Please see this female who demonstrates how to fix breast herniation
Introduction: How to fix Breast Herniation
What is breast herniation? If you are considering how to fix breast herniation, you will have to first appreciate what is a breast herniation. Breast herniation refers to contour bulge irregularity of the breast that occurs when a naturally occurring capsule that forms around the implant weakens and pouts out. A capsule describes a scar that forms around an implant following placement that separates the implant from the rest of the body.
Encapsulation, or the formation of a capsule, is a normal process that occurs anytime a foreign element enters our body. If additional contaminants enter these areas, further scar tissue can be laid down causing capsule thickening, called capsular contracture. In the example of breast implants, there are several causes for capsular contracture.
What causes breast herniation?
Breast herniation typically occurs along the outer, lateral side of the breast mound. Breast herniation is more likely when supportive bras are not worn at night. When sleeping on your back, the breasts will hang laterally and drop down to your mattress throughout the night; this propensity is increased when you do not wear a supportive bra. Similarly, if you sleep on your stomach, your breast implants will be pushed out laterally if you do not wear a supportive bra. The natural tendency for breasts to herniate out laterally may occur both in a normally formed encapsulated breast. However, the tendency for breast herniation is increased in patients who present with capsular contracture. This is because a thickened capsule becomes brittle and is prone to tearing.
Capsular Contracture Cause Based on Timing
Capsular contracture can occur either right after surgery or years following your breast augmentation.
Early Capsular Contracture
Early capsular contracture that occurs right after surgery has two root causes. The first factor includes contaminants such as talc powder that might be present on the surgeon’s gloves. Another contaminant may occur for bacteria seeding the implant. Bacterial seeding does not occur from gross contamination from your surgeon but by a process called translocation. Translocation occurs when bacteria that live on your body or if you have an infection elsewhere when you undergo surgery, will jump into your bloodstream and then travel through your blood and find your implants. Although you may not have a full-blown infection, you can get low-grade colonization of your implant. Unfortunately, this side effect will result in the propensity for capsule thickening. Another cause of early capsular contracture is the oozing of blood products near or around your implant. Some oozing naturally occurs during surgery thus making oozing a root cause of early capsular contracture.
Late Capsular Contracture
Late capsular contracture occurs years after surgery and is related to two root causes. The first involves the leakage of silicone from a ruptured silicone implant. The incidence of implant rupture is 1% per year. This means there is a 20% risk of implant rupture in 10 years since you have two implants. That correlates to a risk of 1 in 5 women experiencing implant rupture. The second cause of capsular contracture occurs when there is inadvertent bleeding into the capsule. Blood products act as irritants, thus promoting scar tissue formation, resulting in capsular contracture. Patients vulnerable to this complication are typically on blood thinners such as aspirin products or fish oil or those who consume a high fish diet.
Breast Herniation
Breast herniation follows when there are rents or breaks in the above capsule. When the breast capsule is thickened it has a higher likelihood of cracking usually due to the increased pressure and tension created. When a crack occurs, the implant will then herniate out creating an outpouching that presents as a breast deformity.
How to fix breast herniation
Surgery needed to fix breast herniation is twofold. If the breast capsule is appropriate and soft, presenting with only an isolated herniation, then repair of the capsule rent is warranted. Repair of a breast herniation can be performed by literally sewing up the capsule deformity using sutures, typically called capsulorrhaphy. Often, the herniation is observed on the lateral or outer side of the breast. This herniation is best corrected by sewing down the lateral pocket while simultaneously releasing the medial pocket termed capsulotomy.
f the remainder of the capsule is thickened and causing further deformities, then the entire capsule may require removal. When the removal of the capsule may compromise the overlying skin, then sometimes a breast lift must also be performed to be able to move the entire breast mound complex to a higher, unoperated region of the breast to fix the breast herniation. This move will provide the breast implant a virgin area that is more stable in position.
Conclusion: How to Fix Breast Herniation
To correct breast herniation it is important to gauge the root cause of the breast herniation. It must be determined whether the patient was compliant with wearing supportive bras during sleep. Furthermore, it is important to gauge whether they have capsular contracture or not. This may require breast imaging for a definitive diagnosis. Finally, it must be determined whether you have sagging of your breasts and nipples. If you are concerned about breast herniation, we encourage you to contact a breast surgeon at SurgiSculpt to determine the ideal treatment plan to resolve your concern.