Axillary silicone lymphadenopathy secondary to augmentation mammaplasty

Abstract

We report a case involving a 45-year-old woman, who presented with an axillary mass 10 years after bilateral cosmetic augmentation mammaplasty. A lump was detected in the left axilla, and subsequent mammography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated intracapsular rupture of the left breast prosthesis. An excisional biopsy of the left axillary lesion and replacement of the ruptured implant was performed. Histological analysis showed that the axillary lump was lymph nodes containing large amounts of silicone. Silicone lymphadenopathy is an obscure complication of procedures involving the use of silicone. It is thought to occur following the transit of silicone droplets from breast implants to lymph nodes by macrophages and should always be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients in whom silicone prostheses are present.

Complications of Poly Implant Prothèse breast implants: the current discussion

“…Silicone lymphadenopathy involving axillary lymph nodes is an uncommon complication of augmentation mammoplasty [8]. In case of the special silicone used by PIP, we assume an enhanced enlargement with strong infiltration and foreign-body reaction.…”

Axillary Silicone Laden Lymph Nodes: an Unusual Cause of Lymphadenopathy Case Report

“…This occurs most commonly in the axilla but has been found as far as extranodal spaces. Pain and contractures may also arise due to fibrosis and foreign body reactions and histologically may display granulomatous inflammation [6]. In some cases, silicone lymphadenopathy may present similarly to malignancy and interfere with breast cancer detection [7].…”

Mediastinal silicone lymphadenopathy revealed after thymectomy for autoimmune myasthenia gravis

“…Breast reconstruction is a very popular surgical intervention performed either for cosmetic reasons (augmentation mammoplasty) or after oncological resections (oncoplastic breast reconstruction) [1]. Silicone gel implants are the most frequently used material for breast reconstruction.…”

“…Silicone gel implants are the most frequently used material for breast reconstruction. Even though silicone is considered to be an inert material, however, there are side effects that have been reported [1]. One of these is silicone lymphadenopathy, defined as the presence of silicone particles into a lymph node [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”