Abstract

AVILA ARENAS, Lina María; OJEDA TORO, Germán Danilo  and  LONDONO DUARTE, María Piedad. Silicone Embolism Syndrome: Subject Review. Univ. Med. [online]. 2022, vol.63, n.1, pp.139-147.  Epub Dec 30, 2021. ISSN 0041-9095.  https://doi.org/10.11144/javeriana.umed63-1.embo.

Since its discovery, silicone has had wide and diverse uses, such is the case of silicone for medical use (polydimethylsiloxane), which has been used for different purposes such as valve and joint implants, eye procedures, cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. The use of industrial silicone has spread in the last two decades, in the performance of clandestine aesthetic procedures that favor the appearance of numerous and serious local and systemic complications, such as the displacement or migration of the silicone from the injected site, discoloration and inflammation of the skin at the injection site, lipodystrophy, nodular granulomas, cystic lesions, ulcerations, disfiguring scars, respiratory problems, and systemic silicone embolism, the latter being potentially fatal without prompt diagnosis or treatment. The purpose of this article is to carry out a review of the literature regarding the origin of liquid silicone, uses, and complications, emphasizing liquid silicone embolism syndrome, a rare pathology, but which should be considered as a diagnostic possibility in patients with a history of silicone injection, performed by operators not trained in health and who usually go to the emergency department due to respiratory symptoms.

Keywords : liquid silicone; silicone embolism; silicone injection; acute pneumonitis.

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