How is Breast Implant Rippling Corrected?

by Dr. Steven Wallach

Breast rippling occurs when wrinkles, ripples, or unequal contours appear with breast implants. Very commonly rippling happens from implants when the tissues are very thin, so when either the patient’s tissues are thinned out, or they were very thin to begin with. So how would you correct this?

Dr. Steven Wallach would suggest using an acellular dermal matrix (ADM), often he uses the ADM with the brand name Strattice™, but there are several others as well. Strattice™ is designed to support tissue regeneration and is made from porcine dermis, or skin. Benefits of Strattice™ include: providing support to a suture repair; providing a strong repair with its “biomechanical strength”; and supports quick revascularization, cell repopulation and white cell migration. Strattice™ is intended to be used as a soft tissue patch for the restoration of soft and weak tissue. In this instance, the Strattice™ is used to thicken the soft tissue layer to hopefully camouflage the implant and minimize the rippling.

If the implant is originally above the muscle, Dr. Wallach generally recommends placing the implant below the muscle and adding Strattice™ along the lower pole of the breast. The muscle will usually cover the upper border of the implant and camouflage any rippling occurring in the upper pole. Rippling in the lower pole commonly requires an ADM, like Strattice™ in cosmetic cases, to add an additional layer of thickness to the tissue. Additionally, some surgeons overfill saline implants if they can or utilize fat injections to camouflage some of the rippling as well. Silicone implants can not be overfilled.

There are several methods of correcting breast implant rippling, and if you are experiencing rippling, an appointment with Dr. Wallach is necessary to determine which solution is best for you.