Safety of Silicone Breast Implants in Breast Augmentation
Since silicone breast implants have become commercially available since late last year, the vast majority of breast augmentation patients now choose silicone over saline. While both saline and silicone breast implants can satisfactorily increase the size of the breast, the feel of silicone and its lack of detectable implant failure (the breast will not change size if the implant ruptures) make it a compelling choice for many patients. With the option of silicone breast implants and the historic ‘hangover’ from what transpired with them in the 1990s, the question of their safety (for patients usually over 35 years of age, anyone younger has no recollection of this highly publicized debate) is frequently asked.
The answer to silicone breast implant safety comes from an appreciation of what they are made of and the extensive amount of in-depth studies which have been done on them. One could certainly argue that the FDA, which pulled them from the market in the first place, must have had some very compelling evidence to allow silicone breast implants to be re-introduced back into the breast augmentation market. That compelling issue aside, the silicone material itself provides reassurance in my opinion.
Silicone, derived from elemental silicon, is no longer used in breast implants an oil or liquid but a gel (filler material) or a rubber consistency (containment sac) In short, it is a stable inert material that is not ‘free’ to go migrating throughout the body. More solid silicone has been used for decades as part of many medical devices such as catheter coatings and facial and testicular implants. Manufactured silicone is remarkably stable and extremely non-reactive in the body. Today’s silicone breast implants act more like solid silicone devices than a liquid or oil. It is no surprise then that those historic concerns, allegedly involving reactions to free-floating silicone particles, are no longer a concern in contemporary silicone breast augmentation.
Dr Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana