Capsular contracture rates have more than doubled since 2013

The number of women experiencing capsular contracture after breast augmentation has more than doubled in three years, figures show.

In 2013 there were 148 reported cases of capsular contracture — scar tissue forming around the implant which feels solid to touch — but this figured had risen to 377 by 2016.

The complaints are logged by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency as “adverse reactions”. However Caroline Payne, a spokesperson for the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said the figures were “slightly skewed” as more implants are staying in for longer before they are changed.

According to BAAPS figures, more than 7,000 women had breast implants in the UK in the last year.