Pathology features of lymph node enlargement after spontaneous silicone breast implant rupture: a case report.
- 1Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.
- 2College of Basic Medical Sciences, Xiangnan University, Chenzhou, China.
- 3Institute of Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
Abstract
Silicone lymphadenopathy secondary to silent shell rupture of breast implants is a clinically significant complication. Clinically, it commonly presents as painless axillary lymphadenopathy-mimicking occult breast cancer and malignant lymph node tumor-and therefore carries a substantial risk of misdiagnosis. We report a case of a 48-year-old woman with a 10-year history of bilateral silicone breast augmentation. Her initial presentation-painless left axillary lymphadenopathy-was indistinguishable from that of occult breast cancer and malignant lymph node tumor. Outpatient breast ultrasound revealed shell rupture of the silicone breast implants in the left side and a discrete left axillary mass. Due to breast implant shell rupture, the patient developed anxiety regarding the breast implants and strongly requested surgical removal of both breast implants (including the intact contralateral breast implant), along with excision of the left axillary lymph nodes (refusing fine needle aspiration and core needle biopsy). She subsequently underwent bilateral implant explantation and excision of the left axillary mass. Intraoperatively, shell rupture of the left implant was confirmed and capsule outside the shell is well. Histopathological examination on the left axillary mass revealed abundant vacuoles filled with silicone gel within a lymphocytic background, accompanied by numerous multinucleated giant cells, many of which contained accumulated silicone vacuoles. No malignant cells were identified. This case underscores the critical importance of differentiating silicone lymphadenopathy from malignancy in patients with prior silicone implantation.
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BibTeX
@article{yao2026pathology,
title = {{Pathology features of lymph node enlargement after spontaneous silicone breast implant rupture: a case report.}},
author = {Fanghui Yao and Binbin Long and Meijun Fu and Yuzhen Fu},
journal = {Gland surgery},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.21037/gs-2026-0285},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996575},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pathology features of lymph node enlargement after spontaneous silicone breast implant rupture: a case report.
AU - Fanghui Yao
AU - Binbin Long
AU - Meijun Fu
AU - Yuzhen Fu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
JO - Gland surgery
DO - 10.21037/gs-2026-0285
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996575
AB - Silicone lymphadenopathy secondary to silent shell rupture of breast implants is a clinically significant complication. Clinically, it commonly presents as painless axillary lymphadenopathy-mimicking occult breast cancer and malignant lymph node tumor-and therefore carries a substantial risk of misdiagnosis. We report a case of a 48-year-old woman with a 10-year history of bilateral silicone breast augmentation. Her initial presentation-painless left axillary lymphadenopathy-was indistinguishable from that of occult breast cancer and malignant lymph node tumor. Outpatient breast ultrasound revealed shell rupture of the silicone breast implants in the left side and a discrete left axillary mass. Due to breast implant shell rupture, the patient developed anxiety regarding the breast implants and strongly requested surgical removal of both breast implants (including the intact contralateral breast implant), along with excision of the left axillary lymph nodes (refusing fine needle aspiration and core needle biopsy). She subsequently underwent bilateral implant explantation and excision of the left axillary mass. Intraoperatively, shell rupture of the left implant was confirmed and capsule outside the shell is well. Histopathological examination on the left axillary mass revealed abundant vacuoles filled with silicone gel within a lymphocytic background, accompanied by numerous multinucleated giant cells, many of which contained accumulated silicone vacuoles. No malignant cells were identified. This case underscores the critical importance of differentiating silicone lymphadenopathy from malignancy in patients with prior silicone implantation.
SN - 2227-684X
SN - 2227-8575
ER -