Surgical management of silicone mastitis

The results of the operative treatment of 22 cases of silicone mastitis are presented. Moderate involvement can usually be managed successfully by local excision of the masses, or by a subcutaneous mastectomy with later reconstruction. Patients with severe skin infiltration and/or pectoral muscle involvement are prone to complications, however, and we now believe an aggressive approach--such as a complete mastectomy with nipple banking and excision of the infiltrated muscle, might be best. This would allow the later reconstruction to proceed in relatively uninvolved tissue, and prevent the problems of recurrent inflammation from placing bag-gel prostheses in a residual bed of silicone-infiltrated tissue.