It’s hard to call implant surgery, the procedure done to remove breast implants, a “trend.” There are a variety of reasons why people have their implants removed—some cite health concerns such as breast implant disease, others have had their implants recalled, and more often than not, there is a large portion of patients who no longer identify with the style, shape and the size of the implants they had placed years before. Whatever the reason, the decision to undergo implant removal or breast implant surgery is never fashionable, but sometimes it is necessary.
“There are a few reasons why women decide to have their breast implants removed,” says Houston, Texas, plastic surgeon German Newall, MD. “For some, they no longer desire the size and appearance of their implants. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, the trend was large breast implants and today there is a more natural look. Others no longer like the idea of having a foreign substance in their body. In some cases, women who undergo a breast lift find that they no longer need an implant to achieve the desired appearance, so they undergo implant removal surgery.”
“Implant surgery simply means removing the implants, which may be all we do if someone is tired of implants or wants to downsize,” states Louisville, KY plastic surgeon M. Bradley Calobrace, MD. “In some cases we perform breast lift and/or fat grafting to ensure the best possible appearance of the breast.”
Here, the celebrities who chose to go public with their degeneration procedures and the reasons. While it’s brave to be upfront about any cosmetic enhancements, it’s doubly so to share such a subtle experience with the world.
1/10
Chrissy Teigen
An admirable trait of Chrissy Teigen is her openness with fans about any cosmetic enhancements the 36-year-old star makes. When she decided to have her implants removed in 2020, she shared that it was the comfort. “Putting my boobs out!” she wrote on Instagram. “They were great to me for many years, but I’m over it. I would love to be able to zip up a dress in my size, lie flat on my stomach in total comfort! No big! So don’t worry about me! All good. I’ll still have boobs, they’ll just be really big.”
It’s strange to hear, but the woman most responsible for the Baywatch-style bosom that dominated the ’90s got her famous celebrity implants before the end of the decade. Anderson, now 54, told the press in 1999 that her choice was made for cosmetic reasons, but doctors found a leak during the operation. “Actually when I took them off, they found a leak on one side,” he said. However, the star maintained that size was the driving factor. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I feel like I’m a petite person and just having these big breasts was… it didn’t feel right anymore.”
3/10
Yolanda Hadid
In 2015, when Hadid, 58, was still a cast member Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the star and model-mom shared her journey to find the cause of chronic Lyme disease. As she underwent various tests, she learned that one of her implants was leaking. In a post on Instagram she wrote: “Turn the chaos into a message. We may have hit the jackpot by finding all that silicone from a 20-year-old ruptured implant via ultrasound mapping, as seen in this selfie.” The star went on to have her implants removed in a 2016 episode of the show.
Photo credits: Astrid Stawiarz/Stringer/Getty Images
4/10
Me Suvari
In her recent book, The Great Peace: A Memoirthe 43-year-old actress recounted her decision to get implants after the star american beauty and her choice in 2019 to remove them. She said People she had initially explored the idea of having her implants removed when she was thinking about having a child, but ultimately felt that they didn’t feel like a part of her. “I would catch myself so many times realizing, ‘I’ve got these bags on my chest.’ And I didn’t have that connection to why I was actually doing it. There was a lack of appreciation on my part. So I kind of felt like, “Who am I and what am I doing?” I had come to this extent, to such extremes, in search of this identity.”
Instagram
5/10
Adrienne Bailon
In an episode of the real, Bailon, now 38, shared that she regretted her choice to get implants at 19. “I had my breast implants removed because I looked crazy,” the co-host said. “The insecurity went from ‘I don’t have big breasts’ to ‘Now everyone is looking at my breasts’ and I was more embarrassed that people knew I was so insecure that I went and got breast implants.”
Instagram
6/10
Michelle Visage
RuPaul’s Drag Race Judge Michelle Visage shared her recent breast implant removal journey in her film Plantation. In the documentary, the former singer and DJ explores how chronic symptoms, including pain and fatigue, may be linked to her implants. Visage, now 53, was also diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease. “In my head, I thought if I have an autoimmune disease and my body is attacking itself, there’s only one common denominator here,” he said. Page six. “I have an intruder. My body wants to heal but it can’t because there is an invader.”
Instagram
7/10
Melissa Rycroft
In July 2020, the 38-year-old reality star posted from the post-op room to share that she had some complications that led to her decision to have her implants removed. “After reconstructive surgery and an implant that refused to settle in properly (even after reconstruction), my body was telling me [it] I didn’t want those implants!”
8/10
Tamra Judge
To address health concerns she attributed to her implants, the 54-year-old reality star shared with her fans that she had undergone an implant procedure in 2021. “Implants and capsules removed,” she wrote. “I feel tired and a little sore as expected. I’m sure not working out will be the hardest part for me. I know it sounds crazy, but I woke up today with rosy cheeks, no sinus congestion, and happy thoughts. I hope that I will continue to see improvements in health as the weeks go by.”
USA Network/Associate/Getty Images
9/10
Clare Crawley
The 40 year old Bachelorette The star went public with her implant experience in 2021. While she liked her implants, she said her body did not. “As much as I love my implants, my body fights them and recognizes them as something obviously foreign to my body.” After her implant was removed, she took to social media to offer an update and thank the team for helping her and other BII patients. “I still feel amazing. No pain meds. And the best things yet…no more itching! I’ve had them for 5+ years off…my skin is incredible!”
Instagram
10/10
Victoria Beckham
In 2014, the 47-year-old style arbiter shared that she no longer had her implants. Once calling them “bazooka torpedoes,” the singer and fashion designer felt they had fallen out of favor. In 2017 she advised others to think twice before committing to a chestier look. “Don’t mess with your boobs… just celebrate what you have,” she said in one Vogue UK interview.
Photo credits: Victor Boyko / Contributor/ Getty Images
