Silicone Breast Implants & MRI

Dr. Robert Brueck MD, Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon, keeps abreast of developments and questions in Cosmetic Surgery. He periodically blogs here about items in the news.

Many of my patients who have had silicone implants will often inquire about weather or not they need MRI.

The FDA made it one of their recommendations several years ago when they allowed silicone implants back on the market. I personally have not been overly impressed with the accuracy of MRI in detecting implant rupture.

I have gone to the OR with patients who had an MRI saying they were ruptured only to find the implant intact. Conversely I have had patients with normal mammograms and/or MRI who came in for implant exchange and when we go to the OR, I find both implants are ruptured.

It was found that women who were symptomatic, i.e. maybe in discomfort, that MRI was more accurate in detecting problems with the implant verses women with NO symptoms.

Another very important point: most of the ruptures were found in women with implants that were greater than 10 years old. This has been my experience when a patient comes in to see me who’s implants are 15, 20 or even 30 years of old I almost know with near 100% accuracy that one or both maybe leaking or completely ruptured.

So the benefit of MRI screening is questionable.

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Silicone vs. Saline and other breast questions

The trend among plastic surgeons and patients is toward the softer, more natural silicone gel implants.

50% of implants NOW sold are silicone gel.

The number of gel implants used before the ban was single digits, ie. less than10%.

There is no question they give a softer, more natural look for the most part. This is especially true for women with minimal to no breast tissue.

Breast hardness after augmentation

Every patient who undergoes breast augmentation develops a capsule. The key is to keep the capsule soft and natural.

Why do some breasts get hard?

There are probably many factors, one of which is bacterial contamination in the pocket receiving the implant. A company named TxRxPharma Inc. is developing an anti-biotic sleeve to place around the implant just prior to placement. The anti-biotics in this wrap are tetracycline and rifamycin. In preliminary studies, the capsule formed by the implants wrapped in this special sheet were much softer and more natural.

Perhaps the holy grail for breast augmentation is just around the corner. More to come.

For more information about breast implants, make a visit to my website, Beauty-by-Brueck.com and navigate to any of the pages about breast enhancement.

Thank you