts to the new volume. Second, the amount of breast tissue: a woman who had an average-sized breast before the procedure will regain a breast close to its original state. Finally, the size of the implant: the larger it was, the more the skin was stretched, and the greater the risk of sagging.
A Spanish study published in 2025 in the journal Aesthetic Plastic Surgery followed 28 women who had their implants removed without replacement or any other procedure for one year. They were on average 41 years old and had been wearing their prostheses for ten years. One year later, all reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the aesthetic result, and fewer than one in five considered a touch-up.
4. How to avoid sagging or flat breasts after removal?
When the skin is of good quality and the gland is sufficient, removal alone yields good results. In other cases, the surgeon has two tools at their disposal, which can be used separately or together.
Breast lifting raises the breast and removes excess skin. It leaves scars around the areola and sometimes vertically, but it corrects ptosis, meaning the sagging breast. Lipofilling involves taking fat from the abdomen or thighs, purifying it, and reinjecting it into the breast to restore some volume. There must be enough fat to harvest, and some of it will be absorbed in the months that follow.
The choice is made during the consultation before the operation. Some surgeons prefer to perform breast implant removal and lifting in the same surgical session, while others wait several months for the skin to retract to assess what is truly necessary. Both approaches are valid, and the answer mainly depends on the condition of the skin.
5. How does the operation go?
The simple removal lasts about an hour, under general anesthesia, most often on an outpatient basis: you go home the same evening. The surgeon generally goes through the original scar. Depending on the case, he also removes the capsule, the membrane that the body has formed around the implant.
The aftereffects are moderate. A supportive bra is worn for a few weeks, the work stoppage is a few days, and sports can be resumed after about a month. If a lift or lipofilling is associated, the procedure is longer and the recovery is somewhat more pronounced.
Regarding the budget, Social Security only covers the removal in cases of proven complications, such as a rupture or severe capsular contracture. A removal for aesthetic or personal reasons remains the responsibility of the patient, including lifting and lipofilling.
There remains the question that all patients ask: will I regret it? Studies on the subject converge. When the decision is well thought out and the patient has been properly informed about what her breasts will look like, regrets are rare. This is the role of the consultation: not to sell a result, but to describe it as it will be.
Source: Benito-Ruiz J. Breast Implant Removal-Only: The Role of Targeted Compression. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2025;49(1):224-233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-024-04256-y
