Will intense pulsed light treatments damage silicone breast implants?

No, intense pulsed light treatments on the skin should not be able to damage silicone breast implants.

First of all, the intense pulsed light and other laser skin treatments are only going to penetrate a matter of a few millimeters and breast implants are classically placed much, much deeper than this and furthermore, the light energy itself really is not going to injure the breast implant.

Are there risks to laser skin treatments when I have previously had breast augmentation surgery?

I would caution that the heat generated by the intense pulsed light could theoretically affect the silicone capsule that the implant is made of. This would only be true if the implant was directly under the skin and I assume would then only be pertinent for individuals that has have a complete mastectomy with silicone implant reconstruction and in whom are extraordinarily thin with a very small amount of subcutaneous fat volume.

Classically, when we perform intense pulsed light treatments on the chest area, these intense pulsed light treatments are only performed in the decolletage area, which would be above and between where the breast implants would be placed in the first place.

I would therefore recommend that in patients that have had a full reconstruction with a breast implant that they avoid treatment directly overlying the implant itself to avoid any possibility of injury, even though that risk of injury would be incredibly low.

Talk to your laser skincare specialist to assess the risks and benefits of the procedure. You can schedule a consultation at any time!