Ask a Surgeon - Breast Lift - I am in need of breast implant removal and a lift. The implants suggested by...

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I am in need of breast implant removal and a lift. The implants suggested by my...

Q:

I am in need of breast implant removal and a lift. The implants suggested by my doctor were too big and now I am suffering from scar tissue and a hardened implant for the past five years. I find that I cannot afford all that would need to be done – implant removal, smaller implant replaced, and a lift. Please advise as to where I can get financial help for this and would some of the cost be covered by insurance?

A:

Personally, I don’t believe that a capsulectomy (removal of the entire scar surrounding the implant) is safe to do at the same time as a lift. Too much of the blood supply can be affected, and I have seen complications of sloughing of tissue in these cases. So I believe that these should be staged for safety sake. That being said, and you can only tell once you have done an exam, you could do a capsulotomy if the breast isn't really hard (a grade 2 capsule). You can do a capsulotomy with a lift, as you are not involving the blood supply as much.

Insurance usually doesn’t help, as this was done for cosmetics in the past (if done for a reconstruction after mastectomy it is a different matter), but some times the insurance will help with the removal only. If you are putting another one back in, they will frequently deny it. Putting another implant back in is never covered (unless for reconstruction), and a lift will never be covered also unless it is a reconstruction.

I have seen some patients get a new credit card and place 0% interest for 6 months. That is the best financing I have seen. Other than that, a group called "Care Credit" has been recently introduced in many (and my) offices.