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Silicone loss during histological preparation of breast implant tissue from capsular contracture, quantified by Stimulated Raman Scattering microscopy
  • Robert W. Schmidt,
  • Erik de Bakker,
  • Freek Ariese
Robert W. Schmidt
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Erik de Bakker
Amsterdam UMC Locatie VUmc
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Freek Ariese
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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Abstract

Breast augmentations, commonly performed for aesthetic or medical reasons, often use silicone (PDMS) implants. Some patients develop complications like capsular contracture, where scar tissue forms around the implant. Previously, we used stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy to detect and quantify silicone in stained capsule tissue, finding a correlation between silicone amount and contracture severity. However, we suspected silicone loss during histological preparation, which includes multiple steps like formalin fixation and paraffin embedding. In this study, we assessed silicone loss by comparing adjacent tissue samples from the same capsule: one prepared conventionally and the other snap-frozen. SRS microscopy revealed that snap-frozen samples had roughly five times more silicone, indicating significant silicone loss during conventional preparation. Thus, measuring silicone in histologically prepared samples likely underestimates PDMS content.
16 Sep 2024Submitted to Journal of Biophotonics
19 Sep 2024Submission Checks Completed
19 Sep 2024Assigned to Editor
19 Sep 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
19 Sep 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
28 Oct 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Major