Why Do My Breast Implants Drift Into My Armpits?

It's normal and natural to have a little bit of implant movement when you lay flat. But if your implants are sliding significantly to the sides — ending up in your armpits — that's not normal.

Every time we place a breast implant, your body forms a capsule around it — a scar tissue sac. If the capsule is the precise size of the implant, like we try to make it, the implant should stay right where it's supposed to.

But if that capsule stretches out, the implant can move all around — typically dropping too low or sliding to the sides when you lay down.

Some patients just don't make strong capsule tissue. Their capsule is quite thin and stretches out easily. With time and gravity, the implant will stretch the capsule both low and to the sides.

Sometimes it's a combination of the capsule and your tissue in general. I see this a lot with patients who have significant sun damage — all of their tissue is weak and can have a hard time supporting even a small implant.

Really big implants, even with decent capsule formation, will stretch things out over time — especially without supportive bras, with high-impact activity, and just with gravity.

We see this more commonly with submuscular augmentations because the repeated pressure of the pectoralis muscle stretches the capsule out laterally and inferiorly.

Unfortunately, no. Once you have this problem, it's a surgical fix. There's really not a lot you can do without revision surgery to keep that implant in place.

Patients who wear supportive bras consistently are less likely to develop these problems. You may want to consider wearing a bra at night, especially if:

• You have large implants
• You know you don't have great tissue quality
• You've already had a revision for the same problem

Think of it as protecting your investment.

Implant drift from capsule stretch is a relatively common complication with breast implants, and unfortunately there isn't an easy non-surgical fix. If your implants are moving significantly when you lay down, talk to your surgeon about your options for breast revision.