Breast Revision Cost With Dr. Cat at a Glance
| Procedure | Dr. Cat's surgeon's fee (implants, operating room and anesthesia quoted at your consultation) |
|---|---|
| Simple implant removal and replacement (soft capsules, pockets in place) | $19,500 to $21,500 |
| Breast revision: implant exchange with capsule work | $60,000 to $75,500 |
| Breast revision with an acellular dermal matrix (Strattice) | $87,000 to $90,000 |
| Explant with capsulectomy (removal, no replacement) | $19,500 to $23,500 |
| Revision breast lift | $40,500 to $42,500 |
| Breast scar revision alone (no reshaping) | $22,000 to $25,000 |
| Explant with a lift or fat transfer; fat grafting; areolar reduction | quoted at the consultation |
| Revision consultation | $1,500, credited toward surgery |
Ranges reflect most patients; what was done the first time, what has happened since and the time your revision takes set the exact price, which you receive as one itemized written quote. This guide explains what each revision involves, why it costs more than a first augmentation, what the quote is made of, and what insurance, warranties and financing cover.
What Is Breast Revision Surgery?
Breast revision surgery is any operation that corrects or changes the result of a previous breast surgery. Most revisions follow an augmentation: the implants are exchanged, removed or repositioned, the scar tissue capsule around them is removed, the pocket is repaired, and a lift is added where the skin has stretched; some correct a previous lift or reduction whose shape, scars or areolas did not turn out as planned. Dr. Cat, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, performs every revision herself, with a board-certified anesthesiologist for the whole case, in an accredited private surgical center on Rodeo Drive; read about breast revision surgery in Beverly Hills for the procedure itself.
Breast Implant Removal vs. Revision: What's the Difference?
The terms get used interchangeably; they are different operations with different prices. Breast implant removal, or explant surgery, takes the implants out, almost always with the capsules in Dr. Cat's practice, and puts nothing back; the breast settles over about six months, and a lift or fat transfer restores shape and volume when wanted. Breast revision keeps you augmented: the implants are exchanged and whatever caused the problem is corrected in the same surgery. In surgeon's fees, explant with capsulectomy is $19,500 to $23,500; a revision with capsule work is $60,000 to $75,500, because it includes everything the explant does and then rebuilds the pocket and places new implants. Read about breast implant removal in Beverly Hills.
Cost Breakdown by Procedure Type
Dr. Cat's revision fees track the work inside the breast, not the name of the procedure; the implants, the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at your consultation.
Simple implant removal and replacement: surgeon's fee $19,500 to $21,500. The implants are exchanged through your existing scars, with no capsule removed and no pocket rebuilt. It is priced close to a first breast augmentation (surgeon's fee $17,500 to $22,500) because it takes about as long.
Implant exchange with capsule work: surgeon's fee $60,000 to $75,500. The operation most revision patients need: the implants and capsules come out (a total capsulectomy), the pocket is rebuilt with internal sutures, both sides are tested for symmetry, and new implants go in with a no-touch technique.
With an acellular dermal matrix (Strattice): surgeon's fee $87,000 to $90,000. When the tissue is too thin or stretched to hold a repair, Dr. Cat sews in a sheet of processed collagen: it reinforces a rebuilt fold, closes a symmastia, thickens the coverage over rippling and lowers the chance that a contracture returns.
Explant with capsulectomy: surgeon's fee $19,500 to $23,500. Removal with the capsules taken out; a subtotal capsulectomy is reserved for the rare capsule stuck to the chest wall.
Revision breast lift: surgeon's fee $40,500 to $42,500. For breasts lifted or reduced elsewhere that are asymmetric, low again, boxy or badly scarred. It costs more than a first breast lift (surgeon's fee $35,500 to $45,500) because the nipple's blood supply has already been rearranged once.
Breast scar revision alone: surgeon's fee $22,000 to $25,000. When the shape is right and only the scars are wide, raised, dark or misplaced.
