Left unilateral breast autoinflation and intraprosthetic collection of sterile pus: an unusual operative finding of silicone gel bleed with silicone lymphadenitis.

Implant rupture is a known complication after augmentation mammoplasty. Saline implant failure may present with few diagnosable problems due to the loss of volume. On the other hand, intracapsular silicone gel implant rupture or failure can be silent, asymptomatic, and difficult to diagnose in the absence of loss of breast volume. Silicone leak and migration to regional nodes has been reported but is uncommon and lymph node enlargement can be nonspecific in patients with intact prostheses. Causes, timing, and diagnosis of implant failure sites and mechanisms have been extensively studied and reported in the literature. Implant failure resulting in lymphadenopathy is uncommon. In this article autoinflation of the left breast with regional lymphadenopathy is presented. Upon exploration, the prosthesis was found to be filled with sterile pus, showing an inward movement of a thick creamy material in an otherwise macroscopically intact prosthesis.