New York Breast Expert: Breast Enlargement Complications
UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS
There are several complications that can occur after breast augmentation, and
the prospective patient needs to know what they are. Do not let anyone operate
on you who does not discuss these complications.
The first and most rare is infection. In my experience it occurs in about one
in one thousand operations. Antibiotics are often given after the operation
in an attempt to prevent an infection. However, if an infection were to occur,
the implants might have to be removed. After a suitable waiting period, the
implants would be replaced, usually for no extra charge.
Next is bleeding after the surgery. It is not life threatening. It happens
because a small blood vessel under the breast can open up a few hours after
the surgery and begin to ooze. This will make the breast swell even more and
require a return to the operating to stop the bleeding. Again, it is not dangerous,
it must simply be taken care of. This happens in about one in every one hundred
operations.
The commonest complication is firmness of the breast months after surgery.
This happens because the body “walls off" the implant by surrounding it
with a scar-like shell which we call a capsule. If the capsule contracts down
around the implant and squeezes it, it makes the implant feel hard. This can
often be helped by having the doctor squeeze the breast very hard to break the
capsule which the body makes. When the capsule breaks, it lets the space the
implant is in expand and the implant will again feel soft under the breast.
It could occur again. The overall risk is stated to be anywhere from 5% to 15%.
This procedure, called a closed capsulotomy, has its own risks: the rare chance
that the implant could break or that bleeding could occur.
The risk of rippling has already been mentioned. It is mainly a problem caused
by saline implants and tends to occur more frequently in patients who have severe
stretch marks on their breasts or have very thin breast tissue.
Finally, there is the risk of rupture of the implant. It could occur because
of an injury to the implant during surgery, because of a manufacturer’s defect
or because of a “fold fault." This is caused by the shell of the implant
becoming folded by the capsule, and the motion of the body keeps bending it
until it wears out and breaks. (Think of bending a paper clip back and forth
until it breaks.) Most manufacturers guarantee the implants for at least ten
years and most surgeons will do a replacement free of charge. If a saline or
hydrogel implant ruptures, the material is completely eliminated from the body.
If silicone gel ruptures, it is harmless, but might cause lumps that can be
felt and will need removal. Silicone implants that were put in 15 or 20 years
ago have a significant incidence of rupture, but the newer models present much
less of that risk.
Next: Breast Surgery Recovery
from Dr. Bellin's Beauty Science (copyright 2001)
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