Rippling of Implants

Rippling / Palpability (feeling the implant)
When a patient doesn't have much breast tissue or body fat, they may experience palpability of the breast implants and possibly rippling of the breast implants. Although the breast implants are placed under the muscle (sub-muscular), the outer edge and cleavage areas are not covered by the muscle and these are the most common places where rippling is experienced. The rippling / palpability of the breast implant can be decreased by using silicone gel breast implants versus saline filled breast implants. Silicone gel breast implants are now FDA approved and give a softer, more natural feeling to the patient with little breast tissue.

The Surgical Procedure
For correction of rippling and palpability of the breast implants, the procedure can take about 1-2 hours and resembles the original breast augmentation surgery. Since this occurs more on patients who have saline-filled implants, Dr. Pousti goes through the same incision line and removes the current implants and replaces them with silicone gel implants. Sometimes, alloderm is used to improve the coverage of the area that is palpable. Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Pousti takes his time in the operating room to make sure that he does what he can to achieve the patient's results.

What To Expect After Surgery
Since the pectoral muscles have already been stretched and there is an existing pocket, there is very little pain or discomfort. Patients experience very minimal pain and there is less recovery time.

Resumption Of Physical Activities

Driving may be resumed in 1-2 weeks.
Non-contact sports in 3 weeks.
Contact sports in 6 weeks.