Raleigh-Durham Breast Implants doctors

Any time a foreign object is implanted in the body, whether it is a pacemaker or a breast implant or an orthopedic device or anything else, the body responds by forming a thin, wispy, fibrous membrane around it. In most cases this membrane or 'capsule' stays thin and wispy, but in some cases over time the capsule may tighten around the implant and thicken, making the implant feel firm or even hard. In advanced stages the contracted capsule can even distort the shape and position of a breast implant. Capsular contracture can be treated, but it is a surgical treatment, so avoiding capsular contracture is all about avoiding another trip to the operating room.

Capsular contracture can occur on one or both sides, and while it can develop early (weeks) or late (years) after a breast augmentation surgery, in the vast majority of cases it is evident fairly early following the procedure. So the good news is that once you are six to 12 months out from your surgery, if your augmented breasts are soft and supple then they are likely to stay that way for the long term.

It is believed that capsular contracture is primarily a response to the presence of low-virulence or non-virulent bacteria (i.e. not the kind that generally produce an actual infection, with redness/tenderness/fever etc) that adhere to the implant surface on the day of surgery, and which over weeks and months following surgery stimulate the cells that make collagen (called fibroblasts) to make more collagen - thickening the capsule and stimulating it to contract and tighten around the implant. It is not an actual infection; there are no symptoms that this is going on, and taking antibiotics will not prevent the process or reverse it. The source of these non-virulent bacteria is thought to be the patient's skin, or the ductal systems of the breast that lead to the nipple, as both are normally colonized with bacteria.

Because plastic surgeons now have an understanding of some of the reasons why capsular contracture occurs, there are a number of measures that can be taken to significantly reduce the likelihood that it will happen following breast augmentation surgery. 

Because of a number of techniques I use during breast augmentation surgery that are outlined below, I see very few capsular contractures in my breast augmentation patients. However, the reality is that if you are a breast augmentation patient with a capsular contracture, the incidence - at least to you - feels like 100%. A well-established capsular contracture can be corrected, but doing so involves a return to the operating room, removing and discarding the implant, removing or excluding the contracted capsule, creating a completely new implant space, and putting in a new breast implant (that statement may be somewhat controversial, but I believe the procedure just described is what is what provides a patient with the lowest risk of recurrent contracture). So I think that surgeons should feel obliged to do everything possible to limit the likelihood that a patient develops this frustrating postoperative problem.

Studies have shown that a bacterium called Staph epidermidis can be cultured from as many as 70% of capsule specimens obtained during surgical procedures for capsular contracture. So I employ a number of measure that address the possibility that skin bacteria or nipple duct bacteria may adhere to the implant surface during the augmentation procedure. We prep the skin using potent antiseptic solutions prior to draping the surgical site with sterile drapes, however the microscopic surface of the skin is full of peaks and valleys, and `nooks and crannies' - like sweat glands, hair follicles and sebaceous glands - that may harbor bacteria despite thorough application of an antiseptic prep solutions.

After prepping, we apply a new skin sealant product called InteguSeal to the skin surface where the incision is to be made. This effectively seals off all of the `nooks and crannies' that may harbor bacteria, and the sealant lasts for several days postop. We also apply it over the nipple and areola to seal off the nipple ducts which may also harbor bacteria.

Over the course of the surgery, we irrigate the implant space several times with a large volume of a saline solution containing three antibiotics (which can be modified in patients with an allergy to any of the antibiotics in the solution). Prior to implant placement, we irrigate the implant space with full-strength Betadine, a potent topical antiseptic that has been shown in clinical studies to reduce the incidence of capsular contracture.

I think one of the greatest advances in reducing the possibility of implant contamination by skin bacteria during breast augmentation surgery is the development of a soft, sterile, paper funnel for insertion of silicone gel implants into the implant pocket. This simple yet clever device actually looks much like a pastry chef's bag. It allows me to introduce the implant into the subpectoral pocket without ever touching it with my gloves, and without the implant ever contacting the patient's skin surface. The implant package is opened, the implant is irrigated with antibiotic solution then `poured' into the funnel, the small end of the funnel is inserted in to the skin excision which is held open with retractors, and I gently `squirt' the implant into the pocket. Before this was available, there was a great deal of implant contact with the patient's skin, under great pressure, as a pre-filled gel implant is forced into the pocket through a relatively small incision. The implant insertion funnel completely eliminates what I think has been the most concerning aspect of breast augmentation surgery in regards to the potential contamination of the implant with bacteria during the procedure.

There is no breast augmentation practice with a capsular contracture rate of zero. Yet there are obviously a number of measures that can be taken to make the rate of contracture as low as possible. I think it is important for patients to have confidence that their surgeon is focused not only on providing a breast enhancement that is beautiful and natural-appearing, but also on maximizing the likelihood that their aesthetically pleasing result will remain beautiful and natural-appearing over the long term.

I regularly perform breast augmentation surgery for patients who participate in body building, fitness and figure competitions. While many are initially concerned about sub-pectoral placement and the potential for distortion of the appearance of augmented breasts when the pec major contracts, I am absolutely confident that the aesthetic outcome for these patients will be far superior with implants placed under the muscle.

A pre-pectoral implant in a slender patient, especially one with well-developed muscles, looks just as you imagine it would: like a foreign object, not like a natural-appearing breast. The muscle does not have to contract for a pre-pectoral implant to look unnatural in this group of patients - it looks unnatural every minute of the day.

Achieving the ideal aesthetic position for a sub-pectoral implant requires release of part of the inferior origin of the muscle from the chest wall. I perform the minimal release of the origin of the pec major that is required to get the implant in an ideal position vertically, but also weaken the origin in the area where muscle contraction tends to displace an implant. As a result the vast majority of patients have little to no distortion of their breast appearance when the pec major muscles are tensed. Patients also do not experience any loss of function, strength or range of motion from release of this very limited part of the pec major origin. Many patients have indicated that their natural (but augmented) breast appearance has provided a significant advantage for them in competitions.

Please take a look at the before and after photos on my website and on websites of other physicians to see the results of implants very active, muscular women with very little breast tissue prior to surgery. please also speak to several women with breast implants who particpate in bodybuilding or figure competitions

Unfortunately without photos it is difficult to say that a lift would be of benefit to you.  PLease supply photos so that we can see where you are at this point.