Breast Implants: Q&A
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Do Silicone Breast Implants Harden over Time?
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20 Doctor Answers |
Asked by
Meeko
in san jose
+2
It's a possibility
Capsular contracture remains the most common reason for women having a revisionary breast surgery.
Even when a surgeon does everything perfectly, employing all we know about avoiding contractures, it can still happen.
It is normal to form a capsule - a thin membrane - around the implant. It should stay thin and pliable. But if there is inflammation around the implant, it can thicken, stiffen, and tighten.
The key is to avoid the inflammation. Many things can cause it, such as trauma...
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Capsular Contracture
This is what you are referring to. Capsular contracture happens to some extent in all patients who have implants. There are different grades and what you want is a Grade I. The significant contracture happens in about 7.5% of saline augmentations and about 9% of silicone augmentation. This is some new data from one of the implant companies.
To try to avoid this there are a lot of little things that are done in the operating room and after surgery the patients are instructed to massage...
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Silicone breast implants don't harden
It is a very good question to ask. There was a multitude of studies done to find out if there were any saftey issues with silicone implants. None of the studies were able to show any significant association of silicone implants with any particular disease or problem. Thus, silicone implants are considered to be very safe.
One of the complications of breast augmentation, and the one your question alludes to, is something called capsular contracture. Once an implant is inserted into the...
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Silicone Breast Implants
All implants harden over time. The percentage for capsular contracture is 1% per year. All implants need to be replaced within 10-15 years.
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Frequently, silicone breast implants will harden
Hello,
Silicone gel breast implants have advantages and disadvantages relative to saline-filled implants. They tend to feel better at first, but may develop hardening more than the saline filled types over time. When choosing implants, part of your decision will relate to your tolerance for risk over time.
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Hard Breasts: Implants or Scar layer?
All women who have breast implants will develop a layer of scar around the implant, which has been classified according to its thickness and extent of deformation of the breast from I-IV. Capsular contracture is one of the Holy Grail's of cosmetic Plastic surgery and two recurrent themes have been proposed about its causation. 1) Blood: specifically the iron component is thought to incite an inflammatory cascade, which changes the composition of a capsule, which is thin, filmy and mobile to...
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The capsule around the implant can harden
Silicone and saline breast implants do not change over time. Our bodies create a "capsule" around all implants since they are foreign substances. These capsules, in some patients, can harden over time, and that is called "capsular contracture." There are different levels of capsular contracture. Some patients never get it, others get a very mild version when you can feel a little firmness but cannot see anything, and yet others can get a more severe version where you...
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Portland Plastic Surgeon
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Breast implants may feel like rocks on the chest
All implants are foreign bodies and a capsule will form around the implant, saline or silicone.
Sometimes patients develop capsular contractures (tightening of the capsule); this is the scar that develops around the implant, and this is what makes the implants feel hard.
It is not clear what causes this problem but it occurs in at least 6% of patients to some degree. Sometimes it is painful and sometimes not, most of the time it will cause a deformity of the involved breast, and sometimes...
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Implants don't get hard, the capsules around them contract and make them feel firm
Implants generally don't get hard however the capsules which form around the implants can get hard.
To give an oversimplified analogy, it is like jeans that shrink around your thighs and make them feel hard.
Capsular contracture is a poorly understood phenomenon.
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The implant itself will not harden
Meeko,
The implant itself will not change inside your body. What does make an implant feel hard it a tightening of the capsule around the implant referred to as a capsular contracture. If you have this it may require a surgery to correct but the best thing for you to do is to make an appointment with a board-certified plastic surgeon who can examine you and tell you what your options are. Best of luck.
Dr Edwards
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Very rarely.
Hi. I answered your other question. You know that you cannot have silicone implants with the TUBA operation, don't you?
About 5% of patients will get slightly firm implants. In Manhattan, we typically don't do anything about this, because it does not bother the patient. Sometimes, the patient may even like the firmness.
Very rarely after breast augmentation, the implants can become hard, and this has to be corrected.
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Only if you develop contracture
Silicone implants, especially low-bleed types used now, do not necessarily harden with time. We are uncertain what exactly causes hardening, or contracture, in some patients. This is essentially when a thick scar forms around the implant and causes the breast to get hard.
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The implants to not get hard
The implants themselves do not get hard. A rare, but real consideration is capsular contraction. This is caused by your body forming scar tissue around the capsule. As the scar contracts, the implant is squeezed and may feel hard. The hardness is actually due to the scar tissue,...
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Breasts may harden, implants do not
Meeko,
Breast implants themselves do not harden. The envelope of normally soft scar tissue that forms around every implant may thicken and tighten causing the breast to harden. The chance of this hardness occuring is very low, but is slightly higher for silicone gel implants.
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Silicone implants don't get hard, the capsule may
The body normally forms a thin layer of pliable scar tissue around any foreign substance placed into it. This occurs whether the device is an artificial knee, artificial hip, a prosthetic joint or a breast implant. This process is beneficial because it keeps the implant in the space created for it - the pocket made at the time of surgery. Sometimes this scar layer, or capsule, will contract around a breast implant and render the breast hard in consistency. This is a biological and not a...
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Implants and softness
As a rule the body forms a natural barrier around all implants. This is called a capsule. Over time this capsule may get tight and hard. It is difficult to predict who will fall into this category. Many on the other hand stay soft . The implant itself stays soft.
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Implants stay soft
The problem with hardening of breast implants over time is called capsular contracture. Whether one has saline or silicone filled implants, the implant itself does not harden . After placement of an implant, the body forms a wall of scar tissue, better known as a capsule, around it that in most situations remains thin and large enough to allow the implant to feel soft and natural. In a small percentage of women, the capsule starts to shrink or contract in size.This decreases the space for...
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Capsular contracture
Breast implants, both silicone and saline, are said to have a risk of hardening. This risk increases the longer the implants are in your body. The hardening is caused by the contracting of the capsule surrounding the implant. The capsule is essentially a membrane of collagen that walls off the implant from the surrounding tissues. This occurs with any foreign body and is not an allergic reaction. Silicone gel implants have a higher risk of this capsular contracture occurring. If the implant...
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The implants themselves stay soft
On occasion, the capsule your body builds around all implnats can harden. This is called a capsular contracture. It doesn't happen as often as it used to. Most people will retain a soft result over time.
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Do silicone implants harden over time?
Silicone implants do not harden over time. It is the surrounding tissue (capsule) which may thicken and contract in 3 -dimensions which can cause hardness and distortion.
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