Mr Ken Stewart
Consultant plastic surgeon
GMC 3499203
Corrective breast surgery in Edinburgh
Implants that have hardened, moved, or no longer suit you; a result from elsewhere that never felt right; or a decision to remove implants altogether – corrective breast surgery covers all of these. Quaba Plastic Surgery draws on more than 30 years of breast surgery in Edinburgh, and its consultant plastic surgeons, all on the GMC Specialist Register, carry out revision and implant-removal surgery at Waterfront Private Hospital, including correction of surgery performed elsewhere.
- Anaesthetic
- General
- Length of surgery
- 1-2 hours, longer for complex revisions
- Hospital stay
- Day case at Waterfront Private Hospital, or overnight at our partner facility in Edinburgh
- Recovery
- 1-2 weeks off work, 6 weeks before strenuous exercise
- Guide price
- from £5,300
- Consultant plastic surgeons on the GMC Specialist Register
- Surgery at Waterfront Private Hospital, regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland
- Your consultation and your operation with the same consultant
Contents
Is it right for me?
Corrective breast surgery suits women with a specific implant-related problem — hardness, movement, rippling, suspected rupture, or discomfort — and women whose preferences have changed since their original surgery, including those who want their implants removed entirely. Surgery originally performed at other clinics is regularly assessed and corrected.
- You have a clear concern with your existing implants or with the result of previous breast surgery.
- You are in good general health, with any suspected implant problem (such as rupture) investigated by scan where needed.
- Your expectations are realistic: revision surgery carries a degree of unpredictability, and no outcome can be guaranteed.
- You are a non-smoker, or willing to stop smoking well before surgery.
Where a problem is mild and not troubling you, the right advice can be monitoring rather than surgery. Making that judgement honestly is the core of the consultation.
Unsure? Try the free AI consultation, or ask at your appointment.
What corrective breast surgery involves
Corrective (revision) breast surgery puts right a problem with previous breast implant surgery, or removes implants altogether. Surgery takes place at Waterfront Private Hospital under general anaesthesia, usually as a day case or with a one-night stay. Depending on your case, it may involve one or a combination of these procedures:
- Removal of the old implants and replacement with “like-for-like” or a different size, type, or shape of implant.
- Removal of thickened, contracted scar tissue lining the implant pocket (capsulectomy).
- Adjustment of the existing implant pocket to allow a larger implant or to reduce the gap between the implants (capsulotomy).
- Correction of “bottoming out”, where the breast crease has descended and lost support.
- A pocket switch from above to below the muscle, to address rippling or recurrent capsular contracture.
- Breast uplift and reshaping (mastopexy) to correct droopiness.
The combination appropriate to your case is planned at consultation by the consultant who will perform your surgery.
What corrective breast surgery can address
Corrective breast surgery addresses problems ranging from the relatively simple to the highly complex — whether the original surgery was performed at Quaba or elsewhere. Common reasons for revision include:
- Upsizing or downsizing: a wish for larger implants as preferences change, or for smaller breasts.
- Capsular contracture: abnormal scar tissue forming around an implant, causing hardening, discomfort, and changes in breast shape.
- Implant visibility: feeling or seeing the edges of an implant, or visible ripples, folds, and creases.
- Implant malposition: implants that have shifted, causing a wide gap, poor cleavage, high-riding implants, or bottoming out.
- Tissue changes: droopiness of the natural breast tissue over the implant (sometimes a “double-bubble” appearance) or developing asymmetry.
- Implant removal: a decision to remove implants altogether, for personal or medical reasons.
Breast implant illness (BII) refers to a range of symptoms — including joint and muscle pain, fatigue, brain fog, and skin or autoimmune-type symptoms — that some patients associate with their implants. The cause remains unclear and diagnosis involves ruling out other conditions. Studies show that many patients experience an improvement in symptoms after implant removal, although not all do.
What corrective breast surgery can and can't do
Corrective surgery puts right a specific problem with a previous operation, or takes implants out altogether. It cannot give you back the breasts you had before implants, and it may not settle every symptom, so it helps to know that before you decide.
It can
- Remove implants that are causing problems, such as capsular contracture, rupture, movement or rippling.
- Exchange implants for a different size, shape or type, including implants placed elsewhere.
- Release or remove a hardened capsule, and remove the capsule where there is a clinical reason for it.
