Silicone breast implant bleed and rupture : Clinical diagnosis and predictive value of mammography and ultrasound

Silicone breast implants have been used since 1962. Reliable methods to detect rupture and silicone gel bleed are needed, even more so because of increasing concern about the possible hazards of silicone. In cases in which clinical examination is not conclusive, additional radiodiagnostic evaluation may be useful in diagnosing intracapsular and extracapsular rupture of mammary prostheses. In the series presented, combined ultrasound and mammography shows a sensitivity for prosthesis rupture of 64% and a specificity of 81%. Silicone gel bleed cannot be detected by means of clinical examination or by combined mammography and ultrasound.