Every year, women decide the time has come to have their breast implants taken out, whether after a year or after decades of wear. Sometimes, the reason is a complication; other times, it is simply a change in what they want for their bodies.
Explant surgery is a unique procedure with its own planning and recovery. At Tarola Plastic Surgery, Dr. Nicholas Tarola has built his practice in Murfreesboro around listening to his patients when they decide they are ready to go implant-free.
Why So Many Women Feel Dismissed When Asking About Explant Surgery
Women have many reasons for deciding to have implant removal. Some have loved their implants for fifteen or twenty years, but want their natural shape back. Others feel discomfort or feel their implants may be making them sick. Sometimes surgeons will dismiss patients whose reasons for wanting a removal do not line up with their views, and they may get sent away without the surgery they want.
Breast implant removal is one of the focuses of Dr. Tarola’s practice, Tarola Plastic Surgery, in Murfreesboro. Turning a healthy candidate away for this surgery puzzles Dr. Tarola. In his own words, “If somebody has a foreign device in their body that we placed, I think it’s very reasonable that when a patient comes in requesting it be removed, we remove it.”
Why Dr. Tarola Listens When Others May Not
Dr. Tarola completed his plastic surgery training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and built a private practice with its own operating room. When a handful of patients first asked him to remove implants they believed were causing symptoms, he was skeptical, like most in his field. He agreed to perform the surgeries anyway, and found that the patients’ symptoms improved.
For several years afterward, he fielded many calls from peers and mentors who criticized his work. Many of those same surgeons now perform the procedure themselves. Dr. Tarola has a rare trait: willingness to hear a patient out, even against professional pressure, and this approach has built a strong foundation of trust in his community.
Common Reasons Women Choose Implant Removal
Capsular Contracture
After implants are inserted into the breast cavity, your body naturally forms a layer of scar tissue around the device. In some cases, the tissue thickens and tightens, squeezing the implant until the breast feels hard or looks distorted. This is called capsular contracture, and it can be uncomfortable or painful.
Rupture or Deflation
Implants can last for many years, but they are not designed to be permanent. Sometimes, they can rupture and need to be removed or replaced. Saline implant ruptures are very noticeable as they immediately deflate. Silicone ruptures often stay hidden and may only be seen on an imaging scan.
Breast Implant Illness Symptoms
Some women develop a cluster of symptoms like fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, rashes and trouble sleeping. These symptoms are often dismissed because blood tests come back normal and there is limited established data on the connection between implants and these symptoms. However, removing implants often improves the health of these women.
Changing Preferences
Bodies change, and priorities shift over the years, and this in itself can be a valid reason for wanting to remove implants. Plenty of women are ready for a lighter and more natural chest that better suits their current lifestyle and want them removed, even if there are no complications or symptoms.
The Implant Removal Consultation Process
Your Story Comes First
Dr. Tarola will let you lead the consultation. He asks what is bothering you and then builds a plan around your answer, without trying to push additional surgeries. If you are exploring removal for health reasons, he will walk you through a detailed checklist of reported symptoms so you can see your experience laid out.
Honest Discussions About Removal
After initial discussions, Dr. Tarola will walk you through all of the details about the removal process and what to expect, including what your breasts may look like after the implants are removed. He may discuss breast lift surgery with you depending on the condition of the skin on your breasts. In some cases, he may recommend removing the implants and waiting a year before deciding whether to replace them, based on your reasons for removal.
Planning Around Cost and Insurance
Insurance rarely covers removal as it is often classified as cosmetic, so most patients will need to pay out of pocket. We offer financing and payment plans along with a patient coordinator who will help you understand all of your costs before you commit to anything.
Traveling From Out of Town
Many patients travel to Murfreesboro specifically to access this surgery from Dr. Tarola and take advantage of his high level of patient care. Our out of town program helps you coordinate scheduling and logistics and make the process easy, so distance isn’t a barrier between you and the surgery you want.
Types of Explant Surgery
- En Bloc Capsulectomy: The implant and the surrounding scar tissue capsule come out together as a single unit, without opening the capsule inside your body. Dr. Tarola considers this the preferable approach whenever it is safe to do.
- Total Capsulectomy: The entire capsule is removed along with the implant, though not necessarily in one piece. His goal in surgery is always a total capsulectomy, unless taking out all of the tissue would put your safety at risk.
- Implant Removal With a Breast Lift: After years with implants, skin and tissue may not tighten on their own. A breast lift reshapes the breast and repositions the nipple for a firmer result.
- Implant Removal With Fat Transfer: Fat transfer moves fat from another area of your body into the breast for women who want some volume back without an implant.
- Implant Exchange: Not everyone wants to go without implants. Some choose to swap their current implants for a smaller size or a newer type of implant.
Surgery Day at the Murfreesboro Office
Dr. Tarola performs every procedure in a private operating room inside his own building. He personally selects the anesthesia and recovery staff who care for you. A capsulectomy takes about an hour and a half, or up to two and a half hours for cases that involve a lift or fat transfer.
He uses general anesthesia or intravenous anesthesia, depending on your health and preferences. After the capsule and implant are out, he places a nerve block in the chest wall to control pain and photographs the capsule and implant right after removal. He sends tissue to pathology when anything looks concerning or if you have asked, and returns your implants to you on request.
Recovery After Explant Surgery
In the first few days, you will have small drains to keep fluid from collecting and a compression garment to control swelling. Someone will drive you home and help you out around the house. Most patients can control pain and tenderness with over-the-counter medication or non-narcotic options because of the techniques Dr. Tarola uses.
You will need to take seven to ten days off work and wait several more weeks before heavy lifting. The original incisions are usually used so you won’t have any new scars. Your swelling will settle gradually and can take up to a full year to completely resolve.
Schedule an Explant Consultation in Murfreesboro
If you are interested in learning more about the removal process and hearing about Dr. Tarola’s perspectives and techniques, we would love to hear from you. Call 615-713-1695 or reach the practice online to discuss your options at Tarola Plastic Surgery.
