What You Should Know About Silicone Breast Implants For Breast Augmenation

Silicone Breast Implants

What You Should Know About Silicone Breast Implants For Breast Augmenation

17 November 2006 The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of the use of the Mentor and Allergan (Inamed Corporation) silicone breast implants in the United States has raised many questions among women in southern California, especially those in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills.

Prospective Los Angeles breast augmentation patients want to know if they can now receive silicone gel-filled breast implants and if so, what types of silicone breast implants are available? And what are the potential adverse effects or problems?

Candidates for silicone breast implants

• Only women at 22 years and older can get silicone implants for breast augmentation or breast enlargement.

• Women of all ages will enjoy getting silicone implants for breast reconstruction protection.

Contraindications for use of silicone breast implants

Breast implant surgery should not be performed on:

• Women with active infection anywhere in your body

• Women with existing cancer or pre-cancer of their breast who have not received adequate treatment for these conditions

• Women who are currently pregnant or breastfeeding

You should also know that silicone gel-filled breast implants have not been tested on men with clinically:

• Autoimmune diseases such as lupus or scleroderma

• Conditions that could interfere with wound healing and blood clotting

• A weakened immune system (such as women receiving immunosuppressive therapy)

• Reduced blood supply to breast tissue

• Radiation after breast implant

• clinical diagnosis of depression or other psychiatric disorders including body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders (Please discuss any history of psychiatric disorders before surgery)

Differences in the use of saline and silicone breast implants

Unlike saline breast implants, which are filled with saline after insertion in the body, silicone breast implants are pre-filled with silicone. Therefore, silicone breast implants, especially cohesive gel, memory gel "sticky Bear" and the contour profile gel implants require a larger incision for insertion of the implant. Indeed, the FDA does not allow the use of periumbilical approach (tuba) for the insertion of silicone implants, because the excessive squeezing or manipulation during insertion can damage the silicone gel-filled breast implants.

What are some of the important factors you should consider when deciding whether to get silicone gel-filled breast implants?

• Breast implants do not last forever. If you decide to get breast implants, you will probably need further operations on your breasts over your lifetime because of complications or unsatisfactory cosmetic results.

• Many of the changes to your breasts following implantation can not be undone. If you later choose to have your implants removed and not replaced, your breasts will not switch back to the way they looked before your implant surgery. You may have permanent dimpling, pucks ring, wrinkling or other cosmetic changes.

• Once you have your implants replaced (revision), the risk of complications increases in proportion to your primary (first) surgery.

• Routine mammograms to screen for breast cancer will become more difficult with breast implants.

• Breast implants may affect your ability to breastfeed, either by reducing or eliminating milk production.

• If your silicone gel-filled breast implants break, it is likely that neither you nor your doctor will know. This is known as a silent rupture. Therefore, an MRI is recommended at three years after implantation and then every two years to screen for rupture. But sometimes there are symptoms. These include hard knots or lumps surrounding the implant or in the armpit, change or loss of size or shape of the breast or implant, and pain, tingling, swelling, numbness, burning, or hardening of the breast.

• During your lifetime, the cost of MRI screening may exceed the cost of your initial surgery. The MRI screening costs may not be covered by health insurance.

• All silicone breast implants "soft" or leak a very minute amount of silicone. However, worldwide studies have not linked to any disease silicone bleed.

What are the different types of silicone breast implants available?

Both Mentor and Allergan manufacture a range of silicone breast implants. Produces Mentor silicone implants of varying severity depending on the degree of cohesiveness silicone. The so-called "sticky bear" implants are more cohesive silicone gel-filled breast implants made of firm silicone gel filler to help maintain the shape of the implant.

Potential complications of silicone Gel-filled Breast Implants

The Mentor and Allergan core studies, the most frequent complication was re-operation (additional surgery) - 25-35 percent. Capsular contracture, or hardening of the breast (13-17 percent) was another frequent complication. More common complications include implant removal (7-10 percent), breast pain (7-8 percent), nipple shields sensation changes (1.5 percent), rupture (2.7-4 percent), and Asymmetry (3-5 percent). Complication rates were typically higher for revision surgery than for primary (first time) implants.

The decision to allow silicone breast implants

As a Los Angeles breast augmentation expert who practices in the greater Los Angeles area and near Beverly Hills, I am often asked if I would recommend silicone breast implants for my wife. Honestly, many national surveys have established the safety of silicone breast implants and have found no connection to the development of autoimmune diseases, cancer, etc.. Nevertheless, there are still unanswered questions about the long-term results (per FDA). Those who choose to get silicone implants enroll in the 10 years after the approval, so that more light may be shed on the long-term effects of these medical devices.

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