A California woman who tripped on a boardwalk crack, rupturing her breast implants has won $85,000 after suing her city over the incident.
Cynthia Hedgecock, the wife of the former mayor of San Diego, claimed that the incident caused considerable pain and anxiety, and left her with nearly $20,000 in medical bills after her silicone implant ruptured.
The city was found culpable for neglecting to maintain a tree that created a crack in the Pacific Beach sidewalk.
The crack in the sidewalk that Ms Hedgecock was suing over has since been repaired by the city, according to local news reports.
The US Food and Drug Administration recommends that breast implants — whether silicone or saline based — be removed if rupturing occurs. Some women opt to have a new implant installed during the surgery to remove the broken vessel.
It is not always obvious, however, when ruptures do occur. That’s because the tissue inside the breasts frequently scars after the implants are installed, creating a casing of sorts for the breast implant that can keep the leaking insides of the breast implants in place.
In such cases, Mayo Clinic says, a patient and her doctor may choose to simply leave the implant in place.
Ruptured breast implants aren't thought to cause breast cancer, reproductive problems, or diseases in connective tissue like arthritis, Mayo Clinic says.
