Breast Implants Gone Wrong
Breast Implants Gone Wrong
Like any medical procedure, breast implant surgery can sometimes result in complications. In rare cases, breast implants can rupture and need to be replaced. More common breast implant complications that occur postoperatively include: bottoming out, capsular contracture, rippling, double bubble, and malposition, to name a few. There are also cosmetic concerns that can affect a patient’s self-esteem: breast size that is too small or too large, asymmetry, poor implant placement, or a breast shape that is out of proportion.
Dr. Cassileth believes that breast enhancement should improve your self-confidence and overall well-being. As a breast reconstruction specialist, she is highly experienced in fixing breast implant problems. Each problem requires a different technique, but it’s critical to control the location and quality of the implant using the capsule, with the enhancing addition of mesh and/or dermal matrix. She’ll review each problem and the solution. And don’t worry… every problem can be fixed! The repairs that let you keep your implants are below; but remember, you can always remove your implants. Learn more about implant removal.
Breast Implants Gone Wrong Topics On This Page
Breast Implant Problem: Bottoming Out
“Bottoming out” means that your implants are sitting too low. They usually sit too lateral as well, causing the implant to go to the sides and under the arms when you are lying down. You may notice:
- you feel the implant dropping into your upper abdomen
- your waist may look shorter, and
- you need to wear a bra to support your breast implants
The capsule, the natural layer that normally forms around every implant and keeps it in place, is too thin in patients with this problem. That’s why suturing the capsule (capsulorrhaphy) doesn’t work –- the thin tissue just gives way again. Some plastic surgeons try to pinch out some skin to hold the implant up! This is definitely the wrong approach, as it doesn’t work and leaves a big scar. Dr. Cassileth recommends instead enhancing the capsule to make it stronger, using an absorbable mesh. The mesh is thin but resilient. As your body absorbs the mesh within the first year after surgery, an area of texture and strength develops where the mesh used to be, essentially replacing your thin capsule with a more functional capsule that can support the implant, keeping in the proper position.
Breast Implant Problem: Capsular Contracture
Capsular contracture occurs when the capsule, which is the natural scar tissue that forms around every implant, is too thick. The thick scar tissue will start to contract, and the space for the implant will become too small for the implant to fit. Although this causes the implant to feel hard, it’s actually not; it’s just so highly compressed that it feels hard. The capsule, however, may often become hard and even brittle; it’s not uncommon to find calcifications in the capsule, like an eggshell. There are various factors that can cause capsular contracture, so it’s important to be able to resolve the underlying issues so the capsular contracture can be truly fixed. The four most common causes are:
- implant reactivity
- biofilms
- trauma during the initial surgery
- implant rupture
Capsular Contracture Cause #1: Implant Reactivity
Some patients’ bodies have a tendency to over-react to the presence of implants, and they create tight, thick capsules around them. In these patients, you will always see bilateral (on both sides) contracture, as the inherent problem is the way your capsule is formed. In this case, your capsule should be removed, in a procedure called a total capsulectomy.
Capsular Contracture Cause #2: Biofilms
Contracture caused by biofilms is often unilateral (only on one side), and is more common with incisions that are through the areola, armpit, or umbilicus (belly button), as the bacteria gets onto the surface of the implant easily through these types of incisions. They also can appear after implant revision surgery, as they are more likely to get on the implant the more surgeries you have. Either way, the biofilm needs to go. Dr. Cassileth recommends a complete capsulectomy (removal of the capsule) in addition to removal of the implant, followed by an antibiotic powerwash. She uses a cellular dermal matrix (“ADM”) to cover the new implants. This is purified human dermis, and has no living cells. It is a soft, supple sheet-like material, and keeps the interface between your body and the implant soft and healthy. It controls the implant position as well, so the breasts stay symmetric. The ADM Dr. Cassileth typically uses in these cases is Cortiva®, which has a low incidence of allergy and red breast syndrome. She does not recommend Strattice™, as it is made from a bovine (sheep) source, and can occasionally cause longer-term reactivity and allergy.
Capsular Contracture Cause #3: Surgery Trauma
Bleeding in the implant pocket during or after your original breast augmentation surgery is a form of trauma that can cause contracture. Blood is inflammatory and occasionally, instead of resorbing normally, it can cause a long-lasting hematoma (old blood in your implant capsule) that in turn causes capsular contracture. These capsules need removal and implant replacement with the use of ADM, and drains are placed in surgery to allow any blood that forms after surgery to exit the body.
