Prevention of Capsular Contracture with Montelukast After Insertion of Silicone Implants in Rabbits

Abstract

Capsular contracture is the most common complication after insertion of silicone implants during breast implant surgery. The discovery that myofibroblasts play an important role in the formation of hypertrophic scars led to the development of pharmacological drugs such as zafirlukast, which prevents capsular contracture by resisting the above mechanism. As a result, the author sought to investigate the effect of the anti-leukotriene montelukast on capsular contracture. Ten white female New Zealand rabbits, each weighing approximately 3 kg, were used as subjects. Through bilateral incision of the midback area, the prostheses were inserted on the subpanniculus carnosus plane. Once the silicone prostheses had been inserted, the right implant was injected with 10 mL of montelukast (10 µg/mL), and the left implant was injected with 10 mL of normal saline. Eight weeks after the procedure, the capsular pressure was measured via tonometry using a circular glass piece weighing 42.7 g. The tissue samples were then extracted, and their thicknesses were measured using hematoxylin-eosin stain and Masson trichrome stain. The average pressure was 4.23±0.99 mmHg in the control group and 3.71±0.51 mmHg in the experimental group, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.02). The average capsular thickness was 947.938±300 µm in the control group and 709.672±274 µm in the experimental group, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.028). The author confirmed that montelukast injections during silicone prosthesis insertion decreased the formation of capsular contracture.