How to Choose the Best Plastic Surgeon for Breast Implant Removal
By: Jessica Moon
Tags: Plastic Surgery, Beauty, Health, Breast Implant Illness, Body Image

How to Choose the Best Plastic Surgeon for Breast Implant Removal

So you’re ready for explant surgery. This is no small decision. Your reasons for getting breast implants were complicated enough. And now you’re faced with a whole new level of uncertainty, moving parts, and a lot riding on the outcome.

With 300,000 new breast implants going in every year in the U.S. and only 30,000 coming out, the vast majority of women remove their implants — and the scar tissue that forms around them called “capsules” — because of complications.

You’ve Googled the topic. And chances are you’re connected to social media groups where you can gather first hand experience about every step of the process. But there are two problems. First, there’s not enough good quality info on Google yet. Second, you have to know how to navigate the groups.

In both cases, you must be able to filter out the information and opinions that don’t serve you.

One topic that’s so important but swirls with controversy, confusion, and emotion is how to choose the right explant surgeon. Your results, and how you feel about your results, depend on the way you feel about your doctor.

It’s a very personal decision because everyone has different needs. I’ve gone through the process myself and have also listened to the experiences of other women. And asked a few medical experts, too.

Here are four questions to think about as you start the quest for your perfect surgeon.

Have You Decoded the Plastic Surgeon’s Online Presence?

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What happens when you search for “breast implant removal surgeons near me”? The surgeons you see first paid for ads. They may not actually have experience performing capsulectomies (the official name for the removal of implants and scar tissue capsules). Most likely, they’re just experienced with placing or replacing implants, not removing them.

Since the algorithm isn’t super helpful, you have to dig into their site and try to interpret their attitude towards breast implant removal and determine their skill level.

Instagram actually becomes helpful here. Do most posts tout the day’s set of gorgeous augmented breasts? Or are there photos of intact capsules following a successful explant? Check out Dr. Jae Chun’s IG for an example of the latter.

Webpage testimonials are obviously only going to be the good ones, so read those with a grain of salt.

What about online reviews? Well, they don’t always paint an accurate picture, either. Since taking the time to write a review requires effort, reviews tend to represent the extreme ends of patient experience. What’s more, the bad reviews often reflect customer service issues (i.e., billing and wait time) and not the skill of the doctor.

If you belong to a social media group, you can always search the surgeon’s name to see if anyone’s had experience, good or bad, with a surgeon or practice. However, some won’t mention bad experiences with doctors by name out of fear — founded or not — of legal retaliation.

From what I’ve seen, though, people will rave about a great doctor! But as always, use your own good judgment when assessing the information you find.

At risk of stating the obvious, make sure the surgeons on your shortlist are Board Certified.

Does Your Surgeon Need to Believe In Breast Implant Illness?

Photo by Zohre Nemation Unsplash

When you went for your implants, did you need to make a compelling case that fake boobs are better for your health? Of course not. You wanted to look a certain way and the surgeon complied with your request. That’s what plastic surgeons do! They try to make us look how we want to feel. Confident, sexy, and visible in all the right ways.

Why, then, is it not the same for explant surgery?

Women report a spectrum of experiences during their explant consultations. Some feel belittled and discredited for wanting their implants out for any reason. I’ve even heard stories of surgeons wanting the verbal approval of husbands before agreeing to perform explant surgery. (Is that even legal?)

Not everyone has experiences like this, of course. Plenty of surgeons listen to and learn from their patients and perform proper explant surgeries.

Here’s the question — why must their “belief” in BII be discussed anyway? Why can’t explant surgery just be an issue of supply and demand, like lip flips and tummy tucks?

I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because some surgeons feel their livelihoods will be threatened by emerging science and the subjective experiences of their patients. Or maybe it’s because their decisions are driven by subconscious biases about the way women should look.

Dr. Michael Alperovich is a Board Certified plastic surgeon at Yale New Haven Hospital and full-time faculty member at Yale School of Medicine. He says,

“We do not always have scientific reasoning to explain the impact a surgery has on a patient. It is important for physicians to remain open-minded, humble, and to listen to his or her patients. While not every patient’s symptoms improve following surgery, for many it has a powerful impact on their day-to-day lives. Hearing and trusting your patient goes a long way towards helping their desired goals and performing as complete a surgery as possible.”

So, the benefit of having your surgeon at least acknowledge your implants could be making you unwell is that he or she is more likely to be committed to removing them the right way.

Should You Consider a Surgeon Who Continues to Perform Augmentations?

Photo by Evan Dennison Unsplash

A true dilemma. If you’re removing your implants because you suspect they’re making you — and hundreds of thousands of other women — sick, wouldn’t you want to know why a doctor would continue to place them in people’s bodies?

Here are a few things to consider about this:

There are degrees to which people equate their breasts to their identity. This creeps into the territority of psychological health. One example is gender affirmation surgery. Studies show that while multiple techniques are available to transfeminine patients, surgical breast augmentation offers the results that most contribute to their short-term and long-term quality of life.

Then there are breast cancer patients. Reconstruction with implants is sometimes the only option to give the patient the aesthetic results acceptable to her. In fact, the request for reconstruction surgery has increased by 39% since 2000. For many women, the recreation of their breasts contributes to feelings of hope of recovery and better mental health.

Gender affirmation and breast cancer aside, we know the clamor for implants isn’t going away anytime soon. We live in a place where personal freedoms are valued and where supply meets demand. Plastic surgeons currently have a right to perform breast augmentations and they have a population eager to receive them.

On the flip side, properly performing explant surgery with capsulectomies requires a lot of skill and practice. This means it probably has to be one of the surgeon’s signature offerings. According to Dr. Alperovich,