Does being prone to keloids increase my risk for capsular contracture after a breast augmentation?

The short answer is "no".  There is no relationship between keloids and capsular contractures.I have had several patients who are keloid formers, but their breast augmentations were very soft.  The plastic surgery literature would indicate there is no relationship between keloids and hard breasts.  I find it interesting that many of the RealSelf experts find that biofilm is the #1 and main cause of hard breasts.  Back in the '60's and '70's, several plastic surgeons showed that blood, especially a hematoma, around breast implants can lead to very thick capsules, and therefore, very hard breasts.  At any rate, choose a Board Certified plastic surgeon with a great deal of experience in breast augmentation to do your breast surgery.  As a sidebar note, most university radiology departments have orthovoltage radiation (electron radiation) which has been very helpful in my practice for controlling and eliminating keloids on the skin after surgery.

It makes sense that if you are prone to keloids you also have a greater chance of capsules since both are determined by too much collagen formation.  Surprisingly, this has never been studied scientifically, but I think it increases your risk.

Hello!  Thank you for your question. The understanding of what exactly is, let alone causes, capsular contracture is still in debate. Regardless, there is no literature that supports an association between keloids and capsular contracture.  Thus, the risk of capsular contracture following a breast augmentation, albeit small, is still a possibility. However, there should be no increased risk of such with your tendency to form keloid scars.  Hope that this helps. Best wishes!

Thanks for your question -In our San Francisco practice we perform many breast augmentations on people of all colors, ethnicities and nationalities.  We have seen no increase in capsular contracture (scar tissue around the implants) based on tendency to form keloids.In addition, keloid or hypertrophic scarring is unusual (but not unheard of)  in the traditional breast augmentation incision patterns.I hope this helps

Great question. To date I have never read any articles that talk about an increase in capsular contracture rates in patients that form keloids. It is not a typical area to form a keloid as they are usually on the outer surface of the skin. I do not think you should have any concerns moving forward.

Thanks so much for your question. The short answer is no, there is no known connection. I think you should be fine to go forward with a breast augmentation. You have the standard risk of contracture with or without a history of keloid. 

There's nothing demonstrated regarding a relation between keloids and capsular contracture, so don't be afraid of that. What is really demonstrated that when we place the silicone implants under the muscular fascia it lowers the risks of a capsular contracture. Just choose an ASAPS member plastic surgeon.

Keloids are abnormal scar tissue in the skin, and capsular contracture around a breast implants is an abnormal scarring that occurs deep within the breast. There are no studies or research linking these two conditions. This being said, capsular contracture and unsightly scars are two of the biggest concerns for every woman considering breast augmentation.A C-section scar does not always heal well for a variety of reasons - obstetricians don't always use plastic surgical techniques to close the incision, and you may not have used scar reduction treatments after your procedure. Your keloid scar in your abdomen should not discourage you from pursuing breast augmentation but you should be very conscientious with your scars after breast augmentation. First of all you should choose an incision location that would be easiest to hide an unsightly scar. I would recommend the inframammary crease where there is very little tension which helps decrease the risk of keloid formation. In this location, a scar can hide better under the curve of the breast (compared to around the areola or in the axilla). I would also recommend that you use scar reduction techniques for a couple of months after surgery - either silicone sheeting or the Embrace advanced scar reduction therapy which have been shown to improve scars if used during the early healing phase.Capsular contracture is not well understood by us as plastic surgeons. We believe that a good surgical technique that minimizes bleeding and protects the implant from any contamination can keep the risk low. Studies have also shown that several factors can keep the risk of capsular contracture low, and these include: an inframammary incision, a submuscular placement of implants, textured implants, and implants that or neither too big or too small for a patients breast dimensions.

I have seen nothing in the literature linking keloid formation with capsular contractures. However, if severe keloid scarring runs in your family, it might contraindicate augmentation  based on the risk of unsightly scarring.

I have not seen anything in the literature linking keloids to capsular contracture.  These occur in totally different tissues so likely are unrelat3d.