Quoted at the consultation. Explant with a lift or fat transfer, fat grafting to soften an implant edge, a change of implant plane on its own, and areolar reduction are priced case by case in your written quote.
How Breast Revision Surgery Works, and Why It Costs More Than a First Augmentation
A revision starts inside someone else's result. Dr. Cat opens through your previous incisions so no new scars are added, then works with what she finds: a capsule that may be thick, calcified or stuck to the muscle and ribs; a pocket stretched downward or outward; tissue thinned by years under an implant. The capsule comes out, the pocket is rebuilt with internal sutures, support material goes in where the tissue cannot hold a repair, both sides are tested for symmetry, and the implants are placed with a no-touch technique.
A simple exchange takes about one to three hours; a revision with capsule and pocket work takes three to seven. The tissue is also less predictable: it bleeds more easily and holds sutures less reliably, which is why revisions carry a higher recurrence risk and why the surgeon's time is the largest line on the quote. In Dr. Cat's words, "Breast revisions are incredibly challenging, demanding detailed analysis of the breast anatomy, as well as extensive experience and technical skill."
Reasons Why Breast Revision Is Needed After Breast Augmentation
Complications are covered in the next section. These are the reasons that follow an uneventful first surgery: the body or the preferences changed.
Size change or a different implant
The scheduled exchange of silicone implants at about 8 to 10 years, a different size, a switch from saline to silicone, or a newer cohesive gel are the usual elective reasons. With soft capsules and good pockets it is a simple removal and replacement, a $19,500 to $21,500 surgeon's fee. Our comparison of saline vs silicone implants covers the choice.
Changes after pregnancy, breastfeeding or weight loss
Implants do not change, but the breast around them does: pregnancy and weight loss stretch and deflate the tissue so the implant sits high and full while the breast slides off it. The fix is usually a revision breast lift with the implants exchanged or kept, a $40,500 to $42,500 surgeon's fee.
Asymmetry from a previous surgery
The usual complaints: one implant higher than the other, areolas of different sizes, or a lift that left one side lower. Correcting them is pocket work (the revision range), a revision lift, or areola work quoted at the consultation; our guide to uneven breasts explains how Dr. Cat measures it.
Cleavage, pocket and muscle problems
Implants placed too far apart, or a muscle released incorrectly so it pulls the implant upward when you flex (animation deformity) are surgical errors, corrected by rebuilding the pocket: a $60,000 to $75,500 surgeon's fee, or $87,000 to $90,000 with Strattice.
Potential Complications That May Require Revision
What each complication looks like and what its correction costs; our guide to breast implant problems walks through the signs symptom by symptom.
Capsular contracture
Contracture is the scar capsule around an implant thickening and squeezing until the breast feels firm, sits high and round, and hurts. It is graded from Baker I (soft) to Baker IV (hard, distorted and painful); grades III and IV are treated with a total capsulectomy, a new pocket and new implants, a $60,000 to $75,500 surgeon's fee, or $87,000 to $90,000 when Dr. Cat adds Strattice for a recurrent contracture. Patients who would rather not replace the implants have an explant with capsulectomy, a $19,500 to $23,500 surgeon's fee. Our post on capsular contracture explains the biofilm theory and her prevention protocol.
Rupture or deflation
A leaking saline implant deflates within days; a ruptured silicone implant usually keeps its shape, which is why the FDA recommends periodic MRI or ultrasound screening of silicone implants and why Dr. Cat recommends exchanging them on a schedule, about every 8 to 10 years. A deflated saline implant in a soft capsule can be a simple removal and replacement, a $19,500 to $21,500 surgeon's fee; a silicone rupture is capsule work, because the capsule and any gel outside the shell come out together, $60,000 to $75,500 in surgeon's fees with new implants or $19,500 to $23,500 as an explant.
