Chronic effects after breast implant while diving?

[Pleiades]

A friend of mine, my dive buddy has decided to cease diving after having gone for a breast implant. Should I talk her out of it? Can someone please advice is there any danger or chronic effects should she chooses to continue diving after having breast implant??? :06:

 

[underwater daphne]

did she say why she thinks she shouldn't be diving anymore?

 

[Tobagoman]

The latest Scuba Diving magazine has an article about this in it. She should pick it up and read it. It basically said that after a few weeks to let the incisions heal that Scuba Diving wouldn't have any adverse effects on saline implants, and might cause silicone implants to deform after a while from the pressure. No adverse health effects with either.

 

[vetdiver]

Hi, Pleiades-

I am a breast cancer survivor and opted to have a bilateral mastectomy with saline implant reconstruction as part of my treatment (I was in my early 30's and did not want to take the chance that I might get another tumor in the other breast...but that's another story for another day). In other words, my implants lie under my skin and muscle, but I no longer have breast tissue covering them, so I guess you could say my implants are more unprotected than hers would be, assuming she had augmentation and not reconstruction. I had my last surgery in February 2004 and have completed probably close to 50 dives since then - in all kinds of conditions (i.e., we went to Utila and did about 25 dives in April, and I did a 2-tank boat dive last weekend off Cape Ann in low-50's water w/drysuit). I have had absolutely no problems, and all of my doctors know I am an avid diver. They were intitally planning to do silicone implant recon, but the implants weren't available at my hospital at the time I had my surgery, even for reconstruction.

I have the OK to do specialized stuff as well - including deep dives (out of recreational range).

If your friend is still concerned, she should contact her plastic surgeon and ask whatever specific questions...but please reassure her that she can feel pretty confident that it is quite difficult to rupture an implant. My plastic surgeon told me that she has actually jumped up and down on one of those suckers, and it was just fine.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me, OK? Good luck!

 

[SubMariner]

Hi, Pleiades-

I am a breast cancer survivor and opted to have a bilateral mastectomy with saline implant reconstruction as part of my treatment (I was in my early 30's and did not want to take the chance that I might get another tumor in the other breast...but that's another story for another day). In other words, my implants lie under my skin and muscle, but I no longer have breast tissue covering them, so I guess you could say my implants are more unprotected than hers would be, assuming she had augmentation and not reconstruction. I had my last surgery in February 2004 and have completed probably close to 50 dives since then - in all kinds of conditions (i.e., we went to Utila and did about 25 dives in April, and I did a 2-tank boat dive last weekend off Cape Ann in low-50's water w/drysuit). I have had absolutely no problems, and all of my doctors know I am an avid diver. They were intitally planning to do silicone implant recon, but the implants weren't available at my hospital at the time I had my surgery, even for reconstruction.

I have the OK to do specialized stuff as well - including deep dives (out of recreational range).

If your friend is still concerned, she should contact her plastic surgeon and ask whatever specific questions...but please reassure her that she can feel pretty confident that it is quite difficult to rupture an implant. My plastic surgeon told me that she has actually jumped up and down on one of those suckers, and it was just fine.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me, OK? Good luck!

vetdive, you are a brave & resilient woman.

Thank you for sharing your story with us.

And thank you for being a diver!

Be well,

 

[Pleiades]

The latest Scuba Diving magazine has an article about this in it. She should pick it up and read it. It basically said that after a few weeks to let the incisions heal that Scuba Diving wouldn't have any adverse effects on saline implants, and might cause silicone implants to deform after a while from the pressure. No adverse health effects with either.

Hey Tobagoman, what is the name of the magazine and which issue? Hopefully its available over here (I am from Asia).

Thanks...

 

[Pleiades]

Hi, Pleiades-

I am a breast cancer survivor and opted to have a bilateral mastectomy with saline implant reconstruction as part of my treatment (I was in my early 30's and did not want to take the chance that I might get another tumor in the other breast...but that's another story for another day). In other words, my implants lie under my skin and muscle, but I no longer have breast tissue covering them, so I guess you could say my implants are more unprotected than hers would be, assuming she had augmentation and not reconstruction. I had my last surgery in February 2004 and have completed probably close to 50 dives since then - in all kinds of conditions (i.e., we went to Utila and did about 25 dives in April, and I did a 2-tank boat dive last weekend off Cape Ann in low-50's water w/drysuit). I have had absolutely no problems, and all of my doctors know I am an avid diver. They were intitally planning to do silicone implant recon, but the implants weren't available at my hospital at the time I had my surgery, even for reconstruction.

I have the OK to do specialized stuff as well - including deep dives (out of recreational range).

If your friend is still concerned, she should contact her plastic surgeon and ask whatever specific questions...but please reassure her that she can feel pretty confident that it is quite difficult to rupture an implant. My plastic surgeon told me that she has actually jumped up and down on one of those suckers, and it was just fine.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me, OK? Good luck!

Oh my god, I'm sorry to hear :11: Your courage is commendable.
Rupture and deformity are exactly her worries.... Tobagman mentioned that it might cause deformity in the long run, do you reckon???

 

[RichLockyer]

The Mythbusters guys took some implants and ran them through a compression and decompression chamber, doing the equivalent of a dive to 100ft then an immediate move to 30,000ft. There was no detectable change in the overall volume of the implant. Small air bubbles contained within the gel did shrink and expand, but there was absolutely no danger of rupture.

 

[whitedragon13]

I called NAUI training dept when I got an "enhanced" female student. They said the only thing to warn the student about is the slight possibility bubbles will form in the implants, which may cause a "sloshing" sound for a few hours after a dive. Said it almost never happens.

Edit: My student never had problems

 

[Pleiades]

Whitedragon13, how long has your "enhanced" female student been diving after the implant?

I am thinking, maybe, the rupture and adverse effect might not happen in the first few years. With the continuous compression and decompression, it might just possibly happen 10 years or more from now??