An achilles heel of breast implants is capsular contracture, when “the implant turns hard.” Singulair is an asthma medication which has been cited in plastic surgery literature as helping treat capsular contracture. I have adopted this in my treatment and prevention of capsular contracture from the recommendations of my mentors. This is an off label use for Singulair, and there is not much good hard science on how well it works. But as capsular contracture is one of the biggest problems with implants, I throw the kitchen sink at trying to avoid it. And singulair is included in this.
This blog is in reference to a study out of UCLA . It is a retrospective study of 19 patients. “Effects of Singulair Treatment for Capsular Contracture,” published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, May/June 2010. Pearls from the article:
- Leukotrienes are implicated in the inflammatory cascade and have been postulated to be involved in the formation of capsular contracture
- Leukotriene antagonists like Accolate and Singulair have been prescribed off label to treat and prevent capsular contracture
- This was a retrospective study over 3 years.
- They feel Singulair is better than Accolate due to fewer side effects of the medication
What did they conclude?
- Singulair improves capsular contracture.
- Breasts with mild capsular contracture (grade I and II) have better improvement
- It prevented recurrence in two patients with a history of capsular contracture, so it may be a good prophylactic prescription in patients with a history of capsular contracture
- Singulair is unlikely to help in grade III or IV capsular contracture
So. To those patients of mine, you likely already got Singulair as part of your surgery. If you notice a capsular contracture coming on- breasts feel firmer, the implant is elevating, looks funny, anything, COME IN. What this study indicated is that Singulair is more effective on mild cases, so don’t delay if you think something is brewing….