Self-Explantation of a Prosthetic Breast Implant by Patient

Removal of breast prostheses is a common surgical procedure, most often performed by plastic surgeons, occasionally by oncologic or general surgeons. In this report, we describe an unusual case in which a 72-year-old woman with a pre-existing silicone breast prosthesis underwent breast conservation therapy for primary invasive carcinoma. Two years later, she experienced pain and inflammation in the region of the lumpectomy bed and was found to have developed a complex fluid collection overlying the implant, for which percutaneous aspiration was performed. Despite aspiration and antimicrobial therapy for the isolated Staphylococcus aureus organism, a nonhealing wound persisted, through which the patient eventually performed nonsterile self-explantation of her own silicone implant. Following this unusual event, her wound healed, and she returned to her normal asymptomatic clinical baseline.