What You’ll Actually Look Like After Explant: The Two-Year Timeline

A woman walks into the office holding her phone, points at a stranger’s before-and-after, and says she doesn’t want that result. Dr. Luke Swistun’s answer is almost always the same: that isn’t you. The photo shows someone with different tissue, different proportions, and usually a different surgery — none of which predicts where her own breasts will settle.Dr. Swistun is the explant expert at La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, and women fly into San Diego from all over to see him. With hostess Monique Ramsey, he walks through a single real before-and-after — the same woman at two months, six months, and two years — and explains what’s swelling, what’s final shape, and where the nipple sits relative to the breast fold (the landmarks that drive every decision). He covers why some women need a lift, some need fat grafting, and some need nothing at all, plus a delayed lower-pole skin excision done under local in about an hour, and serial fat grafting that builds a full B with no implant at all. The conversation lands on the part most women aren’t ready for: how different they feel once the implants are gone.His rule for anyone afraid of the scars: do less, because you can always do more. The woman in that progression took it — removed the implants, waited, then tightened a little skin under local — and told him afterward they look exactly like they did in high school.LinksListen to more breast implant removal episodes:Fat Transfer, What Could Go Wrong? with Dr. SwistunPlastic Surgeon Clears Up Capsulectomy Confusion with Dr. SwistunPatient Janelle: Why I Had My Implants Removed After 22 YearsMeet San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Luke SwistunLearn more about breast implant removal (explant)Questions answered by this episode1. What will I actually look like after breast implant removal?2. How long does it take to see the final result after an explant?3. Do I need a breast lift when I have my implants removed?4. What is a delayed lower pole skin excision, and when is it used?5. Can fat grafting restore breast volume after explant without implants?6. How much transferred fat actually survives after fat grafting to the breast?7. Why do explant results look so different from one woman to the next?8. What are breast landmarks and why do they matter when planning an explant?9. Is it better to remove the implants first and decide on a lift later?10. How do women feel about themselves a year after explant?About this podcastLearn from the talented plastic surgeons inside La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, the 12x winner of the San Diego’s Best Union-Tribune Readers Poll, global winner of the 2020 MyFaceMyBody Best Cosmetic/Plastic Surgery Practice, and the 2025 winner of Best Cosmetic Surgery Group in San Diego Magazine’s Best of San Diego Awards.Join hostess Monique Ramsey as she takes you inside LJCSC, where dreams become real. Featuring the unique expertise of San Diego’s most loved plastic surgeons, this podcast covers the latest trends in aesthetic surgery, including breast augmentation, breast implant removal, tummy tuck, mommy makeover, labiaplasty, facelifts and rhinoplasty.La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSCWatch the LJCSC Dream Team on YouTube @LaJollaCosmeticSurgeryCentreThe La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.ioTheme music: Busy People, SOOP