A breast implant can develop a tear in its shell — a rupture. A saline implant deflates and the breast looks smaller; a modern cohesive silicone implant often ruptures silently, with no visible change. A rupture is rarely an emergency, but it should be confirmed and the implant addressed. Dr Thomas Colson assesses and treats implant rupture at SKMC in Abu Dhabi.
How a rupture shows depends on what the implant is filled with. Knowing your implant type helps make sense of any change you notice.
If you are unsure which implant you have, your operative record or implant card will state it, and it can also be identified on imaging.
Usually not. Saline is simply absorbed by the body, and cohesive silicone gel tends to stay within the capsule. A suspected rupture should be assessed in good time — not overnight — to confirm it and plan the implant's removal or exchange.
| Implant | Typical sign of rupture | How it is confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Saline | Visible deflation — the breast becomes smaller over hours to days | Often clear on examination |
| Silicone (cohesive) | Often silent — no obvious change; sometimes firmness or shape change | Ultrasound, and MRI when needed |
Dr Colson examines the breast and confirms a suspected rupture with imaging — high-resolution ultrasound, and MRI when needed, the most accurate test for silicone rupture. Imaging also distinguishes rupture from capsular contracture or a fluid collection.
A confirmed rupture is treated as a breast implant revision: the implant is removed, the capsule managed as appropriate, and a new implant placed in exchange — or removal alone if you prefer not to replace it.
Dr Colson plans the revision individually, including the implant plane and, where helpful, refining shape with your own fat. Surgery is performed at SKMC within the SEHA network.
In line with UAE Department of Health guidelines on modesty and medical advertising, breast surgical results are not published online. Outcomes relevant to your own anatomy are reviewed privately during your consultation, alongside a Crisalix 3D simulation of your planned result.
Consultations and surgery with Dr Thomas Colson are performed exclusively at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) in Abu Dhabi, within the SEHA network. A suspected rupture, or simple surveillance of older silicone implants, can be assessed by examination and imaging.