Rise in breast removal surgeries in Australia will continue in 2024

For the “first time ever” there has been a decline in breast implants – and a comparative rise in the number of reversals.

Breast reductions will surge in 2024 as “boob job regret” rises, a leading plastic surgeon has warned.

Breast implant removals, also known as explants, have increased more than sixfold in the past decade in Australia, recent Medicare data revealed.

Now the once rare procedure is increasing in demand so rapidly, it is set to be one of the most popular surgeries of 2024, Marc Pacifico, the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, has said.

Mr Pacifico said clients, who are mostly women, now prefer “shape over size” – but there’s a stark reason for this change of direction.

The boob job no one wanted is suddenly on the rise. Picture: Instagram

Breast implant removals have increased more than sixfold in the past decade. Picture: Instagram

The huge uptick is believed to have been inspired by Kylie Jenner who opened up about her breast implant regret last year, stating she wished she had “never got them done”, the NY Post reports.

However the rise in cases of breast implant illness (BII) could also be a contributing factor.

The term is used by women who have breast implants and who self-identify and describe a variety of symptoms including chronic fatigue, pain and brain fog to the development of auto-immune diseases.

BII is not currently recognised as an official medical diagnosis, but it is increasingly being acknowledged.

In recent months there have been a string of famous faces including Tori Spelling, Blac Chyna and Chrissy Teigen who have all removed their implants.

But it’s not just celebrities who are following a larger trend of aesthetics reversal with scores of women following the larger trend of aesthetics reversal.

“When I got my boobs done, the beauty trend was all about having the Kardashian look — big boobs and a big butt,” influencer Alyssa McKay told the publication.

“I wish I would have waited and thought about whether surgery was something I really wanted to do.

“Or if I just thought I needed a certain look.”

American influencer Alyssa McKay is among those who have ‘boob job regret’. Picture: Instagram/Alyssa McKay

Mr Pacifico believes the trend will continue to soar in 2024, with chief complaints among the well-endowed being pain with heavy implants or breast restoration after having children.

“Post-pregnancy patients who would like their breast restored to how they were before she was breastfeeding and before she lost breast volume rather than that Love Island type,’” he told The Daily Mail.

Sydney-based plastic and reconstructive surgeon Anand Deva echoed this sentiment in an interview with 9 News recently, stating the figures show the start of a trend towards women becoming more conscious about the health risks of breast implants.

“Breast augmentation still remains the number one cosmetic procedure performed around the world, but – for the first time ever – we’ve seen a drop in that and a comparative rise in the number of explants,” Professor Deva said.

He also credited the power of social media had been a “game-changer”, allowing women to communicate and share “real” experiences with breast surgery for the first time.

Prof Deva is currently leading Australia’s first study into the symptoms of women who believe they have BII.

The Sydney Macquarie University study is tracking the symptoms of 200 women before and after they have the operation.

Preliminary findings from the study, based on 45 women six months after surgery, found in 70 to 80 per cent of them many symptoms lessen or disappear entirely after their implants were removed.

Marc Pacifico predicted the once rare breast procedure will be the most popular surgery requested in 2024. Picture: Instagram/Marc Pacifico

Mr Pacifico also anticipates a rise in combined face and neck lifts after eagle-eyed social media users outed those who had the former due to the lack of taut skin around the décolletage.

“Without a good, harmonious improvement in someone’s neck, a facelift doesn’t look as good as it could or as natural as it could,” Mr Pacifico said.

“If you haven’t got a good neck, and you’ve got a good face, we can spot immediately that something’s not quite right.”

In an ideal world, cosmetic surgery should not be noticeable with the patient looking “very natural, very fresh” after it has been performed, he said.