“The rupture of a breast prosthesis is extremely rare, except for manufacturing defects, and exceptional situations (trauma, delay in replacement, accidental etc.).
Today, most implanted prostheses are silicone-based. They replaced those with salty serum because they give better aesthetic results. However, the consequences of leaks are not the same.
The discharge of silicone gel outside the prosthesis, by rupture of the wall or porosity, can cause pain, a burning sensation, with a breast becoming hot. These are the direct signs of inflammation.
Sometimes there may also be indirect signs: the breast becomes hard, deforms, may gradually increase in size. This is due to the body’s defense reaction, which creates a wall to isolate this foreign body. It is this “shell” which will be removed by the surgeon during the operation. In this case, the implant is of course removed.
Ultrasound and MRI are the exams of choice in this kind of situation, but they are not always able to detect silicone effusion and it is the surgeon intervening who takes stock of it.
Finally, it is possible for small amounts of silicone to leak and spread throughout the body. In this case, the body defends itself by surrounding this escaped silicone with a small fibrous shell: this is called siliconomes.
Often asymptomatic but bothersome, they can give more or less hard masses, like the nodes that we sometimes have.
Even if they are not dangerous, as these siliconomes testify to a rupture or an oozing of the implant, the removal of the prosthesis is then necessary. However, as this is a defensive reaction in lymph node form, it is a specialized surgeon, and not the cosmetic surgeon, who intervenes. “
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* Former emergency doctor, Dr Eric Ozanne has since become the medical expert of the small and big screen. With his company Care On Set, he works both on set to ensure the safety of actors and stuntmen and in prevention with film professionals.
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Everything you need to know about breast prostheses
