A histological comparison of contracted and non-contracted capsules around silicone breast implants.

A single blind comparison of capsular tissue obtained from both breasts from 7 patients in whom unilateral contracture had occurred leads to the following conclusions: (1) The presence of droplets (presumed to be silicone, or extractable silicone as identified by IR) in capsular tissue does not correlate with the clinical finding of firmness. (2) Contracted capsules are apt to be significantly more cellular, largely as a result of an increased fibroblast population. (3) The apparent severity of inflammation in a biopsy of a capsule does not correlate with the clinical degree of firmness in the breast. (4) In the 7 cases studied, capsule thickness or vascularity, collagen alignment, staining uptake, presence of foreign bodies, or presence of an inner cell layer of macrophages did not correlate with the clinical finding of firmness.