Linguine sign (breast)

Linguine sign, also known as the wavy line sign, is one of the imaging signs of intracapsular rupture of a breast implant ⁴.

Pathology

After implantation of a silicone or saline breast implant, a fibrous capsule (scar) forms around the implant shell. In an intracapsular rupture, the contents of the implant are contained by the fibrous scar, while the shell appears as a group of wavy lines. This has been termed the "linguine sign"  and has been most commonly described with MR imaging, although it can also occasionally be depicted on CT.

Radiographic features

MRI

Seepage of silicone into intracapsular space causes partial or complete implant collapse and appears as multiple low-signal-intensity curvilinear lines on T2 weighted MR images ⁴.

Practical points

• linguine sign demonstrates a significantly advanced form of intracapsular implant rupture