Patients who have undergone Breast Augmentation whether due to reconstruction or cosmetic may notice an issue weeks after surgery or even years after surgery where one or both of their breasts become hard, high, uneven, and sometimes painful. This condition named capsular contracture sometimes named capsular contraction is where the balloon-like shell around the breast implant begins to tighten, squeeze, and cause a change in the shape and position of the implant and in some cases causes pain.
We’ve compiled a list of the top 5 signs that you may have implant capsular contracture
1. Hard or Firmer: One of the biggest changes that women noticed with Breast Implant Capsular Contracture is that one or both become firmer than they used to be. Women who have breast augmentation for the first time and encapsulate immediately after surgery on both sides may go their entire lives living with the implant not knowing there’s a problem. They think firmness is normal. Typically when a woman observes one implant changing and becoming harder while the other one stay soft is one of the first signs to seek out solutions for treating this condition.
2. Position: When a woman is afflicted with breast implant capsular contracture the Implant will typically begin to squeeze ride up higher and poke forward. This asymmetry is variable in all women from mild to severe but any notice of one side being higher either at the top of the breast or a gap at the bottom of the other breast is a classic sign of capsular contracture. Some women dispute it as implant size difference but in the presence of firmness, it is not the case.
3. Pain??? Although pain may not be an indicator of most capsules, grade 4 or the most severe stage of capsular contracture may be associated with pain. It is very important to note that pain by itself is not the best indicator of implant contracture but it can be a co-associated symptom.
4. Hematoma, Seroma, Infection: Patients who have hematoma‘s which are pockets of blood, and seromas, which are pockets of fluid may need either of these drained by needle aspiration or if small enough may be allowed to dissolve. If a seroma or a hematoma is present whether you are aware or not these begin to harbor certain bacteria‘s and create a contracture trigger-rich environment which significantly increases the risk of one or both implants becoming higher harder or firmer. Infection whether in the breast or systemically in the body triggers the autoimmune system to go looking for what is causing the internal invasion, sees the breast implant as the foreign invader, and arbitrarily attacks the breast implant by causing the capsule shell to thicken and harden in an attempt to wall off the “would be” foreign invader.
5. Genetic History: Genetic history can play an important part in helping identify if a woman has implant capsular contracture. Asian women have the highest incidence of contracture which has been reported worldwide five times more prevalent than other ethnicities. Latin women and black women tend to be number two and three on the list likely due to certain genetic predispositions.
Other genetic factors include medical history. If a patient has a known or even an unknown thyroid dysfunction like Hashimoto’s, eczema, psoriasis, arthritis, or even chronic allergies these women may be at higher risk for developing capsular contracture right after surgery or even 20 years later. Many patients have gone many years with their breast implants with no issues and a triggered auto immune , cold , flu , infection may cause the implant to spontaneously harden and rise up even many years later after surgery.
Although capsular contracture can be a difficult and uncomfortable issue to deal with there is a non-surgical solution. Non-surgical solutions are important because surgery to fix capsular contracture regardless of the quality of the surgeon, surgical center, type of implant, or how the implant is implanted, statistically can result in getting encapsulation again 70% of all patients in their first revision surgery and up to 90% of patients will get capsular contracture again after a second revisional surgery. Imagine spending all that money on surgery just to have it happen again and again.
The Aspen After Surgery Center provides non-surgical treatment utilizing therapeutic modalities and techniques to help naturally and safely provide a solution to help improve the softness shape and position of those suffering from breast implant capsular contracture. The Aspen After Surgery Center offers a five-day fast track for patients who qualify and patients from all over the world fly to the center to help resolve the breast implant capsular contracture. The Aspen Rehabilitation technique has been shown through research and studies to be 90% effective in resolving most women’s implant contracture and moving the severity of their condition two Baker grades to a normal level of softness and a normal level of position and symmetry. They offer a Virtual online evaluation from anywhere in the world to assess your condition and determine the best options to help. For more information please call 1-877-277- 3615 or visit http://www.aspenaftersurgery.com