Few patients undergo recommended MRI screening after silicone implant breast surgery

by Wolters Kluwer Health

Only six percent of women with silicone breast implants followed the previous US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendation for regular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screening, suggests a study in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Despite discussion and information provided at the time of their breast implant procedure, most patients were unaware that MRI scans were recommended to detect asymptomatic implant rupture, according to the new research by Libby R. Copeland-Halperin, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues. They write, “Low adherence suggests that without repeated reinforcement, the importance of this recommendation may not be apparent to patients several years following surgery.”