Malposition and bottoming out
Bottoming out is the implant sliding below the fold so the nipple points upward and the lower breast looks long; lateral displacement is the implant drifting toward the armpit. Each is a pocket that stretched or was made in the wrong place, corrected by closing the stretched part with internal sutures and reinforcing it: a $60,000 to $75,500 surgeon's fee, or $87,000 to $90,000 when a Strattice sling is needed to hold the new fold.
Symmastia
Symmastia is the two pockets meeting across the middle of the chest so the implants touch and the cleavage is lost. It follows over-dissection toward the center, and the thin tissue over the breastbone makes it one of the harder repairs to hold. Dr. Cat closes the medial pockets with sutures and adds a support layer where the tissue is too thin. The surgeon's fee is $87,000 to $90,000 with Strattice, $60,000 to $75,500 when sutures alone will hold.
Rippling
Rippling is the edge or folds of the implant showing through thin tissue, most often with saline implants or in a very slim patient. The fix is an exchange to a cohesive silicone implant, a support layer, or fat grafting over the implant: a simple exchange is a $19,500 to $21,500 surgeon's fee, a Strattice layer takes it into the revision ranges, and fat grafting is quoted at the consultation.
Breast implant illness and explant
Breast implant illness (BII) is the name for a cluster of symptoms that some women attribute to their implants. It is not an established diagnosis, but many women report improvement after their implants and capsules are removed. The surgery is an explant with total capsulectomy, a $19,500 to $23,500 surgeon's fee, or $55,000 to $70,000 with a lift; Dr. Cat does not perform en bloc capsulectomy, the term generally used to describe surgery for breast implant illness. Fat transfer to restore volume without implants is a separate, later surgery. Our post on breast implant illness covers the symptoms and what the breast looks like after explant.
How Often Should Breast Implants Be Replaced?
Silicone implants on a schedule, saline implants when they tell you. Breast implants are not lifetime devices, and Dr. Cat recommends exchanging silicone implants about every 8 to 10 years to reduce the chance of a leak: a silicone rupture is often silent, because the cohesive gel keeps its shape inside the capsule, so a leak can go unnoticed for years and is found on imaging rather than in the mirror. A saline implant announces a leak by deflating within days, so it is replaced when that happens or when you want a change of size or type. Between those points either kind is replaced for a reason: a contracture, a malposition, a change in the body around them, or a change in what you want. A scheduled exchange with Dr. Cat is a simple implant removal and replacement, a $19,500 to $21,500 surgeon's fee, with the implants, the operating room and anesthesia quoted at the consultation, as long as the capsules are soft and the pockets are right; capsule work moves it into the revision range. Our posts on how long breast implants last and how often breast implants should be replaced cover the signs to watch for and the screening schedule.
Why the "Average Breast Revision Cost" Is Not Your Number
Search for the average cost of breast revision and you will find figures from four digits to six. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports an average surgeon's fee of $3,979 for breast implant removal and publishes no average for revision, because there is no average revision: a saline deflation swapped in ninety minutes and a grade IV contracture with symmastia rebuilt over six hours are both "breast revision" on a price list. The ASPS figure is also the surgeon's fee only, with no anesthesia, facility, implants or follow-up. The earlier version of this guide put the spread at "several thousand dollars to upwards of $75,000", and it still holds; where you land depends on what was left inside your breast and who is correcting it.
What Drives the Price of a Breast Revision
When you compare revision quotes, compare what is behind the number. These seven questions separate an $80,000 revision from a $15,000 one.
How many revisions does the surgeon do, and whose? A surgeon who mainly performs first augmentations sees a contracted capsule or a symmastia a few times a year; a revision specialist sees them every week. Dr. Cat has performed hundreds of revisions and is sought out for recurrent contracture and multi-revision cases.
Who performs the surgery, start to finish? The capsulectomy and the pocket repair decide the result, and in some practices those steps go to an associate or a fellow. Dr. Cat performs every step herself.
