Any success stories with capsulorrhaphy?

A capsulorrhaphy will help get the implants in a higher position if they sit low.  If done correctly, it makes a very nice difference.  If you had a lift in the past, a lift revision may be required in addition to the internal sutures. 

Thank you for your question. "Bottoming out", otherwise known as inferior malposition of breast implants, is a quite common complication of breast augmentation. A large portion of my practice is dedicated to revisionary breast surgery.  The treatment is very straightforward which would include inferior capsulorrhaphy(suturing the pocket on the bottom) and a mirror image capsulotomy(opening the pocket on the top). In fact, I wrote the first paper on capsulorrhaphy in 1999.  I have treated 100's of patients with a very high success rate. Best wishes to you.

Capsulorrhaphy is typically a good procedure to fix the kind of issues that you are having. There are a lot of variables, however. If your skin and soft tissue have a lot of laxity, or if the implants are very large, then this procedure is less effective. Sometimes other revisions are necessary to give the results that you are hoping for.  discuss these issues with your surgeon so that he/she can address all of the potential variables and outcomes. Best of luck!

It depends on each individual case. If your drop out is not too severe, or occured over a long period of time, then capsulorrhaphy is very effective when done correctly. If your drop out is severe, or occurred soon after surgery, it is likely that you don't make strong or substantial scar tissue, and a capsulorrhaphy will be less durable or effective. In these situations, using a resorbable mesh in addition to capsulorrhaphy sutures, aka 'internal bra', makes it much more effective and durable. 

Of course it would be nice to have photos. When it comes to mastopexies it is almost inevitable that at some point you will need some sort of revision. This sounds like a lot of Indy for something that doesn’t seem bad enough to warrant the cost and of course, the risk that it either won’t work or that there will be other problems. So it really leaves it up to you.

There are several factors that need to be looked at.  It is difficult to give you individualized advice without an exam or at least photos.  But here it goes:  if your implants are out of position then treatment is to have a capsulorrhaphy.  In certain scenarios this may not work.  The patient is at a higher risk for failure if the implants are larger and/or the tissues are thin and soft.In the more complicated cases, a biologic like Strattice or Galaform would need to be placed to allow more support so the tissues dont stretch out over time again.  Also wearing a good support bra aids the outcome.I would recommend you see a board certified plastic surgeon that has experience in such procedures.Hope that helps.

Dear Lifetoile,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. Generally speaking, capsulorraphy can be a good option to improve the position of breast implants after surgery. If you are considering a surgery, I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

In general, if implants have dropped or slid too far to the side then a pocket revision is needed and capsulorrhaphy is the simplest way to do that. However, if the implants are large/heavy, and they have dropped because the tissue envelope has thinned, then additional support with an internal bra will have a higher probability of success long term. In that situation, a capsulorrhaphy is less likely to work regardless of what type of suture or technique is used. It is the tissue being sutured, not the suture.

It is hard to say the chances of it holding without seeing you. Some patients tissue is inherently loose, stretchy, and/or doesn't hold suture well. We have our patients wear an underwire bra 24/7 after this procedure to take the weight of the implant off the suture line while it heals. Generally speaking there is great success with this procedure although anything can happen. 

Thank you for the question but an examination is really needed.   That said in the hands of an expert with years of experience the procedure should be successful Dr Corbin