Cheated at Thailand clinic, woman gets her breast augmentation treated at city hosp

A 44-year-old lady who had undergone breast augmentation in Thailand clinic at an attractive discounted rate. Four months post the surgery she noticed her breasts becoming red, discoloured and lumpy. As no topical creams were effective, she visited the Thailand clinic for a follow-up and to her dismay, she found the clinic had shut down and the doctor had vanished.

A breast implant is a prosthesis used to change the size, shape, and contour of a woman’s breast. In reconstructive plastic surgery, breast implants can be placed to restore a naturallooking breast or to correct deformities of the chest wall.

Doctors said for a check-up she visited Wockhardt Hospital, South Mumbai. On examination, the breast surgeon oncologist found her breasts discoloured and nodular. She was referred for a mammogram which revealed high-density masses scattered in both breasts.

Dr Meghal Sanghvi, Oncologist, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, says “Interestingly, no implant/implant-rupture could be seen. Ultrasound showed a classic's now stormed appearance’ with multiple cysts and echogenic free silicone causing dense shadowing. This ‘snowstorm appearance’ is classical of free silicone causing mastopathy. The patient had been given silicone injections in the breast rather than implants which explained the discounted rates!”

Dr Bhagyam Nagarajan, Consultant Radiologist at Wockhardt Hospital, South Mumbai said,” Due to the dense shadowing from free silicone, mammography and ultrasound may miss small cancers in such cases. Thus MRI may be required as a problem-solving tool in some cases. It is impossible to remove all the free silicone piecemeal embedded in the breast parenchyma, hence this patient was offered bilateral subcutaneous mastectomy with breast reconstruction.”