Silicone synovitis: MR imaging in five patients

Silicone synovitis is a known complication of silicone implants used in orthopedic surgery for joint reconstruction. It has been studied with routine radiography; however, no report on magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities of this condition exist in the literature. This article reports on five patients with silicone synovitis studied by magnetic resonance imaging. All patients showed hypointense implants that were deformed, fragmented or subluxed, and intra- and periarticular silicone particles were evident on T1- and T2-weighted images.