Silicon Detection in Fat Globules in Pericapsular Tissue of Women and Rats Augmented with Silicone Gel

Pericapsular adipose tissues of five patients with silicone gel breast implants were examined using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), a sensitive method for detecting the elemental silicon component of silicone using transmission electron microscopy. All five patients had their implants removed secondary to implant complications. Five experimental animals that received subcutaneous silicone injections were also examined. Intracellular silicon was detected in the adipose tissue and in fat globules of macrophages in all patients and experimental animals. Three forms of intracellular silicon were identified: laminated, granular, and amorphous. No silicon was detected by EPMA in the adipose tissue of human and experimental animal controls. Potential origins of this silicon include the following: silicone gel (PDMS—Poly-dimethylsiloxane), silicone gel that may have been converted to another form, and background silicon from food or environmental sources. The absence of detectable silicon in the control human and animal tissue implicates silicone gel as the probable source. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of intracellular silicon within fat globules of both adipocytes and macrophages in recipients of silicone breast implants.?