Enhancing your beauty and confidence shouldn’t have to come at a cost to your health. Breast augmentation with implants is designed to enhance the size, shape, and proportion of the breasts, but many women wonder if implants will interfere with breast cancer screenings. The good news is, mammograms can be performed effectively on women with implants. That said, our board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Semira Bayati, emphasizes that there are some things you need to know to make the examination as accurate as possible.
When you make an appointment for a mammogram, be sure and tell your scheduler that you have breast implants. You should also request a radiologist with experience performing mammograms on women with breast implants—a special technique will be used to achieve the most accurate results possible and to reduce the risk of rupture (which is already rare, but it’s best to be cautious). When you arrive for your screening, remind the technician that you have implants and confirm that they are prepared for this event.
Extra pictures will be taken in women with breast implants to help ensure all breast tissue is screened. Sometimes the doctor may still feel that they do not have a clear view of all parts of the breast, in which case he or she may ask for an MRI. If you have silicone implants, occasional MRIs are recommended to review the integrity of the implant anyway, so this event may offer an added benefit.
Your health is very important to us. If you have any questions about how implants affect breast cancer screening, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
