All breast implants will eventually break, but it is not known how many years the saline breast implants that are currently on the market will last. Studies of silicone breast implants seem to suggest that most implants last 7-12 years, but some break during the first few months or years, and some last more than 15 years. Some women who have breast fed compare the feeling to being unable to nurse for many, many hours. Others experience pain that is even worse. The recent report of the Institute of Medicine also pointed out that breast implants interfere with mammography, because implants can obscure the view of a tumor.
Implants therefore have the potential to delay the diagnosis of breast cancer.
Many women may not have access to a mammography technician with this expertise, and therefore would be at greater risk of a tumor being missed. In addition, some women with implants avoid mammography because of their fear of breaking or weakening their implants. Several researchers have shown that bacteria and fungi can grow in the saline implant, and have expressed concerns about those bacteria or fungi being released into the body if the implant breaks. Although there is relatively little information about saline implants, it is assumed that they are generally safer than silicone gel implants, because if they break they can be more easily removed. Silicone gel can be very difficult or even impossible to completely remove from the body if a silicone gel implant has broken.