Breast MRI

A breast MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is very useful for women with implants. Breast MRIs can detect silicon in breast tissue or abnormalities with the implant, such as a rupture.

Breast MRI is also useful in the staging and diagnosis of breast cancer. It is particularly useful for screening women with dense breast tissue who are carriers of the genes called BRCA-1 and BRCA-2, which increase breast cancer risk. Breast MRI is also useful in staging women who have known breast  cancers and to determine if there is more than one breast cancer in the breast. For more information, see our brochure on Breast MRI.

For a Breast MRI, the patient lies on her stomach in the MR scanner. The scan takes approximately 20-30 minutes and, depending on what we are looking for, may require an IV injection of dye.