Severe Single PIP Implant Rupture
Our patient in this video had 310cc PIP implants inserted in 2003. She has come in today for removal and replacement of her implants, as there is an indication that one of them is ruptured.
Mr Richards, the surgical director of Aurora Clinics, begins the procedure by measuring the scar before opening up the breast to remove the first implant. Some silicone comes out, which indicates the implant is in fact ruptured. Upon removal we see it is one of the worst single ruptures of a PIP implant we have seen. The shell has completely disintegrated and has to be pieced together like a jigsaw.
The patient wants to go slightly fuller, and with PIPs, the sizes are usually off the regulated sizes, so even going the same size, the CC will be slightly different. The inflatable sizer is inserted and inflated to 385cc which Mr Richards thinks is a good fit for our patient.
The next implant is removed, and is in a compeltely different state, still in tact with just the usual deflation and gel bleed which is very characteristic with a non ruptured PIP. We see the final result before Mr Richards takes some time to compare the implants that have been removed.
He begins with the ruptured one, stating the shell has lost all texture and feels different to the one still in tact. Despite the rupture, there was a lack of creamy fluid, which we usually see plenty of with a ruptured PIP implant. Mr Richards thinks this is because the silicone within the implant is actually medical grade silicone, and the shell is the only substandard part of this implant. Having lost all texture, and having to be pieced together like a jigsaw, it is one of the worst PIP ruptures we have seen at Aurora. This just goes to show they are too unpredictable to know how they will perform and react to bodily fluids. The lot and batch numbers are very different, which is why they have acted in a very different manner, although in our previous videos we have had a difference between the implants that have come from similar or the same lot and batch numbers. I think we can summarise that we have no idea how each individual PIP will react, as they all react very differently, and there is no way of knowing whether you have some of the worst, or the best PIP implants, so to be on the safe side we advise you get them removed as soon as possible.