Intracapsular Breast Implant Rupture

linguine sign

After implantation of a silicone or saline breast implant, a fibrous capsule (scar) forms around the implant shell. In an intracapsular rupture the contents of the implant are contained by the fibrous scar while the shell appears as a group of wavy lines. This has been termed the “Linguine Sign” and has been most commonly described with MR imaging. Here, the same findings are seen on CT imaging in a patient with bilateral ruptured saline implants.

Reference: Safvi A. Linguine Sign. Radiology 2000; 216: 838-839.

Credit: Dr Evan Stein
  • January 21st, 2008
  • Breast
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