Refine Your Results and Redefine Your Form
Time often influences our perception of beauty and balance, and new lifestyles often require change to provide comfort in and out of clothing, at work, play, recreation, exercise, and sleep. Surgical results change over time, and your appearance may no longer match your desires or personal style. Commonly, an initial surgery may not have met your expectations, or your preferences may have changed. Whatever your reason, breast revision surgery is common. Whether it is simply time for your implants to be replaced, you’re ready to revise your initial result, or you want to get back to your natural contours, breast revision gives you the opportunity to redefine how you want to exist in the world during this next phase of your life.
At Dr. Rudderman Plastic Surgery, Dr. Randy Rudderman and our compassionate team are dedicated to helping you reach your aesthetic goals. Each breast revision procedure is designed to enhance your natural form and help you feel comfortable and beautiful in your own skin.
Are you interested in learning how breast revision can enhance your overall physique and boost your confidence? Contact us at 678-566-7200 or request your consultation to begin your plastic surgery journey today! We are located in Alpharetta and Atlanta, GA, and proudly serve patients from around the country.
What Is Breast Revision Surgery?
Breast revision surgery in Alpharetta, GA, is a secondary surgical procedure to alter or enhance the results of an initial breast augmentation, breast lift, breast reduction, or breast contouring surgery. Over time, bodies naturally change, and when any kind of physical augmentation is present, scar tissue, irregularity, asymmetry, discomfort, and mispositioning are possible.
Women choose breast revision surgery for many reasons:
- Aesthetic goals change
- Concern about implant age
- When pregnancy or weight shifts alter breast shape
- Issues such as asymmetry, capsular contracture (hardening of the breast with implants), rippling, implant displacement (implants that seem to sit too wide or low on your chest), rupture/deflation, or animation deformity (when implants and the breast move abnormally when you flex your chest muscles)
Breast implant revision surgery can achieve the following:
- Revision surgery can soften breasts hardened by scar tissue
- Old or deflated implants can be replaced with newer, softer, more natural appearing implants
- Revision surgery can reduce the visibility of older implants
- Repositioning breast implants can reduce the ability to feel the implants through the skin
- Revision breast surgery can improve asymmetry and help correct breast shape (too wide, low, or high)
- New implants achieve the appropriate size, shape, contour, and natural balance to match your age, your body, and your lifestyle today and as you age
- Removal of breast implants with or without a breast lift can help restore a more youthful, balanced breast
- Revisional surgery can improve contour and shape from previous surgery that addressed droop, congenital shape issues, and asymmetry
Before and After Photos
A gallery of images to assist in finding the sample results you might be looking for in surgical, injectables, and med spa.
What Does Dr. Rudderman Do That Allows for Better Potential Outcomes?
Revisional breast surgeries are treated using a variety of surgical techniques. Success depends on awareness and assessment, then treatment of multiple factors, including timing (when the initial and subsequent operations were performed), symptoms, soft tissue characteristics, life events (age, pregnancy, specific health), activity requirements, and personal desires.
If you answered yes to one or more of these concerns, you could be an ideal candidate for breast implant revision surgery.
Why Should You Choose Dr. Randy Rudderman for Your Breast Implant Revision Surgery?
Having been in practice since 1989, Dr. Rudderman offers his patients a wealth of information and expertise that only experience can provide. For every treatment he performs, he incorporates effective and predictable surgical techniques that are employed with an uncompromising respect for the natural human form. He understands that all bodies change and that our desires and preferences do too.
Dr. Rudderman has a collaborative relationship with the fashion industry and understands how clothing and plastic surgery share a purpose: to modify, conceal, and accentuate. While not every patient may have a keen interest in fashion, his understanding of how these two fields work in harmony allows him to approach his surgical plans in a way that is both sensitive to cultural norms while celebrating the patient’s natural beauty. A treatment plan designed by Dr. Rudderman will always factor in a patient’s desires, natural frame, genetics, lifestyle, and fashion culture.
What Technically Contributes to More Predictable Long-Term Results?
Developing a plan is not trivial, particularly one that clearly describes potential risk and both short- and long -term considerations for results. Our approach includes critical evaluation of your anatomy, attention to detail, matching the technical aspect of surgery to the specifics of clinical findings, and your desires for the outcome.
Why Does the Approach to Treatment Matter?
Selection of the specific approach used requires experience, judgement, technical skill, and artistry. The choices made impact long-term shape, potential for additional surgery, and both appearance stability and clinical and financial future risks. The goal is to select an approach that provides a higher probability of a predictable long-term outcome.
