This could be a capsular contracture..
By Peter Klainer, MD, F.A.A.C.
In the hundreds of breast augmentation consults I have done one of the most common concerns made by patients is either they know someone who’s breast implants have become hard or they have read about it on the internet. The first thing to know is that the implants themselves don’t change from a liquid to a solid state, but a change has occurred in the body surrounding the implant. This could be capsular contracture.
Everyone who has implants placed in their breast, after surgery will form a capsule surrounding the implant. This capsule is scar tissue created as part of your body’s attempt to protect itself from a foreign object. In most cases the capsule surrounding breast implants is usually very thin and soft.
The problem occurs when a capsule either shrinks or thickens causing the implant to feel hard. It is the surrounding tissue that feels hard, not the implant itself.
It this small percentage of people it may require additional surgery to correct the problem. The older implants had a higher occurrence of this problem. Today’s implants are much more improved and have a very low number of patients that may experience this hardening.
Although there is no one reason attributed to the formation of a capsular contracture, these are some possible reasons for this problem:
- Infection
- Seroma (fluid collection around the implant after surgery)
- Hematoma (blood collection around the implant after surgery)
- Placement of the implant above, rather than below the muscle
- Smoking, as it may decrease oxygen to healing tissues and delay healing or cause inflammation
- Injury
- Trauma
There is no absolute way of preventing this complication but I strongly feel that breast massage after the surgery decreases its occurrence. I teach these exercises to every patient beginning as soon as their first post operative visit. There is also a medication that a patient can take for prevention.
If you have other questions regarding this topic please call us at (703) 421-6000 or Email us at wherebeautybegins@gmail.com.
