Prosthetic breast implant rupture: imaging--pictorial essay

In recent years, requests for breast implant surgery have occurred for several reasons. First, the number of diagnosed breast cancer cases has increased, and the number of reconstructive surgeries consequently has multiplied. Second, the number of patients who constantly try to achieve a better physical shape, corresponding in Western countries to the common image of prosperous and tonic breasts, has proliferated. These circumstances have led to an increasingly frequent need for more accurate and sophisticated imaging methods to study prosthetic breast implants and their integrity. Diagnostic imaging for the study of patients with suspected breast implant ruptures uses different techniques of radiologic investigation such as mammography and ultrasonography, even if the current gold standard is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study aimed to draw attention to the main MRI signs capable of highlighting contractures or ruptures of the implants that are not always clinically detectable and thus to provide plastic surgeons with an adequate instrument for discerning any possible alterations in prosthetic implants. Furthermore, it was necessary to stress the importance of teamwork. In fact, proper cooperation and coordination between radiologists and dedicated plastic surgeons are fundamental for the proper management of patients and the complications they may experience.