What is Capsular Contracture?

You may have heard of someone's breast implants 'turning hard'. It is not the implants themselves that turn hard, of course; what has really happened is that the fibrous capsule around the implants has tightened and thickened, making the implants less mobile and causing them to feel firm (and eventually, in some cases, even 'hard'). The medical term for this phenomenon is 'capsular contracture'. It is a problem that is best managed by avoiding it altogether, and... more

When an implant is places into the body, whether it's a breast implant or a cardiac defibrillator, the body tries to wall it off from everything else by putting a capsule around it. It's a foreign body that doesn't belong. Capsular contracture occurs when this capsule becomes hard and essentially the implant won't move. It has several grades from palpable only to significant gross deformity of the breast. We don't know why this occurs but we do know what can reduce its incidence:... more

Hi! Every one forms an internal lining around the breast implants, and this lining is called the capsule. This is normal. It is how the body isolates the implant. In some women, and for reasons that are only partially understood, this internal lining or capsule begins to tighten or shrink or contract. When the capsule contracts, it squezzes the implant and makes it feel firmer or even hard. This process is called capsular contracture, and it can be very mild (slightly firm implant) or... more

Capsular contracture refers to the process of the body forming a tight wall around a breast implant. No one knows why this happens. One theory is that it is due to infection.

The human body recognizes all foreign objects inserted into it and walls them off by building a scar around them. This is called a "capsule" and is a normal reaction. All breast implant patients have "capsules." The abnormal form of this is an exaggerated version called "capsular contracture." It presents usually within the first 2 years after augmentation as a frim, harder scar that can distort or move the implant and can cause pain.

Any implant, breast implants included, stimulates the body to form a capsule around it that is comprised of collagen fibers and some cells. It is thought that some cells, called myofibroblasts, act like muscle cells and can contract or shorten. When this happens, the capsule surround the implant shrinks. If carried to its extreme, it would shrink to a point (i.e. collapse). As it shrinks around the implant, the contents of the capsule increases in pressure just as if you were to squeeze... more

When ever an implant is placed in the body (breast implant, pacemaker, hip joint, etc.) the bodies natural response is to wall it off with a scar referred to as a capsule. Capsules unfortunately have the ability to contract or get tighter but rarely stretch or expand. It should not be considered as a complication of surgery but a normal response. We, as plastic surgeons do everything we can to to minimize the impact of this capsule by having your massage with smooth implants, placing... more