OK, this is not “news” per se since its from August of last year, but I just found it and it is pretty funny. Perhaps the Mentor and Allergan folks should use this as part of their marketing.
An Israeli woman was injured during an Hezbollah attack. As it turns out she was saved from serious injury by her Silicone Breast Implants. You can read the full story in the Australian Daily Telegraph.
I think this sums it up:
”This is an extraordinary case, but it’s a fact that the silicone implants prevented her from a more serious and deeper wound,”.
There you have it, silicone saves lives.
So, knowing that, I wonder if an implant size tester kit would work as well? Might we see the Envision system under the body armor of our female troops? Or better still, under the body armor of our male troops ;>
It’s always interesting to me to hear the Canadian view. Canada, our neighbor to the north is so very different from us.
For instance, they have socialized medicine. The author of this article surmises that as the reason that the Canadian Health officials haven’t instituted the same recommendation for regular MRIs for silcone implanted women.
More shocking, and not necessarily a Canadian only response, is this:
Imagine your playful, innocent, seven-year-old daughter examining her reflection in the mirror. Her expression is grim. She turns to you and inquires, “Do you think I need breast implants?”
I mean, holy crap! What an awful realization – our breast obsessed culture is going deep if a 7 y.o. is worried about her lack of breasts.
It’s all good though, thankfully here south of the border we don’t let our kids get exposed to such things – or do we?
ABC News reports today that women don’t seem to be lining up for the new silicone breast implants. One New York City surgeon, who is also the official spokesperson for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, cites concerns raised by the billions in lawsuits and teh 14 year moratorium.
“Many women are excited by the lifting of restrictions on silicone gel, but many more remain concerned about the safety of silicone gel,” Friedman says. “After $3 billion of lawsuits and a 14-year federally-mandated moratorium, it is no surprise that silicone gel remains controversial.
“I think that we may be sending out mixed messages by putting in silicone gel implants in the 1980s, taking them out in the 1990s, and putting them in again in the 2000s.”
I think the message is pretty clear – the FDA has taken a new stance based on significant improvements made by (and lobbying by) the manufacturers of these implants.
What I personally found interesting, having just watched the demonstration video was that even though the new silicone gel is cohesive it doesn’t hold it’s shape completely. So, there may still be an opportunity for it to seep a little if ruptured.
Here’s a promotional video from one of the manufacturers – the part I’m talking about is at least 1/2 way through.
The LA Times reports this week on continuing concerns with the use of silicone.
In the article, one surgeon in Dallas is quoted, saying:
In the last 14 years, I have removed implants from almost 1,000 women. I have found roughly 50% of their implants have ruptured within 10 years, and more than 70% have ruptured within 15 years. We are still not sure of all the places where the micro-droplets of silicone end up, though I have found it in lymph nodes.
Even the FDA web site indicates that implants are not permanent — this, by the way, was one of the more surprising discoveries to me as I started researching this procedure. The FDA even has a “Breast Implant Q& A” which answers a number of questions including “How long do breast implants last?“
One has to admit that with so much continuing controversy it begs the question of “what’s the price of beauty”?
I’ve been hunting for scholarly articles which track the incidence of resurgery comparing saline to silicone, but haven’t found any yet. The best I’ve come up with so far is from breastimplants411.com where Dr. Kim a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon discusses the issue.
One point Dr. Kim makes, which I’ve heard repeated by other surgeons, is that the modern silicone implants are a cohesive gel, and therefore less likely to leak even in the case of a rupture.
Ultimately, like so many other things in life, it’s a matter of weighing risk and reward.
