linguine sign

a sign of rupture of the completely collapsed shell of a silicon breast prosthesis, as seen on imaging by either MRI or CT.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

A fanciful term for the appearance of T2-weighted MR images of a breast with a ruptured implant, which is characterized by multiple fine, curvilinear low-signal-intensity strands of silicone—the 'linguine'—which correspond to the collapsed implant shell, within the high-signal-intensity gel—the 'linguine sauce'

References in periodicals archive

* Linguine sign. Multiple low signal intensity curvilinear lines are present floating within the silicone gel and represent collapse of the silicone elastomer implant shell.

The most specific MRI finding for intracapsular silicone implant rupture is the "linguine sign" and was first described by Gorczyca, et al, in 1992.

MR imaging of breast implants: Useful information for the interpreting radiologist

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