Revision surgery after breast reconstruction

The result of breast cancer surgery or reconstruction does not always fulfil the patient's expectations. The shape of the breast may change over the years, or the body may have reacted to the implant with capsular fibrosis (painful deformation of the breast with the silicone implant in place). In other cases, too much tissue had to be removed during breast-conserving surgery. For all these problems, there are now a number of correction options, so-called revision operations.

The insertion of a breast implant leads to a foreign body reaction with the formation of a thin capsule, which in most cases remains soft. In certain cases, particularly following radiotherapy, capsular fibrosis can develop. This is a hard, connective tissue-like, sometimes painful capsule that is accompanied by severe deformation of the breast. The breast implant must be replaced and the capsule partially removed.

In the case of severe, extensive capsular fibrosis and if a prosthesis change has not led to the desired improvement, it is possible to replace the breast implant with the patient's own tissue. All methods of autologous tissue reconstruction are possible. The great advantage of these techniques is that they lead to a permanent result and no further operations are necessary.

Following breast-conserving surgery or breast reconstruction, dents, soft tissue defects or severe scarring can occur. In these cases, autologous fat injection has established itself as a very good method for correcting these localised imperfections. As with liposuction, fatty tissue is removed, processed in a special procedure and then reintroduced at the desired location. If not enough volume increase can be achieved with the first procedure, a second procedure is possible without any problems. However, this is a minimally invasive procedure with a very high level of patient satisfaction.