• Video
  • Why Are My Breasts Hard: Capsular Contracture Demonstration
{{ showTranscript ? 'HIDE' : 'SHOW' }} TRANSCRIPT
Hi, I am Dr. Elizabeth Morgan. I am a board certified plastic surgeon here at Atlanta and I'd like to explain to you today what the expression a capsule and capsular contracture mean and this is for women who are considering a breast enlargement with implants. This is a breast implant. They can be made of silicone or they can be made of a shell filled with saline. When you have a breast implant, a capsule normally forms around the implant. Your body knows it's a foreign substance and so it would just fold a little tissue around the implant to keep the implant in its own little envelope separate from your body. That is called a capsule and it is normal but what happens sometimes after a breast enlargement is called a capsular contracture and that means this normal tissue gets irritated and instead of staying like this it begins to shrink.

Now, if you could watch what I am doing as it shrinks, the implant itself gets squeezed into a round and actually very hard type ball and if you could imagine that happening in your body. It will change the way your implant looks and they often can be very painful. When these capsular contractures are severe causing this kind of change in the appearance of your breast, it's best to have surgery and the surgery releases the tightness of the scar so the implant sits naturally and we'll usually place the implant behind the muscle if it isn't there already and put some supporting tissue around it. If you are having a breast implant, a capsule is normal. It happens after every implant but the capsular contracture is a condition that makes the implant round and hard and hurt and may require surgery to get you comfortable and looking good again. We can do anything to help you. You just give us a call. We look forward to seeing you.

Why Are My Breasts Hard: Capsular Contracture Demonstration

Dr. Elizabeth Morgan explains what a capsule is and how it is formed after a breast augmentation. She further explains how a capsular contracture is formed, what happens to your body when you have one, and how it can be corrected.