Radiology, Vol 146, 737-742, Copyright © 1983 by Radiological Society of North America
Ultrasound mammography for the augmented breast
C Cole-Beuglet, G Schwartz, AB Kurtz, AS Patchefsky and BB Goldberg
Ultrasound examinations were performed on 25 women with augmented breasts
using whole-breast water-path scanning. In these patients, ultrasound
imaged carcinoma, benign lesions, and fibrous capsule formation; these were
confirmed by surgery. In addition, it was noted that certain prostheses
appeared to be displaced posteriorly onto the chest wall and some
prostheses had internal echoes. To evaluate these findings, in vitro
B-scanning was performed on three different commonly used mammary
prostheses: the silicone gel, the saline inflatable, and the
double-membrane gel-inflatable type. Ultrasound study of the augmented
breast allowed evaluation of breast abnormalities in the parenchyma
overlying the prostheses and also permitted evaluation of the complications
unique to the implantation procedure: abscess formation, displacement of
the implants, fibrous capsule formation, and wrinkles or cracks within the
implant.
