With breast augmentation, as with any surgery, you should be concerned about the complications that may arise. There are complications that may arise from surgery and there are complications that are particular to breast augmentation. This article addresses the latter.

Capsular contraction is the breast augmentation complication that women seem to be most worried about even though it is not the most dangerous complication. Capsular contraction is basically the hardening of the breast. It is caused by excessive scar tissue formation around the implant. The scar tissue then squeezes and contracts or collapses the implant. Severe contraction can result in visible deformation of the breast.

Loss of sensitivity in the nipples or breasts is a common breast augmentation complication. It is usually temporary, but permanent loss of sensation can happen. The opposite effect can happen as well – breasts and particularly nipples can become overly sensitive. This is almost always temporary.

Another breast augmentation complication is calcification. Calcium deposits can develop in the breast tissue, forming hard lumps. This is especially a problem for women who experience capsular contraction.

Spontaneous lactation or galactorrhea is a breast implant complication. This usually clears itself up after a while, but if not, you may need medication or the breast implant may need to be removed.

A more serious breast augmentation complication is necrosis. Sometimes the healing breast will not receive enough oxygen to heal or even survive. The breast tissue will die and need to be reconstructed. Necrosis quickly spreads to healthy tissue. To help avoid necrosis, quit smoking at least two weeks before your surgery.

Another serious complication is extrusion. Extrusion occurs when your immune system rejects the implant, causing your body to push it out through the skin. With less severe extrusion, the implant will become visible through the skin. The implant must be removed to avoid infection and there is a good chance of severe scarring.

There are whole range of highly visible breast augmentation complications including deflation, rippling and contour irregularities. The most severe of these visible complications is synmastia, in which one or both breasts migrate across the chest bone. From the outside, it appears as if the woman has only one breast. Synmastia results from surgical errors and can only be corrected by more surgery.

This is only a small range of the complications that breast augmentation patients may experience. These complications and most others are quite rare and can be prevented by going into surgery healthy and closely following post operative instructions.

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