THE RELATIVE RADIOLUCENCIES OF BREAST IMPLANT FILLER MATERIALS

Breast implants in current use utilize silicone gel for filler materia l. One substantial drawback of silicone gel is its radiodensity, resul ting in the obscuration of breast tissue on mammography. The relative radiolucencies of silicone gel, saline, breast tissue equivalent, trig lycerides (peanut oil), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (Bio-Oncotic gel) wer e determined by using standard mammographic equipment. Visibility thro ugh these materials was compared by using a standard breast phantom as background. The x-ray dosage necessary to create each mammographic im age was measured. Peanut oil provided the clearest image of the phanto m artifacts, required the least radiation exposure, and was approximat ely four times more radiolucent than the saline or Bio-Oncotic gel and about 45 times more radiolucent than silicone gel. As improved implan t filler materials are being sought, triglycerides maintain superior r adiographic properties.