- Reposition an implant that sits too high, too low or too far to the side, and correct a double-bubble or asymmetry.
- Be combined with an uplift or fat transfer to reshape the breast in the same operation.
It can’t
- Give you back the breasts you had before implants. Skin and tissue change with time, and removal alone can leave the breast looser and emptier. Many people choose an uplift at the same time.
- Promise your symptoms will go. In a 2025 review, about 8 in 10 people who linked symptoms to their implants reported some improvement after removal, but not everyone improves, and improvement is not always complete.
- Give more symptom relief by removing the capsule. Studies show similar relief whether the capsule is removed or left in place, so we remove it only for a clinical reason.
- Guarantee the result. Revision surgery is less predictable than a first operation, and further surgery is sometimes needed.
- Replace implant volume with fat. Fat transfer adds a modest amount of volume, not the same as an implant.
- Avoid new scars if you also have an uplift. Removal or exchange usually uses the original scar, but an uplift adds scars around the areola and down the breast.
Your consultant will tell you at your consultation which of these apply to you.
What is the cost of corrective breast surgery?
Revision surgery varies in complexity more than primary surgery, so the full price for your individual case can only be confirmed after a face-to-face consultation with the consultant who will perform your surgery. Our consultation fee with a consultant plastic surgeon is £200. Where a further consultation would help you reach a decision, this is offered without additional charge.
Quick answers
What happens if I have concerns after my surgery?
What happens if I have concerns after my surgery?
A nurse reviews you at one week, and more often if needed in the early healing period. Your consultant sees you again at around six months once the result has settled. Between then, your consultant is always available — if anything concerns you, they will respond directly and arrange to see you as soon as needed.
Will my implants have to be changed after a particular time?
Will my implants have to be changed after a particular time?
Implants are not lifetime devices. Many people have them replaced or removed after about 10 to 15 years, most often because of capsular contracture, rupture, or changes in breast shape after pregnancy, weight change or age. Replacement is not automatic at a set date. If you have any concern, ask us to check your implants with ultrasound.
How does recovery compare with that of the first operation?
How does recovery compare with that of the first operation?
There are similarities to the original surgery, but there can be significant differences depending on the complexity of the revision. A simple exchange of implants for a comparable shape and size can be straightforward, as no major work is required on the existing implant pocket. If more complex surgery is needed — correction of capsular contracture, implant malposition, or a combined uplift — the operation takes longer and the recovery is more protracted.
How do I choose what implant size to go for?
How do I choose what implant size to go for?
If your implants are being exchanged, a sizing kit is used at consultation to help you decide what size suits you — it helps to bring some of your own tops. 3D imaging is also available to give a visual representation of how different implants might look. The type of implant (round or anatomical) and its placement (above or below the chest muscle, or dual plane) are explained in full.
What if my breasts are also droopy?
What if my breasts are also droopy?
If your breasts have become droopy, you may be better suited to implant surgery combined with a breast uplift (augmentation mastopexy). This depends on the position of your nipples relative to your breast crease, the implant size you wish to have, and whether you have had pregnancies or weight loss. If you are unsure, you can try our cosmetic surgery selector tool.
Are there any alternatives to breast implants?
Are there any alternatives to breast implants?
For a modest increase of around one cup size, fat transfer to the breasts may be an option. Fat is removed from the tummy or thighs by liposuction, prepared, and injected into the breasts. It uses only your own tissue, avoids implant-specific risks, and leaves only tiny scars. The main disadvantages are the limited enlargement, the unpredictable retention of fat — some is reabsorbed in the first few months and repeat treatments may be needed — and the higher cost, as fat transfer involves two procedures and is usually more expensive than implants.
The surgeons who do this
You meet your consultant at your first appointment. The same consultant plans your surgery, carries it out and sees you afterwards.
Outstanding Results
Life-changing experience and I certainly felt in the most professional and safest of hands. Explanations, guidance and treatment were second to none. Recovery was straightforward with support when needed 24/7. Mr Awf Quaba is an exceptional surgeon, a real gentleman and the results are even better than I could ever have expected. My results are perfect in my eyes: I could not be happier with the whole process and would not hesitate to recommend.
