Long-Term Cosmetic Outcome After Breast Implantation

In Brief All women who underwent breast augmentation at 1 public and 1 private clinic in Denmark from 1973 to 1988, and available for follow-up, were invited to participate in a clinical study including a self-administered questionnaire, medical record abstraction, and a clinical examination. One hundred ninety (52%) out of 368 eligible women participated. Mean time with implants in situ was 19 years (range, 5–35). Sixty-one percent of the women had 1 implantation, 23% had 2 implantations, 16% had 3 or more implantations. Nineteen women (10%) had no implants at the time of examination. A large proportion of the women (62%) had clinically significant capsular contracture, and only half of the study women were found to have satisfactory overall breast appearance at examination. In contrast, the majority of women reported satisfaction with their implant surgery (60%). The women tended to grade themselves more positively than the examining physicians. Of 190 Danish breast augmentation patients with mean implantation time of 19 years, 62% had clinically significant capsular contracture although 60% of the women reported satisfaction. Sixty-one percent had one implantation, 23% had 2, 16% had 3 or more, and 10% had no implants at the time of study.