ARTICLE
A new word for breast implant explant surgery!
This week I operated on 2 women who had breast implants inserted 20 years ago. The first lady had her textured implants inserted in front of the muscle and needed to have them removed because of breast pain. The pain was due to the development of thick fibrous capsules around the implants. An en-bloc removal was performed of the capsule and the implant.
The following photograph shows the appearance of the heavily calcified capsule and an implant.
It is known that implants placed in front of the muscle are prone to a much higher degree of encapsulation. This is believed to be due to the fact that the implants are in contact with the breast tissue, allowing bacteria from the breast to grow around the implant and stimulate the development of thick capsules. In some women, these bacteria can trigger a disease called Anaplasitc Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) although fortunately this was not the case for this woman.
Case Study: Complications with Smooth-Walled Silicone Implants Behind the Muscle
My second patient had smooth-walled silicone implants placed behind the muscle. In her case, an ultrasound examination revealed that the left implant was leaking. This was confirmed during surgery, where the intact right implant was removed, but the left implant had completely disintegrated. The implants were surrounded by only a very thin capsule, which is typical when implants are positioned behind the muscle. The muscle serves to protect the implants from the overlying breast tissue, preventing bacteria from the breast glands from accessing the implant and potentially stimulating the development of a thick capsule.
In both cases implant volume was restored by autologous fat transfer. This involved harvesting fat from the abdomen and thighs and, following preparation, carefully grafting it into the breasts.
Fat grafting is now established as an all natural way to restore volume following removal of breast implants, or Brexplant surgery.
ARTICLE
Brexplant
A new word for breast implant explant surgery!
This week I operated on 2 women who had breast implants inserted 20 years ago. The first lady had her textured implants inserted in front of the muscle and needed to have them removed because of breast pain. The pain was due to the development of thick fibrous capsules around the implants. An en-bloc removal was performed of the capsule and the implant.
The following photograph shows the appearance of the heavily calcified capsule and an implant.
It is known that implants placed in front of the muscle are prone to a much higher degree of encapsulation. This is believed to be due to the fact that the implants are in contact with the breast tissue, allowing bacteria from the breast to grow around the implant and stimulate the development of thick capsules. In some women, these bacteria can trigger a disease called Anaplasitc Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) although fortunately this was not the case for this woman.
Case Study: Complications with Smooth-Walled Silicone Implants Behind the Muscle
My second patient had smooth-walled silicone implants placed behind the muscle. In her case, an ultrasound examination revealed that the left implant was leaking. This was confirmed during surgery, where the intact right implant was removed, but the left implant had completely disintegrated. The implants were surrounded by only a very thin capsule, which is typical when implants are positioned behind the muscle. The muscle serves to protect the implants from the overlying breast tissue, preventing bacteria from the breast glands from accessing the implant and potentially stimulating the development of a thick capsule.
In both cases implant volume was restored by autologous fat transfer. This involved harvesting fat from the abdomen and thighs and, following preparation, carefully grafting it into the breasts.
Fat grafting is now established as an all natural way to restore volume following removal of breast implants, or Brexplant surgery.