Silicone Breast Implants

26 Jul

Posted by Admin as Female health

The safety of silicone breast implants has been debated for years. There’s no scientific evidence that ruptured silicone implants cause serious, long-term health problems, such as cancer or autoimmune disorders. The major problem associated with a ruptured breast implant is the formation of scar tissue in the breast, which can lead to pain and disfigurement.

Silicone Implants

Silicone implants have a silicone rubber shell that is filled with a fixed amount of silicone gel. Each implant has a patch that covers the manufacturing port of the implant.

Silicone implants vary in shell surface (smooth/textured), shape, profile, volume, shell thickness, and number of shell lumens. Most silicone gel-filled implants are not adjustable.

Safety of Silicone Breast Implants presents a well-documented, thoughtful exploration of the safety of these devices, drawing conclusions from the available research base and suggesting further questions to be answered. This book also examines the sensitive issues surrounding women’s decisions about implants. In reaching conclusions, the committee reviews:

The history of the silicone breast implant and the development of its chemistry.

The wide variety of U.S.-made implants and their regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.

Frequency and consequences of local complications from implants.

Breast Implants - Shapes and Textures

Saline breast implants and silicone breast implants come in a variety of shapes, surface textures, and sizes. Depending on the desired shape you wish to achieve, you and your local plastic surgeon may choose a round or shaped implant. Generally, the larger you want your cup size, the larger the implant the plastic surgeon will consider.

Silicone-gel breast implants have been associated with a myriad of autoimmune and connective tissue disorders by anecdotal reports and small observational series. To date, no prospective epidemiologic studies have been done to substantiate these observations, but an increasing body of literature is being developed and older studies are being recognized that point to immunotoxic or inflammatory effects of these breast implant components. The development of disease due to implants would depend on the interaction of genetic host factors so that only a few patients would potentially be at risk.

National Cancer Institute - Researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md., found that women with silicone breast implants were not at increased risk for most cancers. Although they did find small increases in the risks for respiratory (cancers of the lung and larynx) and brain cancers, the significance of these findings is not clear.

Silicone Breast Implants Are Not Linked to Breast Cancer Risk

In one of the largest studies on the long-term health effects of silicone breast implants, researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md., found no association between breast implants and the subsequent risk of breast cancer. The study is published in the November issue of Cancer Causes and Control.*

Breast implants first appeared on the market in 1962. Manufacturers initially assumed that the implants were biologically inactive and, therefore, would have no harmful effects. However, over the past two decades there have been a number of reports of connective tissue disorders and cancers among implant patients.