Capsular Flap: New Applications

Breast augmentation with silicone implants is one of the most commonly performed procedures for women seeking improvement in their body image. Because the number of breast augmentation operations is growing, the number of subsequent reoperations is increasing. Causes for repeated operative procedures include infection, capsular contracture, silicone implant replacement, and breast reaugmentation. As the average volume of silicone implants used is steadily growing according to patients’ wishes and fashion requirements, the plastic surgeon often is asked to replace the silicone implants with larger implants. Replacing breast implants with a similar sized implant is a relatively simple operation, but insertion of larger implants may present a challenge due to insufficient soft tissue coverage of the lower pole of the larger breast implant, especially in thin subjects. Total coverage of the breast implant can be achieved by use of tissue substitutes (TS), such as acellular dermal matrices. Usage of TS, however, is prone to complications and very costly, and these factors influence the implementation of TS in a private practice setup. This report describes a capsular flap used to cover the lower pole of breast implants. The flap guarantees multilayered stable wound closure and prevents displacement of the inframammary fold. The capsular flap also was used to correct an inferiorly displaced inframammary fold as a consequence of the breast augmentation.

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