Capsulectomy

A cap­sulec­to­my is the sur­gi­cal rem­oval of the con­nec­ti­ve tis­sue cap­su­le that the body forms around a breast implant. It is usual­ly per­for­med as part of an implant exch­an­ge or implant removal.

Appli­ca­ti­on

The main reason is cap­su­lar con­trac­tu­re, in which the cap­su­le har­dens and the breast beco­mes miss­ha­pen or pain­ful. The cap­su­le is also remo­ved in cases of implant rup­tu­re with lea­k­ed sili­co­ne or whe­re chan­ges in the cap­su­le tis­sue are suspec­ted. A total cap­sulec­to­my remo­ves the enti­re cap­su­le, a par­ti­al one only part of it. If the cap­su­le and implant are remo­ved tog­e­ther in one pie­ce, this is cal­led an en bloc capsulectomy.

Good to know

Depen­ding on loca­ti­on and adhe­si­ons, the pro­ce­du­re can be deman­ding, par­ti­cu­lar­ly when the cap­su­le lies tight­ly against the chest wall or ribs. It lea­ves a lar­ger wound sur­face, so drains are often pla­ced tem­po­r­a­ri­ly. A new implant is usual­ly inser­ted after­wards, see implant exch­an­ge. Reco­very gene­ral­ly takes one to two weeks.

Matching tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Breast implant exchange