Capsular Contracture Cause #4: Implant Rupture
Implant rupture, specifically that of silicone implants, can cause contracture. Further, if your capsule was left behind during a prior surgical attempt to treat an implant rupture by removing the affected implant, microscopic silicone may still be present in the capsule, and can cause the contracture to recur. Dr. Cassileth has had patients who told he that their prior surgeon said that they were now “cleaned out,” only to find later that the silicone was still present in the current capsule. Silicone is usually inert, though, so why does the continuing presence of silicone matter? In some patients, the silicone can cause an immune response and capsular contracture. Therefore, the entire capsule needs removal, called a total capsulectomy, and the new implants should be covered with ADM to keep them soft. New implants should be cohesive silicone or saline only.
Breast Implant Problem: Rippling
Rippling is simply the implant showing through the skin, and happens in women who are thin and don’t have a lot of breast tissue. It’s most common to see on the sides of the breast, especially when you lean over, but it can happen in any thin location. If the implant is saline, the easiest fix is to switch to cohesive silicone. Silicone implants ripple less than saline implants, especially the full cohesive silicone models. Even silicone can ripple, though, so the real fix is make sure there is a thick layer of subcutaneous fat covering the implant. If the implant is in the right position, a small amount of fat can be grafted over the rippling area. Most of the patients that ripple need fat in other locations as well for best aesthetics, for example, the cleavage area. The fat acts as an all-around breast naturalizer. If the implant is in the wrong position, like too low or to the sides, this needs to be fixed at the same time.
Breast Implant Problem: Double Bubble
“Double bubble” occurs when a patient’s implant falls too low, and you can see the bottom of the breast (the first bubble) and then the bottom of the implant (the second bubble). This happens when the surgeon lowers the “inframammary crease” (the bottom of the breast) in an attempt to make the implant look more natural. It’s most common with patients who have a naturally high crease, like those with tuberous breast deformity.
Fixing a double bubble involves two steps: first, correcting the position of the implant. Second, correcting the position of the breast tissue. The implant position can be controlled using a mesh. The mesh can support the implant in any position that is most aesthetic. Dr. Cassileth then covers the breast with soft tissue. The way she does that depends on the patient, and can range from fat grafting to repositioning breast tissue, depending on the patient. For tuberous breasts, she can unroll the thick breast tissue found behind the areola for great coverage of the implant, and this also helps us to shrink the areola to a more natural size and shape.
Breast Implant Problem: Malposition
Malposition means that the implant is simply in the wrong place. Sometimes, implants just heal a little too high or too low. Simple malposition can be fixed with capsulorrhaphy, and may need reinforcement with mesh if the natural capsule is too thin to hold.
Breast Implant Problem: Pec Flex
Since your implants are under your pectoral muscle, the muscle was cut away from the ribs during your augmentation. The muscle is then free to move upward when you move your arms, called pec flex deformity. This can make some patients self-conscious, as they don’t like their breasts moving when they wash their hands or lift weights. The best fix for this is to repair the muscle. This leaves a bare area over the top of the implant, which she replaces with acellular dermal matrix. This makes sure you still have the advantage of a soft coverage over the top of the implant and you have the support that it gives. The pectoral muscle is slid back behind the implant, and sutured to the cut remnants of the muscle, or back to the chest wall. You will often find the muscle stronger and more functional when it’s back to normal, the implant more comfortable, and the extra wiggling will be gone!
Capsular contracture is the most common complication, occurring in up to 45%1 of all primary breast augmentations.
Bottoming out is also very common, and is primarily a loose capsule problem. Bottoming out, along with the double bubble deformity are the second most common complications that require correction.2
The ADM forms a soft barrier between your body and the implant, and cannot contract as your natural scar tissue will.
Biofilms are bacteria that live on the surface of the implant. They are usually “low-grade” bacteria, like Staph epidermidis or P. acnes. They don’t cause what we normally think of as a true infection, with redness and fever. Instead, they live on the surface of the implant, creating problems for the interface between the implant and your capsule. They can irritate the capsule, causing it to thicken over time.
Submuscular placement through the inframammary fold is the surgical technique least likely to result in breast implant complications such as capsular contracture, rippling, and bottoming out.
Mesh choice is dependent on the natural thickness of the native capsule. Dr. Cassileth will determine which mesh will benefit the patient based on the capsule thickness.
Breast Implant Concerns?
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Dr. Cassileth is highly experienced in complex breast augmentation revision cases. If you are unhappy with the way your breast implants look, she can help. Dr. Cassileth is dedicated to helping women feel confident and comfortable in their bodies. She will determine the underlying cause of your breast implant problems and explain your treatment options. Contact us to learn more or schedule your appointment.
1 The Canadian Journal of Plastic Surgery. Incidence of capsular contracture in silicone versus saline cosmetic augmentation mammoplasty: A meta-analysis. Available:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2691025/. Accessed February 15, 2021
2 Journal of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Staying Out of Double-Bubble and Bottoming-Out Deformities in Dual-Plane Breast Augmentation: Anatomical and Clinical Study. Available: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28656352/. Accessed October 27, 2021.