Is this capsular contracture? 3 weeks post op (Photo)

Question

Three weeks post op with 500cc mentor silicone under the muscle. I thought this might be rippling and I went into my surgeon and was told it was normal and just the skin stretching. I’m beginning to notice it hurts, while the other implant is pain free, and the implant is a bit higher than the other implant. Have I developed capsular contracture early in my recovery? I don’t have money to do a revision surgery or change implants or anything like that so please do not suggest that.

Ted Eisenberg, DO, FACOS, FAACS · Answer

Unlikely this is capsular contracture. At 3 weeks you are about 15 percent healed, settled, shaped, softened, dropped and fluffed. "Drop and fluff" refers to the fact that as the skin stretches and the muscles relax, the implants move down and out slowly – about 1 percent a day. It’ll be about six weeks before they even begin to settle down, but they’ll be close to 80 percent settled and softened at three months. Watching their progress is like watching your hair grow. You don’t see a difference in your hair growth daily, but all of a sudden you need a haircut. 
Be patient after surgery. Give yourself a few months before making a judgment about your surgical results. You won't know the outcome until then. 
Dr. Ted Eisenberg, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and Author

Karl William Schwarz, MD · Answer

You don't have a capsular contracture--it is way too early to form. Don't panic at this stage. It takes much longer to heal and for your implants to settle and for you to look good then most people think it does. Just be patient and it will get better day by day. It takes a good 6 weeks for a lot of the swelling to come out of the breasts, but really almost a full year to look your very best.

Curtis Wong, MD · Answer

3 weeks out from your procedure as it is simply to early for one to develop.  You do have a small dent on the medial aspect of your mound that may smooth out as your tissue stretches and your implants settle.  Regardless, there really isn't anything you can do at this point except to focus on healing and to  follow your surgeon's instructions.  If it doesn't resolve, office fat grafting could help but you don't make these decisions until you are well healed (like 6 months post-op).

Brooke R. Seckel, MD, FACS (retired) · Answer

It is very unusual and I have never seen capsular contracture before 6-7 months after breast augmentation surgery.  So I do not think you have capsular contracture.  Your early in recovery and have fairly large implants in it will take 6-12 weeks for the implants to drop into a natural position.  The depression that you see is most likely where the muscle was cut to place the implant.  As your implants drop into their final position it is possible that this depression will become less visible.

Is this capsular contracture? 3 weeks post op (Photo)

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Is this capsular contracture? 3 weeks post op (Photo)

Answers (4)

Answer: Is this capsular contracture? 3 weeks post op

Answer: Is this capsular contracture? 3 weeks post op

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Everything you need to know about Mentor Breast Implants

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