Do Breast Implants Complicate Breast Exams?

Breast augmentation is the most common cosmetic plastic surgery procedure among women in the United States…but many women wonder, ‘Will enlarging my breasts make it harder to find cancer?’ First, some uplifting news: When caught early, the five-year survival rate of breast cancer is 98%, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Breast self-exam, clinical breast exam, and mammography screening are the three methods currently used for such early detection, and that’s also true for women who’ve undergone breast augmentation. In fact, there is some evidence that breast implants make physical examination of the breast MORE effective. That’s because implants push breast tissue outward and push breast tissue outward, which may make it easier to feel masses and lumps. Getting your clinical breast exams from a gynecologist who is familiar with breast implants can help. Your surgeon can also help you feel your implant, so you know what to expect during a breast self-exam. Unfortunately, breast augmentation may make it harder for a doctor to perform a mammogram, especially if the implants are large, under the gland and over the muscle and stretching your tissues. This is also true in the presence of capsular contracture, which can cause scar tissue around the implant and hardening of the breast. Implants are also less malleable than real breast tissue, which can make it difficult to compress the breast fully during a mammogram. Ultrasound or MRI may be performed to additionally view the implanted breast if mammogram views are limited. For this reason, doctors rely on the Eklund technique which, during mammogram, pushes the implant back, moving the breast tissue forward. There is only a very small risk of implant rupture with mammography because implants are built and tested to wish stand this amount of compression. If you can, pick a mammographer who is very familiar with screening augmented breasts. If you’re interested in accentuating your figure with plastic surgery, know that breast cancer rates are no higher among women with breast implants than among those without them. Just make sure to discuss breast cancer screening with your doctor before you enter the operating room!