Dr. Robert Whitfield argues capsulectomy is essential for breast implant patients. About one-third of implant capsules are bacterially contaminated, and capsule debris can trigger ongoing immune activation. He calls leaving ruptured implants in place unethical and warns against removing them under local anesthesia in an office setting.
I think what each person needs to understand and be educated upon is I believe strongly in capsulectomy because a third of them basically are infected. I feel strongly in it because the debris and the materials can come off and sit in that tissue and cause ongoing immune system activation. So if someone's telling you a capsulectomy is either unsafe or unnecessary or unfounded, those are not good conversations to be had. Because there's absolutely no evidence to support that. I have the largest series in the world that shows that they have bacterial contamination. That's done. That's not an issue. Leaving a ruptured or broken device in anybody sounds fucking stupid to me, so I would never do that, and I wouldn't encourage anybody to believe a story that they're being told that it's okay to leave a ruptured device in or to take it out under local in the office, which I also find to be completely unethical and absurd.