What Should I Expect During My Atlanta, GA Breast Revision Consultation
At Dr. Rudderman Plastic Surgery, we value collaboration and partnership. You should plan for your consultation to take at least one hour. During this time, you will meet with Dr. Rudderman and other members of our team to situate and integrate yourself into our practice. A partnership with Dr. Rudderman is a collaborative relationship with the entire team.
Our goal at every consultation is to meet you, learn who you are, what lifestyle you lead, and your goals for not just surgery but the next phase of your life. Understanding the way your condition impacts your daily life, physically and emotionally, is an essential component of effective treatment planning. Once we have a complete picture of what you are looking for, we can tailor a treatment plan for long-term results and sustainable beauty.
During your consultation with Dr. Rudderman, you should expect:
- A full exam of breast tissue, current implants, skin elasticity, and symmetry
- A discussion of your goals, lifestyle, and desired outcome
- A personalized surgical plan that safely, predictably, and effectively addresses your concerns
- Education about your condition, revision options, risks and benefits, recovery, and long-term expectations
Dr. Rudderman specializes in breast surgeries and understands the artistry and surgical complexity that they demand. His advanced technique and delicate, precision surgical skills achieve the most natural-looking results possible. It is important to note that breast revision surgery is about improvement, not perfection. The beauty and variation in the natural human form leave room for individual confidence and very little room for an objective “perfect.” Your breast revision in Atlanta will honor your individual goals and beauty ideals while appreciating the natural changes that have occurred to get you to this shape, size, and proportions.
What Are My Breast Revision Options from Prior Surgery?
Breast implant revision procedures are not uncommon following years of life, normal aging, and environmental and physiologic effects. There is a subset of women who realize that they were unsatisfied with the effects of surgery within several years of surgery. Then there are those who state that they were really not pleased even after healing had occurred soon after the surgery. These patients often state that the operation they had may not have been what they expected, what they asked for, or what they desired. Sometimes, this was a result of too little discussion before surgery. Sometimes, it’s a result of inadequate education about their options from their surgeon. And sometimes, more frequently than one might think, the comments are that the surgeon decided something different from what the patient desired and “thought it would be best” without previously discussing the possible outcomes with the patient before treatment.
These cases range from implants that are too big, malposition, natural breast shape changes over time, volume disparity, and asymmetries relative to lifestyle, aging, hormonal and health considerations, weight gain or loss, and style changes, such as a totally different approach to health, nutrition, exercise, and clothing/lifestyle.
The outcome of any treatment for this varied group requires accurate assessment of the current clinical condition, estimation of the prior treatment technique, and careful consideration of the patients’ desires to match the best operation to achieve the least risk, highest potential outcome. This requires a working knowledge of a wide variety of treatment approaches, styles, and details for the most predictable short- and long-term results.
What Are My Breast Implant Revision Options?
Breast implant revision is a great opportunity for you to redefine your priorities and decide how you want to look and feel moving forward. There are a number of options available to help achieve your goals, including:
- Implant exchange (size/style/profile change; saline to silicone)
- Implant removal (explant) with or without lift (mastopexy)
- Capsulectomy or capsulotomy, when indicated for contracture or an irregular capsule
- Pocket repair or site change (e.g., adjusting or converting plane to improve position)
- Grafting (ADM) or Fat grafting to refine contour or camouflage edges/rippling
- Scar and soft-tissue revisions tailored to your anatomy
- Soft tissue revisions to adjust anatomic changes and restore position and proportion
Implant Exchange vs. Explant (Implant Removal) with Lift (At a Glance)
| Goal | Implant Exchange | Explant + Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Keep/adjust volume | Maintains or increases volume | Removes implants; volume comes from your tissue (add fat grafting if desired) |
| Correct shape/support | Often with pocket/fold work | Lift reshapes & elevates; internal reshaping supports |
| Look/feel | Softer, updated implant tech | Natural, implant-free softness |
| Good for | Size/profile change, rupture, rippling | Preference change, desire for natural result, contracture history |
How Do I Know Breast Implant Revision is Right for Me?
Breast implant revision procedures are a fact of life for many breast implant patients. Whether you are dissatisfied with the results from your previous surgery, your breasts have changed over time, or it is simply time to exchange your implants, if you have implants, breast revision surgery is going to be right for you eventually.
Ideal breast revision candidates:
- Are generally healthy enough for surgery
- Have a positive outlook for their surgery and a realistic idea of what it can accomplish
- Have older implants that look “deflated”
- Have scarring or extensive asymmetry from a previous surgery
- Are experiencing capsular contracture
- Feel their breast size or shape is no longer in balance with their body
- Feel muscle contractions and daily activities cause excessive movement
- No longer want their implants
- Understand the surgical risks and benefits
Can I See Dr. Rudderman’s Breast Revision Before and After Results?
