What Is a Breast Implant Exchange?

Breast Implant Exchange 101

A breast implant exchange is simply a surgical procedure to switch out your existing implants for new ones.

Breast implant exchange is a common thread in the Bustmob Community, a safe and supportive space for women interested in plastic surgery. Women ask questions about recovery and get suggestions on sizes or placement.

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And no, they aren’t swapping them out because of a complication. 

If it isn’t broken, why fix it? 

Fair point, but an exchange isn’t about correcting a complication like bottoming out or capsular contracture (that would be a revision). So why exchange your implants?

Women choose to exchange their breast implants for a number of reasons:

• Going up or down in size 
• Changing profile
• Changing the type of implant
• Upgrading to a new generation of implant
• Switching implant placement 
• Alternating implant shape 
• Switching to or from textured or smooth implants

One of the most common reasons is changing size, and for a lot of women, that means going bigger. The Bustmob Community endearingly calls this phenomenon “boob greed.” You get a little then you want a lot.

Let’s say your original implants are 300cc saline implants. 

They were great for a while, but you want to go a little bigger and now that the new fifth-generation silicone breast implants (also known as gummy bear implants) are on the market, you’d like to give them a try. 

Going up a size or switching from a saline to silicone implant would be a great example of a breast implant exchange. No complications or correcting anything, you just want a different look and feel. 

But bigger isn’t always better for everyone. 

In a similar way, some women find themselves having a breast implant exchange for smaller size implants. 

It’s all about achieving your aesthetic goals and for some women, that “ideal look” changes over time.

Curious how it compares to the original surgery?

Implant exchanges are easier, less invasive than the initial breast augmentation for a number of reasons. 

One the pocket or scar tissue around the implant is already made. Shorter recovery, typically lower costs, final results faster, and if you’re only going up or down a size or two, you may not even need to go under full anesthesia. 

For more details about implant exchange recovery, results, and costs watch the full series in the free Bustmob Academy app. 

Can you add breast implant exchange surgery to another procedure?

Yep, in fact, it’s really common. However, it’s likely you’ll need to go under full anesthesia and the healing process may be a little longer depending on your combination of procedures. 

But implant exchanges are common in mommy makeovers, which is just a clever way to describe breast and body procedures done at the same time. 

Think something along the lines of a tummy tuck paired with an implant exchange and breast lift.

Common mommy makeover procedures include:

• Implant exchange
• Breast lift
• Breast reduction
• Breast augmentation
• Tummy tuck 
• Liposuction

If you’re curious about mommy makeovers. Watch the full mommy makeover series in the free Bustmob Academy app. 

Thinking about implant replacement? 

We’ve got just the thing to help guide your research – meet the Bustmob Academy app. Packed with over 170 videos just like the one above, Jenny Eden, founder of Bustmob, and Gretta Nance, plastic surgery expert with over 20 years of experience, give you everything you need to know before your consultation. 

Connect with other women in the Bustmob Community who are in your shoes along with those who are years post-op to get a real look into breast implant exchanges, breast augmentation surgery, and other plastic surgery procedures. 

The highly skilled plastic surgeons of Amelia Aesthetics even volunteer their time to answer questions in exclusive, live Q&A sessions for our community. 

Wherever you are on your journey, we’ve got resources to make it easy. Get started with the full Bustmob experience in our free Bustmob Academy app.