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Breast implant rupture

Case contributed by Irvine Sihlahla
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Previous breast augmentation surgery 20 years ago, mastalgia

Patient Data

Age: 70 years
Gender: Female

Silicon saturated images

mri

MRI demonstrates intracapsular rupture of the right breast implant with an intact fibrous capsule and the contents of the implant appearing as waxy linear lines "linguine sign". The left breast shows radial folds.

mammography

No focal breast mass lesion. No hyperdense material in the axilla suggestive of extravasated silicon.

ultrasound

Asymmetry of the breast implants with the right breast implant appearing irregular with mixed echogenicity composed of intracapsular islands of anechogenic regions on an echogenic background consistent with the stepladder sign.

Case Discussion

The case illustrates the features of breast implant failure on ultrasound, mammogram and MRI showing the linguine sign of intracapsular rupture.

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