Giant cell myocarditis associated with silicone. An unusual case of biomaterials pathology discovered at autopsy...

Silicones, used extensively in the fabrication of medical devices because they were presumed inert and biocompatible, are now well-recognized inducers of localized granulomatous inflammation. Silicones less commonly are also associated with more complex clinico-pathologic entities. In this communication, the authors present a case of a patient on chronic hemodialysis involving tubing probably fabricated from silicone rubber who died from a giant cell myocarditis associated with silicone rubber. This case is presented to expand the interpretive paradigm of human pathology and underscores the need for pathologists to consider medical-device associated phenomena in the differential diagnosis of clinical specimens.