Capsular Contraction

[Mary]

If you are going to have CC what is the time limit on it? I mean if it's going to happen...when does it occur...1 week, 4 weeks, etc after surgery??? When are you safe from gettting it? Thanks to all who reply!

[Jess]

Originally Posted by Mary

If you are going to have CC what is the time limit on it? I mean if it's going to happen...when does it occur...1 week, 4 weeks, etc after surgery??? When are you safe from gettting it? Thanks to all who reply!

I believe it can happen at any time, no real time frame.

Edit: A year post-op and just found out TODAY that I have grade II CC.

[Nanny66]

I was told by my ps you can get it whenever, there is no 'safe' time x

[jschang]

Originally Posted by Mary

If you are going to have CC what is the time limit on it? I mean if it's going to happen...when does it occur...1 week, 4 weeks, etc after surgery??? When are you safe from gettting it? Thanks to all who reply!

great questions...something that I also wanted to know..

[Mary]

Originally Posted by Jess

I believe it can happen at any time, no real time frame.

Edit: A year post-op and just found out TODAY that I have grade II CC.

OH NO! That's aweful! Will you have to have surgery again or can they give you medicine for it?

[zachcleo]

Originally Posted by Mary

OH NO! That's aweful! Will you have to have surgery again or can they give you medicine for it?

What do they do in surgery to fix it?

[Jess]

Originally Posted by Mary

OH NO! That's aweful! Will you have to have surgery again or can they give you medicine for it?

Since it's a low grade and I have no visable signs of CC he isn't doing anything. Although if it gets worse (I hope not) I will have surgery and get textured silicone. I myself cant feel anything out of the norm but my PS can feel some hardness on the tops of my breast that he says is grade II CC.

[Jess]

Originally Posted by zachcleo

What do they do in surgery to fix it?

Depending on what type of surgery they generally go in and remove the scar capsule.

[Mary]

I wish the best of luck to you! Thanks for your response

[malika02]

I'm sorry, Jess, I hope it goes away!

[ashlyc]

sorry to hear that jess, i hope it doesnt get any worse

[jess123]

Introduction: Significant capsular contracture (Baker Class III or IV), occurring at a rate of 4.6-25% in submuscular saline breast augmentation(1), presents a formidable challenge to the plastic surgeon. Certainly, the recent use of the leukotriene antagonist zafirlukast (Accolate; AstraZeneca, Wayne, PA) for contracture reversal has received much attention in the popular media. However, validation of its effectiveness rests only on limited case series and anecdotal reports(2,3). To this end, a single surgeon’s experience using Accolate in the treatment of capsular contracture in primary, submuscular augmentation with saline smooth –walled implants is presented.
Methods: From the period of January 2002 to January 2003, the senior author performed 49 bilateral submuscular augmentation mammaplasties with saline smooth-walled breast implants (98 breasts). All patients were placed on the same postoperative protocol, which included early implant mobility (massaging) and vitamin E 400 I.U. orally twice daily at 4 weeks. A prospective analysis of the effects of Accolate on early capsular contracture was carried out in the following manner. Patients were regularly evaluated in the office by the operating and clinical staff (2 independent observers) and rated for capsular contracture using a modification of the Baker classification(4). We define contracture as follows: Class 1=breast absolutely natural, augmentation undetectable; Class 1.5=breast soft, but implant is detectable by physical examination; Class 2=mild firmness, prosthesis not detectable by examiner or patient; Class 2.5= mild firmness and implant detectable by examiner but not patient; Class 3=breast moderately firm and detectable by patient; Class 4=severe firmness, obvious from observation, with pain. Patients who demonstrated any capsular contracture (>=1.5) were given Accolate 20mg orally twice daily and assessed at 3- and 6-month timepoints for any change in contracture. The endpoint of this study was 6 months or a return to a Class 1 capsular score. One patient failed to complete the study.
Results: Using our modification, 52 of the total 98 breasts had no capsular contracture and thus were rated Class 1 (53%). 45 breasts (46.0%) were found to have early, mild capsular contracture: of this group 28 breasts were Class 1.5 (28.6%), 16 breasts were Class 2.0 (16.3%), and 1 breast was Class 2.5 (1.02%). In this series only one breast demonstrated moderate capsular contracture (Class 3) (1.02%). Of these 46 breasts, 32 mildly contracted breasts Class 1.5 or greater have completed the protocol. Responses were scored as either complete (return to Class 1), partial (reduction in capsular contracture index by 0.5), or nil (modified Baker class the same or worse despite therapy). Mean follow-up was 6.3 months. After an average of 4.8 months of treatment, 14 out of 32 breasts (43.75%) demonstrated a complete response to Accolate therapy, whereas 9 of 32 (28.1%) demonstrated a partial response to the leukotriene antagonist. The remaining 9 of 32 (28.1%) had no response to therapy, either staying the same grade or worsening. Therefore, a positive response (complete or partial) was seen in a statistically significant proportion of treated breasts (71.875%; p<.001).
Conclusions: Our initial results support the effectiveness of Accolate in early capsular contracture after submuscular saline smooth augmentation mammaplasty. Further follow-up will demonstrate its long-term effects.

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[Nikki]

CC can happen at ANYTIME. You can get it shortly after surgery, or it can develop 10 years (or later) from now. However, it's most common during the 1st year.

[4x4gal]

I started developing a "firmness" in the top of my left breast at about 3 months post op. It ended up being the begining of CC. My PS has me on accolate, and it seems to be working a bit. I'm willing to try just about anything to not have to go under the knife again If you even think you might be getting it, go see your PS. The sooner it is caught the better (IMO).

[Stiphy]

Wow that is so scary to find out that it can happen at anytime. What can you do to prevent it? I thought that is was something that can only happen while recovering.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by Stiphy

Wow that is so scary to find out that it can happen at anytime. What can you do to prevent it? I thought that is was something that can only happen while recovering.

You can't do anything to guarantee that you won't get cc. It's pretty much just the luck of the draw.