Silicone breast implants are composed of both a silicone gel (filler) and a more solid silicone containment bag. But this silicone should not be confused with silicon, number 14 on the Periodic Table, a crystalline metalloid element. While silicone does contain some silicon atoms, it has many more carbon, hydrogen and oxygen molecules which give it very different physical properties. Silicone was developed over 100 years ago and is a polymer with a silicon-oxygen backbone. By cross-linking chains and side groups, it can be made in compositions from a liquid gel to a solid material. Hence the development of the breast implant, a medical device containing different phases of the same material.
While often confused with being a completely foreign material, silicon actually is commonly found in humans particularly in the connective tissue and skin. As en element it is non-toxic.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana