Buinewicz Plastic Surgery is proud to announce that Dr. Brian Buinewicz spoke at a Breast Implant Illness Summit in August 2024, welcoming physicians, medical professionals, and other providers for an educational event designed to shed more light on what patients should know about the disease.
Dr. Buinewicz has a reputation as a go-to plastic surgeon for the subject of breast implant illness in the Philadelphia area—and beyond. He is especially known for his work in the field of breast implant removal, with a particular emphasis on capsulectomy, which is the removal of the scar tissue that forms around implants after they are inserted. This scar tissue capsule can cause complications, such as capsular contracture, which is when the tissue tightens and squeezes the implant out of shape.
Breast implant removal and capsulectomy can also be important treatment strategies for patients dealing with breast implant illness (BII), the subject of the August conference.
While the condition is rare, textured implants can be associated with the development of capsule-related neoplasms, which are abnormal tissue growths. The capsule-related neoplasms have been linked to a specific type of BII known as BIA-ALCL, which stands for Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. There are conflicting recommendations regarding patients with textured breast implants and prophylactic explantation. The American Association of Plastic Surgeons states that based on a potential for risk reduction, prophylactic explantation can be deemed reasonable. However the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and Breast Surgery Collaborative Community (including members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons) recommended that patients who have textured implants but no diagnosis or signs of BIA-ALCL are not currently encouraged to have their implants removed, nor to have an en bloc capsulectomy. In fact, in June 2024, the Breast Surgery Collaborative Community (including members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons) put out an official statement regarding that strategy, emphasizing that the surgery is only necessary for patients with an established or suspected breast implant-associated cancer after appropriate medical workup.
That said, those who have developed BIA-ALCL should follow the current recommendations for treatment: complete removal of the implants and capsules. In other words, bilateral breast implant removal and capsulectomy. It is critical to discuss the pros and cons as well as potential risks of a total capsulectomy with your explanting surgeon.
All of this ties into Dr. Buinewicz’s topic for the Breast Implant Illness Summit: “Importance of Complete Capsulectomy.” As stressed above, capsulectomy is part of the current recommended BIA-ALCL treatment strategy, but the procedure can be used in many other cases as well. In Dr. Buinewicz’s experienced opinion, a complete capsulectomy is a vital part of the process for many breast implant removal (or “explant”) patients.
Dr. Buinewicz’s credentials include the publishing of “Outcomes of Implant Removal and Total Capsulectomy for Breast Implant Illness: A Retrospective Review of 248 Patients” in PRS Global Open in 2021, as well as o-authoring “Understanding Breast Implant Illness” for Advances in Cosmetic Surgery in 2023—and now, speaking at the prestigious Breast Implant Illness Summit.
For more information about the summit, breast implant removal, breast implant illness, capsulectomy, breast implants, or plastic surgery in general, contact Buinewicz Plastic Surgery.
