If Silicone is "Inert", Why Does the Body Create a Capsule?

The term inert simply means that the body doesn't interact with the slicone implants. Any foreign object, be it a titanium plate, ceramic joint, or breast implant is walled off by the body. The body simply forms a scar around it, but it doesn't interact with it.  I hope this clarifies.

The body tries to wall off any implant that is inserted.  This tissue, which is a sort of scar tissue, is called a capsule when it forms around a breast implant.  The shell of both saline and silicone gel implants is made of silicone.  Silicone is an inert material - it does not tend to react chemically to the body tissues.  It also forms around pacemakers and artificial joints, including implants made of other materials.

So it is not really the silicone that is causing the formation of the capsule but rather the physical presence of an implant.  Capsules are normal.  We consider them abnormal, "capsular contracture" when they squeeze tight on an implant deforming it into a sphere and causing discomfrort.  This problem is treated with an open capsulotomy.

Hello Jones,

The formation of a capsule after breast augmenatation is the equivalent to how your skin heals after it has been cut. Your body produces collagen and forms new blood vessels to close the wound.  The only difference is that a fresh layer of skin cells covers the surface of the scar (epidermis) in the case of a skin injury.

Inert means that there is no reaction over and above the normal healing process.  An example of bioreactive (non-inert) events would include exposure of your tissues to a caustic chemical, bacteria, or non-self tissue like a donor organ.

The formation of a scar capsule around a breast implant is idenical to the healing process that would occur with the placement of a metal or glass object into the body.

I hope this explanation has been helpful for you.