Breast augmentation, as its name suggests, augments the organ highly associated with femininity and sensuality. And with the advances in plastic surgery, today the procedure is reasonably safe to many women that it has been the most popular “medical enhancement” over the past couple of years.
But one consideration to make is the risk of capsular contracture, a condition in which the scar tissue that normally forms around the breast implants becomes too thick that it ends up compressing the devices. In severe cases, it results to visible distortion and pain.
Visible distortion may be manifested by a ball- or coconut-shaped breast or a high-riding bust. In order to treat this problem, a revision plastic surgery is performed by doctors in which they remove the thick scar tissue and replace the breast implants with new ones.
Many plastic surgeons recommend replacing the breast implants to avoid or at least minimize the risk of infection, believed to be one of the causes of capsular contracture.
During a revision surgery, doctors avoid contaminating the breast implants so they apply the no-touch technique in which they use a funnel with a special lubrication. With this procedure, the implants are placed inside the pouch which is then squeezed to its narrower end to push the devices into the breast pocket.
This technique, which is also called as the Keller Funnel, not just reduces the risk of contamination but also minimizes the pressure applied to the breast implants so the durability of their outer shell is not compromised during the implantation process.
To further avoid the recurrence of capsular contracture and high-riding breasts, plastic surgeons position the implants behind the muscle rather than on top of it so there will be less contact with the tissue, which is believed to harbor bacteria.
But instead of removing the scar tissue and replacing the breast implants with new ones, some doctors prefer to release the scar capsule using an electrocautery device. This approach is particularly ideal for patients with a small amount of tissue and fats in their breasts, predisposing them to higher risk of visible and/or palpable wrinkling.
Patients with a high-riding bust or other forms of visible distortion due to capsular contracture should take into consideration that not all breast augmentation surgeons are adept in revision breast implant surgery, which requires a more complex skill.
Just to be sure, a patient should choose a doctor who has an extensive experience in conducting revision breast augmentation.
