Manufacturer ordered to pay damages for ruptured breast implant in Brazil

A court in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina, has ordered a breast implant manufacturer to pay R$ 28,630.81 in damages to a woman whose implant ruptured approximately two years after surgery. The ruling covers material, aesthetic, and moral damages.

The patient, who underwent the initial procedure in November 2020, began experiencing pain in January 2023. Medical imaging confirmed an intracapsular rupture, necessitating surgical removal and replacement. Due to a lack of available network surgeons through her health insurance, the patient paid for the corrective surgery privately.

While the manufacturer provided a replacement implant through its product substitution program, the replacement was only performed on the left breast. The patient alleged this caused breast asymmetry. The manufacturer contested the lawsuit, arguing the rupture might have been caused by a grade IV capsular contracture rather than a manufacturing defect, and maintained that its replacement program does not cover medical or hospital expenses.