Before and after right breast revision in a 47-year-old woman with a chronic hematoma of her right breast. Following her breast augmentation, she had taken high doses of an oral anti-inflammatory medication for daily migraines that caused her blood to thin and stimulated a bleed inside her breast, with a low leak of blood that accumulated over months. Unfortunately, her surgeon “wasn’t concerned” so she sought treatment elsewhere.
Her right breast was tight, tense and painful. An emergency surgery was planned later that day. Approximately 800 mL of old liquified blood was evacuated from the implant space. A washout was planned, and the pocket was inspected for any active bleeding. A new smooth round silicone gel breast implant was inserted, and the patient was discharged home with two drains and a referral to see a Hematologist.
It turned out that she had one copy of a gene that predisposed her to active bleeding with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as the one she had been taking. She now avoids these medications and only takes Tylenol for pain and fever.
Thankfully, she did not develop capsular contracture – which can offer when extra inflammation develops around an implant – such as due to blood or bacteria. Follow up photos are shown 3 months after surgery.
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
