[Girin Plastic Surgery] - Causes and symptoms of capsular contracture of the breast as seen in actual surgical cases

Hello, I am Dr. Song Jae Yong, a breast specialist at Girin Plastic Surgery which is located in Gangnam, Korea.

Today, I would like to tell you about capsular contracture and breast revision surgery.

What is breast capsular contracture?

When foreign substances enter the body, our body creates a thin film(capsule) to protect our tissues from the outside. This is a natural phenomenon. However, the phenomenon in which fibrous tissue proliferates abnormally in the capsule and the capsule becomes thicker and harder is called capsular contracture. Similarly, when an implant is inserted during breast augmentation surgery, a capsule is formed. In most normal cases, it is thin, but when capsular contracture occurs, the membrane becomes excessively thick and hard, and pain and heat are felt.

The exact cause of capsular contracture is not yet known, but it is known to occur for a variety of reasons, such as bleeding or infection at the surgical site, foreign substances, rupture of the implant, lack of follow-up care, and constitutional problems. When capsular contracture occurs, even after a certain period of time, the breast feels hard and painful when touched with the hand, and as the capsule thickens, the space where the implant was located decreases, causing the implant to become distorted, and gradually the shape of the breast becomes deformed to the point where it is visible to the naked eye. If capsular contracture is severe, the implant may be damaged.

In order to fundamentally resolve the capsular contracture that has occurred, surgery must be performed to safely remove the contracture-forming capsule and the implant inserted in the previous surgery, and if necessary, a re-breast augmentation surgery to insert a new implant must be performed.

In the case of breast revision surgery, it is usually safe to perform it 6 months after the first surgery, but depending on the degree of capsular contracture, if the implant is deformed or damaged, it may be necessary to hasten the surgery and remove it quickly. It is important to perform reoperation after determining the exact cause through a diagnosis by a specialist.

The following is a case of a patient who actually underwent breast revision surgery at our clinic.

Case 1. Case where the implant appears distorted after breast capsular contracture.

Diagnosis

In this patient, capsular contracture occurred in the left breast and the implant was distorted at the bottom. Therefore, during breast revision surgery, it seems necessary to completely remove the thickened skin and distorted implants and replace them with new ones.

Result 

Top) Removed implant / Bottom) Completely removed capsule

The thick capsule was completely removed and new implants were placed. The photo above is one month after surgery. Compared to the previous surgery, the balance on both sides of the breasts is more natural and the breasts are softer to the touch.

In cases where breast revision surgery is performed due to capsular contracture, there is a higher risk of recurrence of capsular contracture. Therefore, to reduce the recurrence of capsular contracture, it is very important to completely remove the capsule when removing it, and the patient should take capsular contracture medication after reoperation. We also recommend regular ultrasound examinations.

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