Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study of Implant Age, Pocket Plane, Incision, Surface Texture, and Volume as Predictors of Clinically Significant Capsular Contracture

September 2, 2026 updated by: Research Inc
This prospective breast implant surveillance cohort will evaluate whether implant age, pocket plane, incision route, surface texture, and volume predict clinically significant capsular contracture. Women with Baker grade I or II aesthetic implants at enrollment will undergo standardized annual assessments for up to five years. The primary outcome is time to incident Baker grade III or IV contracture. Progression, pain, imaging, treatment, and patient-reported outcomes will also be described.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Women with aesthetic breast implants and no clinically significant contracture at cohort entry will be enrolled into a dynamic surveillance cohort. Operative and device information will be verified from records. Trained assessors will apply a locked Baker grading protocol annually, supported by photographs, symptom assessment, and imaging. Suspected incident Baker III/IV contracture will undergo independent confirmation and operative verification when available. Delayed-entry survival models will estimate the independent effects of implant age, plane, incision, texture, and volume while accounting for bilateral implants and competing implant removal.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

3000

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Juan Velez, MD, Plastic surgeon
  • Phone Number: +57 3054511588
  • Email: info@velezlara.com

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult women with aesthetic breast implants and no clinically significant capsular contracture at cohort entry.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Female sex and age 18 years or older.
  • Aesthetic breast augmentation with permanent silicone or saline implants under the final protocol.
  • Baker grade I or II in the analyzed breast at cohort entry, confirmed by standardized examination.
  • Known implantation date or year and known pocket plane, incision route, surface texture, and volume.
  • Ability to complete annual clinical assessment for up to five years.
  • Written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Baker grade III or IV contracture at cohort entry in the analyzed breast.
  • Reconstructive implantation after mastectomy or major trauma.
  • Tissue expander.
  • Active breast infection or open wound at enrollment.
  • Planned immediate implant exchange or explantation.
  • Missing core implant or operative data.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Breast Implant Capsule Surveillance Cohort
Women with Baker grade I or II implants are followed prospectively. Implant and operative characteristics are modeled as exposures.
Implant-level data include age, laterality, material, surface texture, shape, volume, pocket plane, incision route, primary or revision placement, manufacturer/lot when available, and concomitant mastopexy or fat grafting. Linked arm/group(s): Breast Implant Capsule Surveillance Cohort.
Two trained assessors will apply a standardized Baker grading protocol, with breast firmness, distortion, pain, and imaging recorded. Suspected grade III/IV events will undergo central review or operative confirmation when surgery occurs. Linked arm/group(s): Breast Implant Capsule Surveillance Cohort.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to Incident Baker Grade III or IV Capsular Contracture
Time Frame: From cohort entry through years of prospective follow-up. 10 years
Implant-level time from cohort entry to the first confirmed clinically significant contracture. Grade III is visible distortion/firmness and grade IV includes pain under the locked examination manual. Bilateral implants will be clustered by participant.
From cohort entry through years of prospective follow-up. 10 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Capsular Contracture-Free Survival by Implant Age
Time Frame: Prospective follow-up through 10 years
Probability of remaining free of Baker grade III/IV contracture at prespecified implant ages, estimated with delayed-entry survival methods when prevalent implants are included.
Prospective follow-up through 10 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: juan velez, MD, plastic surgery

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 12, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 2, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 2, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 021

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

not contempled in the patient informed consent

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.