Abstract

Background: The complications of polyacrylamide hydrogel (PAAG) injected for breast augmentation have captured the attention of the physicians and patients. More and more patients are seeking for the removal of it. In this article, we analyzed the effectiveness of the removal of PAAG injected for breast augmentation by using an inferior periareolar incision under the direct visualization. We got to know the extents of the removal of PAAG injected in different layers.

Methods: Fifty patients (99 breasts) for the removal of PAAG were randomly selected. On the basis of the preoperative and postoperative MRI, the patients were divided into four groups according to whether the PAAG infiltrated to the subcutaneous tissue and muscles or not. In each group, the volumes of PAAG before and after the removal were calculated to analyze the removal amount of the PAAG injected in different layers.

Results: The mean volume of injected PAAG was 264.81 ml. The mean volume of residual PAAG was 9.18 ml. The mean percentage of the removed PAAG was 96.49%. There was no significantly difference in preoperative volume of injected PAAG among different groups p=0.992). There was significantly difference in postoperative volumes of residual PAAG after removal among different groups (p=0.000).

Conclusions: The PAAG injected for breast augmentation and degenerated tissue could be removed using the direct visualization method to obtain successful removal of the great amount of PAAG. The PAAG without infiltrated to the subcutaneous tissue and muscles was most easily removed. The infiltration of the subcutaneous tissue and muscles increased the difficulty of the removal the PAAG.

Keywords: Polyacrylamide hydrogel; Removal; Direct visualization