Breast implants have
been used since
the end of the 19th century. Scientists tried different substances like
ground rubber, ivory, Terylene wool, polyethylene, ox cartilage
–
and it is frightful to imagine what else. All these remedies had many
side effects, thus, after paraffin injections patients got lumps,
infections and hardening of the breast. Having disappointed in glass
balls and gutta-percha, surgeons decided to apply more
“natural” material – tissue extracted
from fat
deposits of buttock and abdomen. Fatty tissue transplantation has
become a major advance of the 1920's, yet the success didn't last too
long. Unfortunately this kind of breast implants didn't take roots
either: the body reabsorbed fatty tissue, resulting in flabby skin,
asymmetric breasts and long scars. Such conspicuous failure became a
serious obstacle to breast implant development.
Between the 1950's and 1960's many breast augmentation methods
including silicone injections were applied. This approach to breast
enlargement was generally used by striptease dancers of San Francisco
and Los Angeles. However, this type of breast
implants
was also imperfect: many operated woman had to undergo mastectomy
– a procedure of surgical removal of breasts. Among other breast
implant complications there were infections, tumors and
chronic inflammation.
Silicone
implants
appeared in the early 1960s. Besides many advantages they have some
weak points, for example capsular contracture or rupture and gel bleed,
provoked by thin walls of the shell. By 1982 breast implant
manufactures began to cover the shells with polyurethane foam, but soon
it was found unhealthy and rather dangerous. According to the FDA
report polyurethane foam can decay forming carcinogen.
Another type of breast implant was a trilucent implant, developed in
1995 in Europe. It was considered more “healthy”
because
the shell was filled with fat from soybean oil, however, four years
later it was also rejected due to its toxic effect.
The first breast implant approved by the FDA was saline-filled implants
in spite of their frequent breakage. Nowadays both silicone and saline
breast implants are authorized, the choice depends on woman's state of
health, skin texture, breast shape and size.
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