Revision after transaxillary augmentation: why the fold incision usually wins
Revisions — implant exchange, capsular contracture surgery, malposition repair — need direct access to the pocket and capsule, which the fold incision gives and the armpit doesn't. A patient choosing the armpit route should know a future revision will most likely add a fold scar. Most never need one.
What revisions need
Direct vision of the capsule and the pocket boundaries: capsulectomy or capsulotomy for contracture, capsulorrhaphy for malposition, pocket change, exchange with a different base width. The fold incision gives all of it; the armpit tunnel gives limited reach and makes capsule work imprecise.
What this means for your decision
Choosing the armpit route is choosing a scar-free breast for as long as the first implants serve you — which, with modern implants and no replacement timer, is usually many years or for life. If a revision is ever needed, it will most likely carry a fold scar. That is disclosed at the first consultation; patients who find the possibility unacceptable are better served by the fold from the start.
What reduces the chance of revision
An endoscopic technique that releases the muscle precisely; smooth implants sized within the tissue corridor; funnel insertion and pocket irrigation; the band and arm rules in the first weeks; stable weight. The risks page covers the findings that lead to revision.
Free consultation with Dr. Erdal
Send your photos on WhatsApp · Direct surgeon access · Honest recommendation
WhatsApp Dr. Erdal