title: Nondestructive investigations on ninety-seven surgically excised mammary prostheses.
abstract: The information contained in the medical files of 68 patients having undergone surgical excision of a total of 97 internal mammary prostheses allowed us to define a typical patient profile at time of first implantation. Age: 33 years 11 months, height: 1.59 m, weight: 51.5 kg, two children. Twenty-one percent of these patients had the operation done subsequent to a mastectomy, while 79% requested it for cosmetic reasons. The duration of implantation was less than 55 months for 76% of the prostheses received after excision. The most frequent evolutive complications were the formation of a fibrous capsule followed by silicone bleeding, as well as mineralization. Macroscopic examination of the 97 explanted prostheses provided information on their integrity (38.1% of prostheses ruptured), gel differentiation (24.7%), sticky surfaces (26.8%), surface deposits (33%), memory folds (54.6%), and Dacron fixation patches (20.6%). According to the medical files, a fibrous capsule was found in association with 69.8% of the breast implants. We received only 46 capsules. The average thickness was 1.4 mm. Mineralizations were present on 15 capsules (32.6%). Two zinc phosphates were identified, for the first time, in human body: parascholzite and hopeïte. Statistical examination showed that Heyer-Schulte prostheses stayed in place for a longer time. Integrity and gel differentiation depended on the duration of the implantation. Presence of mineralization was model-related (Dow Corning prostheses were associated with deposits) and depended on the presence of fixation patches.
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials Unit, St-François d'Assise Hospital, Quebec City, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rolland
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guidoin
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marceau
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ledoux
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001940:Breast / Q000601:surgery*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis; D005260:Female; D005549:Foreign-Body Reaction / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis; D019736:Prostheses and Implants / Q000009:adverse effects; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012828:Silicones; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared; D013499:Surface Properties; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D008903:Minerals; D012828:Silicones