Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) and the textured breast implant crisis

Groth, A; Graf, R.
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, February 2020, Volume 44, Issue 1

Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is an uncommon T-cell, CD-30+/ALK lymphoma. Late (9 years) periprosthetic fluid (seroma) is the most common presentation (90% of the cases). A combination of textured breast implant, bacterial contamination, and genetic predisposition seems to be necessary for BIA-ALCL to occur. There are 35 million patients with implants in the world, and at the present moment, 573 cases of BIA-ALCL have been reported.