View our gallery to see Dr. Rudderman’s outstanding and natural-looking results of real patients’ breast implant revision before and after photos.
How Should I Prepare for Breast Revision Surgery?
Preparing for breast revision surgery will look like your preparation for your initial surgery. Mostly, you should get excited about your upcoming transformation. In general, you should:
How Is Breast Revision Surgery in Alpharetta, GA Performed?
All breast procedures take place in a fully accredited surgical center with state-of-the-art technology, hospital-level safety standards, and an experienced medical team dedicated to your care. Additionally, Dr. Rudderman takes pride in performing every single aspect of your surgery himself. As you go into surgery, you can feel confident knowing you are being cared for by the most qualified professionals available at every step of the process.
Most breast revision procedures take 1 to 4 hours, depending on the complexities of your surgical plan, and are performed on an outpatient basis.
The operation and artistry involved in breast revision procedures are specific to each woman. During your consultation, you will receive extensive education regarding your condition, your concerns, your options, your risks and benefits, and your probable outcome. The goal of every procedure is a safe surgery, excellent appearance, normal anatomic redistribution, and an outcome that lasts for years and ages appropriately.
What Should I Expect After Breast Revision Surgery?
Your post-op period following breast revision surgery will be much like your post-op period following your initial surgery. Immediately after surgery, you will be wearing a surgical dressing and a bra. As you will have been put under general anesthesia, you will need a responsible adult to drive you home and stay with you for at least 24 hours. In general, you can expect the following during your Atlanta breast implant revision recovery:
Physical Recovery
- You can expect mild swelling and some discomfort. Dr. Rudderman will prescribe pain medication for comfort management, but this should resolve on its own. After 24 to 48 hours, you should be able to manage discomfort with over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen.
- Swelling is generally mild and resolves on its own in 2 to 3 weeks.
- Sutures are absorbable and do not need to be removed.
- You will have brown paper tape on the incisions to protect the area and help with minimal scar formation.
- You may have a drain tube placed that needs to be checked several times a day. This drain is commonly removed 24 hours later during your first follow-up visit. Some procedures require longer drain times. This will be reviewed during the consultation.
Return to Normal Activities
- Most patients can return to desk work in 3 to 4 days. If your job requires physical activity, you may need to take more time off or request modified duties while you recover.
- Women with children often can return to full childcare within reason in 3 to 4 days, including carpool and driving.
- Avoid aerobic exercise for 3 weeks or until Dr. Rudderman has cleared you to do so. Most clients may begin more aggressive physical activity in 4 weeks, including yoga, tennis, swimming, boot camp, or Pilates. We will help guide your return to activity at each post-operative visit.
Post-Surgical Follow-up Visits
- You will be seen in the office 24 hours post-surgery and given a more comfortable bra.
- Regular follow-up appointments will be scheduled for:
- 1 week post-op
- 2 weeks later (3 weeks post-op)
- 1 month later (7-8 weeks post-op)
- 3 months later (6 months post-op)
Follow-up appointments are essential to ensure you’re healing as expected and are satisfied with your natural, age-appropriate results.
When Will I See My Breast Revision Results?
Fortunately, you will be able to see immediate improvements in your breast appearance following surgery. A brief overview of a realistic timeline of results is as follows:
- You will notice an immediate improvement in your breast appearance following surgery.
- Significant changes are visible a few weeks post-surgery.
- By 6 weeks, most of the swelling will be gone, allowing you to have a better idea of what your final result will look like.
- Between 6 months to 1 year, you will be able to enjoy your final result.
Real Patient Reviews
Written and reviewed by:
This article was written by Dr. Randy Rudderman, who is board certified by the American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (1994). He practices medicine at his offices in Alpharetta and Atlanta.
Learn more about Dr. Rudderman, his medical training, and credentials.
Partner with Georgia’s Premier Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Randy Rudderman
Dr. Randy Rudderman is one of Atlanta and Alpharetta’s most trusted plastic surgeons. As an expert in breast procedures, he understands the complexities and artistry required to give his patients the balanced, natural-looking results they deserve. A partnership with Dr. Rudderman Plastic Surgery is a partnership with a knowledgeable team of experts who are as committed to your quality of life as you are.
Learn about breast revision options near me by calling Dr. Rudderman at 678-566-7200 or request your consultation online to get started with your transformation. You are worth it.