Aesthetic preferences—not medical issues—are the top reason for breast implant revision surgeries.
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October isBreast Cancer Awareness Month, and in recognition of the 1 in 8 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime [1], the non-profit Aesthetic Foundation has composed its first annualArise report—the American Registry for Breast Implant Surveillance and Evaluation. The report suggests that patients are increasingly circling back forrevisions, mainly due to aesthetic reasons over medical mishap concerns.
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October isBreast Cancer Awareness Month, and in recognition of the 1 in 8 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime [1], the non-profit Aesthetic Foundation has composed its first annualArise report—the American Registry for Breast Implant Surveillance and Evaluation. The report suggests that patients are increasingly circling back forrevisions, mainly due to aesthetic reasons over medical mishap concerns.
About 11 clinicians on the committee oversaw the report—a cumulation of data collected over four years, starting in 2021 when the Arise U.S. Registry launched on the Aesthetic One platform. The ‘Star study’— part of the Arise registry, is a clinical study in the U.S. to prospectively collect data on patients undergoing breast augmentation surgery. Enrolling 1,000 patients, Star collected breast data pre-operatively and for two years post-operatively through September 2025, leading to the publishing of the Arise report.
With over 120,000 devices registered within the Arise registry, representing implants from five leading manufacturers in the U.S., the report includes device data and procedural trends from five distinct cohorts: breast augmentation, revision breast augmentation, breast reconstruction, revision breast reconstruction and implant removal without replacement, per an Oct. 1 press release.
The Arise Registry helps patients and surgeons stay connected through a digital implant record, improving long-term care.Courtesy of Vadim at Adobe StockLooking at the manufacturers registered under this report, Allergan leads at over 53% in 2024, with Sientra closely following at 26% [2]. Despite which implant patients may be opting for, however, the main reason they’re circling back for revisions isn’t predominantly implant issues or medical concerns. Whether reconstruction or augmentation was their primary procedure, “aesthetic” reasons were the leading reason for revisions.
For reconstruction revisions, aesthetic reasons stood at over 73% in 2024, and looking at augmentation, aesthetic reasons for revisions reflected a similar number at over 69% in 2024 [2]. In comparison to medical mishaps, such as rupture and capsular contracture, aesthetic concerns trump why patients may return for another breast surgery.
Aesthetic reasons could entail a multitude of concerns, explains Caroline Glicksman, MD, MSJ, the chairperson for Arise Oversight Committee. Many patients, she says, rethink their original size and either wish to go smaller or bigger, and some experience a doctor who sized them incorrectly, leading to potential discomfort or dissatisfaction.
Glicksman says patient education, informed consent and long-term follow up with a trusted surgeon are central to mitigating the possibility of potential unhappiness with their procedure and not necessarily with their implant selection. She notes that the Arise Registry is meant to close the gaps in long-term follow up, as patients may move or change doctors, and their breast implant history follows them through the registry’s digital wallet.
This enables patients to access their records anywhere and transition them to a new care facility. This, in turn, allows surgeons to fulfill patient desires and track where they are in their journeys.