How much time is scheduled? A revision booked for the time of a first augmentation is a revision with corners cut. Dr. Cat schedules three to seven hours for capsule and pocket work.
What is the plan for the capsule and the pocket? Ask whether the capsule will be removed or only scored, and whether the pocket will be rebuilt with sutures. A quote that does not mention the capsule is a quote for an implant swap.
Which implants, and which support material? Dr. Cat uses Mentor implants, their own line on the quote; cohesive silicone costs more than saline, and an acellular dermal matrix costs more than sutures alone.
Who gives the anesthesia, and where? A board-certified physician anesthesiologist for the whole case in an accredited facility, or a nurse anesthetist in an office suite. Every Dr. Cat patient has the former, included in the quote.
What is included? Some quotes leave out the implants, the anesthesia, the facility, the garment or the follow-up visits. Dr. Cat's quote is itemized and complete.
An Expert in Breast Revision Surgery Provides Experience and Insight
Years ago, Dr. Cat had a breast augmentation herself that did not turn out the way she wanted, and she chose a revision. Today patients travel to Beverly Hills from across the country and abroad for her revisions; her work runs from simple exchanges to grade IV contractures and pocket reconstructions, and patients who come to her after multiple surgeries with other surgeons sometimes find their capsular contracture resolved for the first time.
Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACS, is a board-certified plastic surgeon, Harvard and UCLA trained, trained in both head and neck surgery and plastic surgery, and was featured on Dr. 90210. In her words, "I believe that the key to any breast surgery is communication. Being a good listener enables me to understand exactly what my patients hope to achieve."
What a Breast Revision Quote Is Made Of
1. Revision consultation fee
A revision consultation with Dr. Cat is with Dr. Cat: she examines both breasts and tells you what she would do and what she would not. It is $1,500, credited in full toward surgery.
2. Surgeon's fee
The largest line and the one that varies most. It moves with the type of revision, any lift or fat grafting, and how much of the case the surgeon performs personally; with Dr. Cat, all of it.
3. Implants and support material
The new implants are their own line on the quote, silicone costing more than saline; Strattice, when planned, is another. A manufacturer's warranty, where it applies, is credited against these lines.
4. Anesthesia
Billed for the anesthesiologist's time and the medications. Dr. Cat's patients have a board-certified physician anesthesiologist for the whole case, included in the quote.
5. Operating room and facility
Facility fees pay for the operating room, the nursing staff, the recovery room and the supplies. Dr. Cat's accredited private surgical center on Rodeo Drive is included in the quote.
6. Surgical bra and drains
A supportive surgical bra is worn for up to two months; drains are used after an explant or extensive capsule work and come out at about a week. Your bra is included in the quote.
7. Imaging, labs and medications
Before a revision Dr. Cat may ask for blood work and breast imaging, an ultrasound or MRI to check for a silent rupture, billed separately and often covered by insurance even when the surgery is not. Afterward, most of Dr. Cat's breast patients manage with Tylenol.
8. Follow-up visits
From the first week to the visit months later when the implants have settled. Some practices bill each visit; Dr. Cat's are included in the quote.
Breast Revision Cost Near Me: Beverly Hills Breast Revision Surgery, Los Angeles and Beyond
Prices in Los Angeles span the national range, from advertised implant exchanges in the low five figures to specialist practices like ours, so "near me" tells you where a surgeon is, not what you are buying. Use the seven questions above on every quote and ask for photos of the exact problem you have. Dr. Cat's practice is on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills; many of her revision patients travel from other states and countries, and our out-of-town patient page explains how the virtual consultation, the surgery week and the follow-up are arranged. A revision is one surgery you should not choose by distance.
Breast Revision Cost in Mexico, Turkey and Abroad
Breast augmentation in Tijuana, Istanbul, Bogotá, Santo Domingo or Bangkok is advertised at a fraction of the American price. The price is possible because everything costs less and because there is often no follow-up: the surgeon who operated on you is not the one who sees the capsule harden at four months. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the CDC both warn about the complications of cosmetic surgery tourism.
