Patients who undergo lumpectomy and radiation therapy have a higher rate of capsular contracture of their mammary prosthesis. The capsular contracture causes the normal lining around a breast implant to become thicker. This then causes the implant/soft tissue construct to become indurated and firm. Removing the mammary prosthesis can present the recurrence of the capsular contracture. Patient satisfaction is quite…
Reconstruction of mastectomy defects is challenging. It is even more challenging in the face of radiation. Not all tissues and tissue types tolerate radiation to the same degree. In some patients implant reconstructions are not amenable after they have undergone radiation. Improving the tissue characteristics is important to making an implant reconstruction a viable option. One of the more common…
Radiation of mammary prosthesis can increase the chances of capsular contracture following lumpectomy for breast cancer. When patients experience a capsular contracture, they generally feel a tightness around the breast pocket and the implant tends to displace superiorly beneath the pectoralis major muscle if the implant is sub-pectoral. Treatment of the capsular contracture involves removal of all or some of…
In patients who have implants and develop a cancer, the cancer can sometimes be removed as a lumpectomy. Lumpectomy is often treated with radiation therapy post-operatively. Radiation can increase the risk for capsular contracture in the radiated breast. Correction requires release of the encapsulated breast pocket or excision of the capsule and often a lift of the contralateral side.
