Before and after bilateral breast implant revision in a 27-year-old woman with bilateral Grade IV (painful and deforming) capsular contracture. She wanted to keep implants but have a more natural look with nicer cleavage and obviously, more relief of her discomfort.
Bilateral capsulectomy and implant exchange was performed under local anesthesia in our office operating room. This procedure can be offered awake when the patient feels comfortable having surgery done with an oral anti-anxiety medication, laughing gas and injected local anesthetic where only pressure and tugging sensations are experienced - just like at the Dentist’s office.
Her old implants were returned to the implant manufacturer, and new implants were inserted at no charge to our patient, as the implant warranty was still valid. Most breast implant companies have a ten year warranty, and our current favorite breast implant manufacturer has an even longer warranty at 20 years. This is a benefit to our patients - but most women don’t have a problem in the long term. :)
Internal capsulotomy incisions were used to reopen the breast implant pocket and create a more natural footprint for a new breast implant. Drains were not required. The patient showered in 2 days and resumed exercise within three weeks, when her bruising was all gone.
A sample of scar tissue was sent from each pocket to the Microbiology Lab at the hospital to look for bacteria. In this case, no bacteria were detected, which means they were cleared from our patient’s body. If bacteria were to be found, we prescribe a full two weeks of an appropriate antibiotic, based on antibiotic sensitivity results to help prevent recurrence of scar tissue.
Long-term follow up photos are shown a year and a half after surgery, with a durable result, no recurrence of capsular contracture, and a very happy patient!
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
