Silicone granuloma mimicking lymphatic metastases in a patient with breast cancer

ABSTRACT

Silicone breast implants are commonly used, even for reconstruction after mastectomy in malignant disease. In this setting, the presence of suspicious lymphadenopathy should be investigated, because it could represent disease progression. A case of a woman with left breast cancer (more than 20 years ago) and prosthesic reconstruction is reported. She developed a second breast cancer on the opposite side. During follow up, a suspicious lymphadenopathy was seen in the computed tomography scan, but the final diagnosis corresponded to a siliconoma. Silicone granuloma is a difficult diagnosis in these cases, but must be considered.