Earlier this week, Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause shared the news on Instagram that she had gotten the trendy body scan that’s been making the rounds on social media for the past year or so. The results weren’t good — in the process, she discovered that “both of my breast implants burst.”
Quick 101: Breast implants have a three-layer shell made of silicone, which is then filled with either saline (similar to an IV drip in a hospital) or silicone. “Implants can eventually rupture due to a failure in folding, which essentially means the implant casing can wear out over time — often over years,” said Dr. Lyle Leipziger, chief of plastic surgery at North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center. “I discuss with all of my patients that implants may need revision due to rupture at some point in their lives.”
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ 2023 report, there were 304,181 cases of “breast augmentation surgery, including primary implant and revision implant surgery” performed in the United States. “Although studies vary on this topic, I generally tell patients that 10 to 15 percent of patients with implants will rupture 10 years after surgery,” says Kelly Killeen, MD, FACS. “The main risk factor for rupture is the age of the implant — the older the implant, the more likely it is to rupture. Remember to contact your plastic surgeon and receive recommended screening imaging for early detection of rupture.”
In her statement, Stause jokingly discussed her breast augmentation surgery, calling the surgery she had 15 years ago “retro” (as someone who purposely only wears vintage clothes, I have to say, by the way, that word often means 20s and up) — the only clue we have as to what caused her breakup.
“Accidental ruptures from activities of daily living are unlikely to occur,” Lepsinger said. Double board-certified orthopedic surgeon David Shaffer, MD, FACS, notes that it’s usually a high-intensity accident, such as a car crash, that leads to this event, adding that his two patients with ruptured implants were involved in separate jet ski accidents and one hit by a car — so if something like that happens to you, you should get your implants checked.
Stass shared in her original post that she decided to have her implants replaced by Joseph Hadid, adding that “cosmetic surgery is a personal choice.” You should visit your doctor immediately after getting the implants.
