Though saline breast implants are carefully pre-inspected, and made of strong and durable silicone polymers, they cannot last indefinitely.
Failure causes are numerous, but certain general facts are known.
Thinner walled implants seem to be more long-lasting than thicker walled implants. Implants which are filled below the least nominal volume for which they are rated tend to wrinkle and fail prematurely, as well. A 32 year old Asian woman who underwent breast augmentation 2 years earlier with round textured Mentor saline implants was to be seen for correction of too-high placement of implants. She had a spontaneous implant deflation about 4 weeks prior to the proposed revision, and photos reveal the result of the deflation, now revealing the original breast shape, prior to the first breast augmentation procedure. These early post-op photos show upper pole fullness which persisted for several more weeks after the revision surgery.