Breast augmentation carries the risk of capsular contracture, where the body forms scar tissue around the implant for protection. Sometimes this scar tissue tightens and hardens, causing the implant to feel hard and look misshapen. It also causes pain in some. To counteract this risk, many plastic surgeons recommend compression exercises to their breast augmentation patients. These exercises are simple and quick to perform, and may help protect your breast augmentation results.
Performing Post-Breast Augmentation Massage
Though generally started one or two weeks into your recovery, some surgeons recommend beginning compression exercises right away. These exercises are believed by some to keep the breast implant pocket loose and any scar tissue that may form flexible. To perform, gently squeeze each implant several times, pushing it up, down, right and left into each quadrant of the pocket. You should hold each squeeze for several seconds before releasing. For those who begin soon after surgery, this process can be somewhat painful. The exercises become much less painful after the breast area has had time to heal. During the first three weeks after surgery, it is recommended you perform these exercises three to four times per day. After that, once a day is considered sufficient.
Though there is no scientific proof compression exercises actually reduce your capsular contracture risk, many surgeons feel there is no harm in performing the exercises for added protection. You should follow your surgeon's instructions as to when to begin your exercises and how often you should perform them.
As your surgeon will tell you, you should only perform compression exercises with smooth-surface breast implants. Since textured implants are designed to adhere to the breast-pocket wall, compression exercises would be counterproductive.
Other Ways to Reduce Capsular Contracture Risk
There is no sure-fire way to prevent capsular contracture; however, some surgeons believe implant placement can help reduce the risk. Subglandular implant placement, where the breast implants are placed over the pectoral muscle, are believed to be the most likely to cause capsular contracture, though no studies currently prove or disprove this theory.
A study published in the March 2008 "Aesthetic Plastic Surgery" suggests incision choice may play a role in capsular contracture. The study showed the periareolar incision, which follows the line of the areola, produces a higher capsular contracture rate than the inframammary incision, which is concealed within the breast fold. This may be due to the implants' contact with the breast's milk ducts when the periareolar incision is used.
Tags: capsular contracture, compression exercises, scar tissue, after surgery, breast augmentation