Extracorporeal shock wave therapy has undergone continuous development and has become a well-established
therapy option both in urology and in orthopaedics/trauma surgery. Experimental and clinical studies have proved the effectiveness of
extracorporeal shock wave therapy in the treatment of
connective tissue diseases such as
fibromatosis. The pathomechanism of capsular
fibrosis after augmentation of the female breast with
silicone implants presents a series of analogies with mechanisms that are generally recognised to be associated with fibroproliferative diseases. The starting point of the disease is the inflammatory reaction caused by the
silicone and/or by the sub-clinical bacterial contamination of the implant surface and can create an inflammatory reaction and
fibrosis. A total of 19 cases of capsular
fibrosis in 12 patients following insertion of mammary implants were treated with
extracorporeal shock wave therapy. The
therapy was performed with the Duolith
SD1 system manufactured by Storz Medical.
Shock waves were applied with the C-Actor handpiece designed for planar
shock waves.
Extracorporeal shock wave therapy appears to be a non-invasive, well-tolerated and easy-to-use procedure for
pain reduction and fibrotic tissue softening, especially after aesthetic
breast implant augmentation.