Breast carcinoma post-augmentation mammaplasty: therapy with limited surgery and radiation

Due to the recent surgical and technical developments in aesthetic surgery and occasional dissatisfaction of women with their external contour, augmentation mammaplasty has become a common occurrence in the surgical practice of the aesthetic surgeon. Breast carcinomas, incidentally associated with augmentation mammaplasty, have been sporadically reported in the literature and have all been treated with a mastectomy when resection was possible. We present a case of breast carcinoma occurring 5 years after augmentation mammaplasty performed with silicone-gel-filled implants. Therapy of this carcinoma was achieved through a segmental mastectomy followed by postoperative radiation. The patient remains well 15 months postoperatively. A large number of breast implants are performed each year and the likelihood of a higher incidence of incidental breast carcinomas seen with implants is certainly possible as these patients become older; thought should be given to the notion that possibly not all of these cases need to be managed with radical surgery.