Frequency of augmentation mammoplasty in patients with systemic sclerosis: Data from the Johns Hopkins-University of Maryland Scleroderma Center

The objective was to determine the frequency of augmentation mammoplasty in female patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Female patients with a clinical diagnosis of SSc were identified from the registry of the Johns Hopkins-University of Maryland Scleroderma Center, Washington D.C. Chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation, and files of practicing rheumatologists in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. A pretested questionnaire was mailed to all eligible cases. Of 339 cases, 210 (62%) returned completed questionnaires. Three cases reported augmentation mammoplasty with silicone gel-filled prosthesis: 2 (1%) prior to and 1 (0.5%) after physician-diagnosis of SSc. The frequency of augmentation mammoplasty prior to physician-diagnosis of SSc of 9.5 per 1000 does not appear to differ from the expected frequency of 3.3-8.2 per 1000 derived from national population samples. A well-designed case-control study with population-based controls and adequate statistical power is being conducted to examine this possible association.