In The News

After a breast augmentation with implants, you may assume you’re set for a decade or so. However, FDA recommendations urge patients to get their implants screened much more regularly than that. A recent study found that the majority of breast implant patients aren’t compliant with these screening recommendations.

Patients are not getting their breast implants screened often enough

The study found that many breast cancer patients who received silicone implants were not compliant with the FDA recommendations. These screenings ensure the implants have not silently ruptured. The research shows that only 5.9 percent of respondents had undergone MRI screening in accordance with the recommendations. A majority of the patients said they weren’t aware of the recommendations.

Patients are hesitant to head to the doctor’s office when there’s no obvious cause for concern. However, there are also bigger barriers at play. In the press release, Libby Copeland-Halperin, MD, speculates that lack of access to care and costly screenings may be part of the reason patients aren’t adhering to the guidelines.

“So many women … have had breast cancer and undergo breast reconstruction with (silicone) implants … (and) although implants have been around for many years and are recognized as being safe, it’s important to be aware they do require some routine surveillance and maintenance,” said Dr. Libby Copeland-Halperin, a plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic surgeon at a private practice in New York City, in an interview with CURE®.

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.”

Dr. Copeland, among the earliest women to become an NYAC member, joins the Quarter Century Club.