Scleroderma renal crisis following silicone breast implant rupture: a case report and review of the literature.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic multisystem autoimmune disorder characterised by progressive functional and structural abnormalities in blood vessels leading to microvascular dysfunction, excessive production and deposition of collagen leading to the fibrosis of skin and internal organs. The aetiology of the disease is unknown. However, exposure to various environmental factors, such as polyvinyl chloride and silica have been thought to play a role in the development of the disease. For this reason, silicone breast implants have been postulated as a cause for a range of autoimmune diseases including systemic sclerosis. This remains as yet unconfirmed. We report the case of a 52-year-old woman who presented with rapid development of skin thickening followed by scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) following rupture of silicone breast implants. This is the first published case of SRC in this setting. The literature on silicone and autoimmunity is reviewed.