Breast Asymmetry with Capsular Contracture Corrected with Allograft, Raleigh, NC*

This 52-year-old woman had previous sub-muscular saline breast augmentation in 2005. She developed capsular contracture and went to another plastic surgeon who removed the implants with capsulectomy and reinserted the implants with new and variable sized implants. The patient never felt she had improvement in the symmetry and the encapsulation recurred very quickly. A few years after this procedure, she sought the help of Dr. Lyle and underwent replacement of her right breast implant with complete capsulectomy and allograft insertion on the right .On the left,the implant was exchanged and a mastopexy performed to improve shape and nipple symmetry. She was very happy with the outcome with correction of the capsular contracture and improvement in symmetry. About a year later she developed a little bit of soft tissue settling on the Left side so she had a minor procedure to fix this done under local anesthetic to remove some additional subcutaneous tissue in the lower pole. Capsular contracture is one of the most common reasons to undergo breast implant revision. Its etiology is not completely understood but likely caused by an inflammatory response to low-grade bacterial colonization, hematoma formation or seroma formation. Initial treatment often involves replacing the implant in a new pocket location or in this case, the insertion of a surgical mesh known to heal in and replace the thickened capsule and allow for more orderly wound repair with less scar.