Breast implants
appeared in the early 1960s. In 1976 the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA)
was charged by Congress to study silicone and saline breast implants
and their safety level. According to the statistics, between 1985 and
1996 the FDA received a great number of adverse reaction reports,
103,343 of which concerned silicone breast implants, and
23,454
– saline-filled implants. Silicone breast
implants
were out of use from 1992 to 2006, as for saline implants, they weren't
forbidden during this period and are most widespread in the USA
nowadays.
Different studies showed that silicone breast implants are not the
immediate cause of tissue diseases. Thus the Harvard Nurses' Health
Study which was guided by data from 87,501 nurses from 1976 to 1990,
proved that there was no visible connection between tissue affection
and breast implants. The article from 06/22/1995, appeared in New
England Journal of Medicine, confirmed that conclusion, adding that
there is no “association between silicone breast implants and
connective tissue disease, defined according to a variety of
standardized criteria, or signs and symptoms of these
diseases.”
516 women with developing connective tissue diseases took part in the
research, at that only 3 of them had breast implants – one
saline
implant, one silicone gel-filled and one double lumen.
However, saline breast implants are considered preferable. Having the
same silicone envelop, they are filled with salt water that is safe to
the body in case of leakage. If saline breast implants deflate, it is
detected at once, while the rupture of silicone implants can be noticed
after the silicone gel had its toxic effect. It is very important to
know the manufacture of breast implant. As FDA's breast implant
information and outreach coordinator Barbara Stellar advises,
one
should ask the surgeon for copies of the product insert sheet and
manufacturer's information sheet.
Many studies proved that the risk
of breast implant rupture increasing with the implant age. In fact, the
effect of breast implants placement isn't permanent, sooner or later,
they have to be replaced, and, perhaps, it is their main disadvantage.
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