Capsular Contracture (CC)

[sreekar]

This is caused by the tissue that forms around the implant contracting and squeezing the implant. It is quite normal for tissue to form around an implant. This is how your body naturally reacts to a foreign body. The problem is when the encapsulated implant is squeezed by this tissue. Some women's bodies do not react well to implants and will develop CC. CC occurs in about 5% of patients. That translates into 5 out of every 100. When the tissue squeezes the implant it becomes compacted and very round, resulting in the tell tale look and feel of baseball breasts. Your breast can look extremely, for lack of a better word, deformed, not to mention - it can be very painful. It may happen repeatedly to one breast over and over or it may happen to both breasts only once. This rarely ever goes away on its own. Nor does it tend to lay dormant after a revision surgery is performed. It may happen due to bacteria on the implant, surgical implements or airborne and the body attempting to place the foreign body as far away from itself as possible. Or it may develop after an injury. If this happens, you can develop pains, hardening, deformity and deflation of the implant. It sometimes even happens again after the sugary to remove the scar tissue has been performed.

The Baker grading system of CC is as follows:

* Grade I: the breast is normally soft and looks natural
* Grade II: the breast is a little firm but looks normal
* Grade III: the breast is firm and looks abnormal (visible distortion)
* Grade IV: the breast is hard, painful, and looks abnormal (greater distortion)

[beachy]

How bad is CC? Do patients ever have to have the implant taken out due to it? You say it happens in 5% of patients, so I hope not.