Myrl Jeffcoat myrlj@jps.net

Thanks Gina

Source: Chest (Chest.) 2005 May; 127(5): 1854-7

Unique Journal Identifier: 0231335

Abstract: A woman with a history of bilateral mastectomy and silicone implants for fibrocystic disease and a history of atrial septal defect repair presented with pleural nodules on a chest radiograph. A thorascopic biopsy performed for possible mesothelioma demonstrated chronic inflammation and focal pleural fibrosis due to a foreign-body
reaction secondary to silicone. This was confirmed using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive radiograph elemental analysis. As the population ages, the increasing frequency of ruptured silicone implants and the need for heart surgery may result in a corresponding increase in the risk for fibrothorax secondary to inadvertent silicone introduction during surgery.

Author(s): Levine RL ; Allen TC ; Cartwright J Jr ; Cagle PT
Affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas School
of Medicine, Houston, USA. Robert.Levine@uth.tmc.edu