Can breast implants make it harder to find breast cancer during mammography?
Yes. Breast implants can obscure the mammogram images, decreasing the ability of mammograms to reveal breast cancer. Still, studies show that mammograms are an effective way to screen for breast cancer in women with breast implants. If you have breast implants, you can take steps to make your mammogram more successful, such as: • Find a facility that sees many women with breast implants. Ask your doctor for a referral to a clinic whose radiologists have experience reading mammograms of women with breast implants. Ask the clinic about their experience when you make your appointment. • Speak up about your breast implants at your appointment. When you make your appointment and again when you arrive at your appointment, tell the staff that you have breast implants. There’s a slight risk that your breast implants may rupture during a mammogram. But the benefits of mammography in the early detection of breast cancer outweigh this risk. Next questionMammogram guidelines: What are they?
