The Safety Of Silicone

Back in 1992 the use of silicone/polyurethane implants was banned because of a variety of concerns about their safety.  According to experts these implants were discontinued at that time because of fears concerning their potential release of human carcinogens.  Sillicone/polyurethane implants release carcinogens known as toluene diisocyanate, or TDA which was banned in harid dyes long before the breast augmentation debate became widespread. 

Silicone on occasion leaks from the implants and can then enter the bloodstream.  The extent to which silicone leakage causes cancer in humans is still unknown.  However, at the time of their discontinuation an estimated 200,000 American women still had these implants in their body. 

Today, what is perhaps even more shocking is the fact that these implants are now back on the market.  After their ban in 1992, silicone gel implants are again being used in breast augmentation surgeries.  The FDA has re-approved these devises and now they are being used alongside the saline (salt water) varieties.

The saline filled implants consist of an external silicone shell which is filled with saline fluid either prior to or during the surgery.  These were given FDA approval in May of 2000.  The Silicone-gel filled implants on the other hand are filled with silicone gel.  These were re-approved in November of 2006.

Just why these silicone implants are back again is a good question.  Concerns about their linkage to cancer, autoimmune and connective tissue disorders (lupus being one), have not been disproven.  Many lawsuits were in fact settled out of court and millions of dollars paid to complainants.  After 14 years banning their use however, studies done by Mentor (one of the two major companies that make the products) found that the evidence was sufficient to reinstitute their use.  This evidence consisted of a following of just over a thousand women three years after the surgery.

Women who receive such implants are forewarned about a variety of potential pitfalls.  For instance, they must be informed that the implants will not last forever; that if the implants are removed the breasts will not return to their original shape; that there is a chance of dimpling, wrinkling and sagging; that replacing implants increases the risk of complications; and finally, that mammograms are more difficult to read after these types of surgeries.

In fact this latter caution is one of the most important reasons that some doctors oppose implantation.  There is a great deal of debate about whether or not detecting breast cancer in its early stages is rendered more complicated by these silicone implants.  If mammogram results are more difficult to read for doctors and radiologists, there is a chance that early stage tumors may be missed and then the chances of early treatment and resolution diminished.

If you are therefore considering implants consider first these cautions above.  As the implants will not last forever and as your breasts will most likely not return to their original shape (making re-implantation surgery and its complications necessary) you may be doomed to suffer recurrent problems.  While some women seem to shrug off these concerns in hopes of enhancing what nature has given them, others will hopefully think twice about the long term safety of this type of plastic surgery.