Revisions of overseas surgery cost more than the original surgery, for reasons specific to the breast: the implants are sometimes brands not sold in the United States, so they are replaced rather than kept, and contamination in an unaccredited facility raises the chance of contracture. A revision after a cheap augmentation is the full revision range, a $60,000 to $75,500 surgeon's fee or more with support material, against the $17,500 to $22,500 surgeon's fee the augmentation would have cost done well. Our post on plastic surgery tourism, the cost and the danger covers what to check before you book anywhere.
Does Insurance Cover Breast Revision Surgery?
Not when the augmentation was cosmetic: a revision of a cosmetic augmentation is cosmetic too, whatever the reason, so the prices on this page are self-pay. There are three partial exceptions.
- Reconstruction patients. If your implants were placed as reconstruction after a mastectomy, federal law requires plans that cover the reconstruction to cover its complications, and capsular contracture and rupture are sometimes reviewed and approved. Tell us at the consultation and we will give you the procedure codes for your insurer.
- Imaging and labs. The MRI or ultrasound that confirms a rupture, blood work and prescriptions are often covered under your normal benefits.
- Health savings and flexible spending accounts. Eligibility depends on your plan's rules on cosmetic against reconstructive procedures.
Implant warranties are the other place to look. Manufacturer programs generally cover a confirmed rupture with replacement implants for the life of the device and, for a set number of years after the original surgery, a fixed contribution toward surgical costs; some extend the same terms to grade III and IV capsular contracture within a window. The contribution is small against a specialist's fee; bring your implant card and we will help you check.
Financing Options for Breast Revision Surgery
Surgery is paid for before the surgery date, and many of our patients finance part or all of it. Cherry is our primary financing partner, with 0% APR options for qualified applicants and a soft credit check that does not affect your credit score; we also work with CareCredit and Alphaeon Credit. See Plastic Surgery Financing Options to apply, and how to finance plastic surgery for a comparison. If financing is not the right fit, Dr. Cat's advice is to save and wait for the revision you need rather than a cheaper version now.
Recovery Timeline and Additional Costs to Consider
A complete budget includes what happens after surgery, and for a revision that depends on what was done.
- Time off work. After a simple implant exchange, recovery follows a first augmentation: back at a desk at about one week, all exercise and no restrictions at six weeks. After capsule and pocket work or an explant, plan on drains for about a week, one to two weeks before desk work, four to six weeks before normal activity and six weeks before everything is cleared.
- Travel and accommodation. Out-of-town patients stay in Los Angeles until Dr. Cat has cleared them to fly at their first follow-up visits; see plan your stay.
- Settling. The implants settle over four to six months and the final result shows then.
Choosing the Right Surgeon for Breast Revision
Breast revision is widely considered more complex than a first augmentation, and the cheapest revision is rarely the least expensive one. The savings on a cheap revision are borrowed against a capsule left behind that contracts again, or a complication that becomes a hospital bill and a third surgery; some errors cannot be fully corrected even by a specialist, because tissue thinned or scarred twice does not come back.
Look for a board-certified plastic surgeon with a revision practice, who will explain what went wrong in plain terms and show you revision results for the same problem. Dr. Cat's breast revision before and after photos show the corrections; her success stories and reviews describe what the correction changed. If the lowest quote leaves lines out or leaves the capsule in, it is not the lowest quote.
Get Your Itemized Breast Revision Quote
The only breast revision price that matters is the one written for what is inside your breasts. Start with a free discovery call: share a few details, our patient concierge will call you for a short conversation, and Dr. Cat will examine you at your consultation and give you a complete written quote. You can also call (310) 858-8808. Before you visit, see her breast revision before and after photos, read about breast revision surgery in Beverly Hills, compare with our breast augmentation cost guide, or browse our plastic surgery cost guides.
