Possible Complications with Breast Augmentation Connecticut (Augmentation Mammoplasty)

Possible Complications

Even though the implant is well tolerated after your Connecticut Breast Augmentation surgery, your body's natural reaction to a foreign material is to surround it with a thin membrane called a "capsule" in order to stay in the desired pocket. The formation of this capsule is not a problem and occurs in every patient. In some cases, for reasons that are as yet not completely understood, this capsule can shrink around one or both implants, compressing the implant and making it round and firm. This is called capsular contracture and can occur in varying degrees. Although some women may consider some firmness desirable, the capsule can cause the breast to become unnaturally firm, misshapen or uncomfortable. Capsular contracture may occur from a few weeks to several years after the initial procedure.

There is no way to predict your body's reaction and if you will develop capsular contracture. Placing the implant under the muscle, in some cases, can reduce the incidence of this condition. If a patient does develop capsular contracture, surgical intervention may be required at our Westport, Connecticut, surgical facilities.

The opposite of capsular contracture can also occur--when breast implants are in a satisfactory position but several months later there is spontaneous expansion of the capsule. This is described medically as an inferior and lateral migration of the implants. If this happens, the patient will require closure of the breast pocket to reposition the implant either through the original incision or through a small inframammary incision. This procedure can be performed at our Connecticut surgical facility.

While there is no evidence that the saline breast implant causes breast cancer, it is recommended that the patient have a preoperative mammogram as a baseline. Thereafter, when having a mammogram be sure to go to a radiology center where the radiologist is experienced in the (Eklund) special technique required for an accurate x-ray of a patient with breast implants. It is emphasized that regular breast examination and mammograms are the best way to detect early cancers.

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