Claire
Risks, and how often they happen
Every operation carries risk. Here they are in three groups. The figures come from published studies of implant removal, averaged across many patients, so your own risk may be higher or lower and depends on how complex your revision is. Your consultant will go through what applies to you, and every risk is in your written consent.
- Expected
- Uncommon
- Rare
- For the long term
Expected Almost everyone, and they settle
- Swelling and bruising, most noticeable in the first ten days and settling over the following month.
- A tight, sore feeling for the first week or two, eased by simple painkillers.
- After removal without replacement, breasts that look smaller, flatter or looser, settling over three to six months as the tissues refine.
- Changes in nipple or breast skin sensation, usually temporary.
Uncommon Some patients, and some need further treatment
- Bleeding that needs a return to theatre (haematoma), usually in the first day.
About 1 in 100
- Fluid collecting in the space where the implant was (seroma), which may need draining.
About 1 in 100
- Infection, more likely after revision than after a first operation; rarely, a new implant has to be removed for a time.
Uncommon
- If new implants are placed, every risk on the breast augmentation page applies again: capsular contracture, rupture, rippling, malposition and changes in sensation.
Rare but serious
- A collapsed lung (pneumothorax) when the capsule is removed from the chest wall. It is recognised in theatre and treated straight away.
1 in 1,000or fewer
- A blood clot in the leg or lung (DVT or PE). We assess your risk and take steps to prevent it.
Under 1 in 1,000
- A serious reaction to the anaesthetic.
Very rare
For the long term
- Your shape keeps settling for three to six months; where an uplift is combined with removal or exchange, it continues to refine for up to 18 months. If you want more shape later, an uplift or fat transfer can be done as a second operation.
- A second operation is sometimes needed, for example to improve shape, asymmetry or a scar. Revision surgery after the first year is self-funded.
- Breast implant illness (BII). The research has not established a cause, and we will talk about it openly; the BAAPS note on BII explains what is and is not known.
- Not sure whether to remove them? An implant check with ultrasound is a useful first step; ask us.
More from the MHRA on breast implants.
Where these figures come from
- Capsular contracture and implant rupture (about 1 in 20 over ten years): our consultants’ figure for the nanotextured implants we use. The national patient guide gives up to 1 in 10 over ten years across all implant types.
- Xu et al., Aesthet Surg J 2024;44(9):936-945 (TOPS data)For: Haematoma, seroma, pneumothorax after capsule surgery
- Your guide to breast augmentation, UK national patient guide (2021)For: Haematoma with implants; Capsular contracture; Implant rupture
- MHRA, Breast implants and anaplastic large cell lymphomaFor: BIA-ALCL
- Winocour et al., Aesthet Surg J 2017;37(3):337-349 (CosmetAssure database)For: DVT or PE
- Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Mastopexy or breast reduction patient leafletFor: Serious anaesthetic reaction
- Ferreira RS et al., Aesthetic Plast Surg 2025;49(23):6600-6620 (33 studies, 6,048 women)For: symptom improvement after removal
- Glicksman C et al., Aesthet Surg J 2022;42(7):809-819 (ASERF study, part 1)For: capsulectomy and symptom relief
Aftercare and recovery after corrective breast surgery
Recovery after corrective breast surgery depends on the complexity of the operation. A straightforward implant exchange feels similar to — often easier than — the original surgery; more complex revisions involving capsule work or an uplift take longer to settle. You may be up and about in 2 days, but it will be a few weeks before you are entirely up to speed.
A nurse reviews you at one week, and more often if needed in the early healing period. Your consultant sees you again at around six months once the result has settled. Between then, your consultant is always available — if anything concerns you, they will respond directly and arrange to see you as soon as needed.
Detailed instructions and advice are available on the revision breast augmentation aftercare page.
Discomfort and pain
Discomfort and pain
Some pain is typical in the first few days after surgery especially if your implants have been placed under the muscle. You may experience some numbness of your nipples and incision areas. You may experience temporary soreness, tightness, swelling and bruising as well as some discomfort in the incision area. Your breasts may be sensitive to stimulation for a few weeks.
Bruising and swelling
Bruising and swelling
Your breast will feel tight and swollen for several days and bruising is not uncommon.
Appearance
Appearance
Most of the discolouration and swelling will subside in 4-6 weeks.
Scars may be red and angry looking for 6 months. In time, these usually soften and fade.
Your final breast shape will not become apparent until 6 months.
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