Silicone-selective multishot echo-planar imaging for rapid MRI survey of breast implants

The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of silicone-selective multishot echo-planar imaging (EPI) for the rapid magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) survey of breast implants. Twenty patients with bilateral breast implants underwent MRI. The use of inversion recovery and magnetization transfer pulses led to silicone-selective images. The rapid MRI survey required only 43 s, which accurately distinguished between silicone and non-silicone materials in the implants, and therefore induced the final MRI sequences appropriate for the detailed characterization of the implants. In 5 of the 20 patients, the rapid MRI survey showed implanted materials that were not indicated from clinical information. This silicone-selective multishot EPI allows a rapid survey of breast implants, which is useful to avoid unnecessary sequences in these patients.