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.