Effect of silicone breast implants on myocardial imaging

Attenuation artifact during myocardial SPECT imaging secondary to saline and silicone breast implants

Breast attenuation artifacts are a major cause of false-positive results in gated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) studies in women. The presence of a saline or silicone breast implant as a foreign object anterior to the heart will increase the likelihood of these attenuation artifacts. Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration approved silicone implants for cosmetic use again in the United States. This brief report highlights the impact of breast implants on the accuracy of diagnostic cardiac SPECT imaging.

Impaired myocardial SPECT imaging secondary to silicon- and saline-containing breast implants

Early detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) in women has been challenging. Women are more likely to present with atypical symptoms, and non-invasive evaluation for CAD has been less accurate. Myocardial SPECT imaging is a well-established technique that provides important physiologic, anatomic, and prognostic information in women. Attenuation artifacts secondary to breast tissue are a common problem in women and can lead to decreased specificity of gated SPECT imaging. Cosmetic breast implants are increasing in popularity. The presence of a foreign object overlying the anterior wall of the heart in addition to native breast tissue can significantly increase attenuation artifacts. There is only one report to date describing attenuation artifact due to silicon breast implants in comparison to control, and there are no reports regarding saline breast implants. Here we report three cases of impaired myocardial SPECT imaging in women with breast implants: one patient with silicone implants, and two with saline-containing implants. Clinicians should be aware of this problem and women should be educated regarding the potential future diagnostic problems that may occur with breast implants before considering this cosmetic surgery.