Dangers of silicone breast implants

A lot of women often opt for having surgery for breast implants without thinking about the dangers of silicone breast implants. Recent statistics reveal that 249,000 women undergo breast implant surgery each year and the number is continuing to rise. Modern women are driven by insecurities to be more attractive to men by getting larger breasts and often choose to undergo this surgical procedure. Women feel they can increase their self worth and feel better about themselves this way without every once giving thought to the dangers of silicone breast implants. There are some women who do not do their own research and who do not know about the dangers of silicone breast implants before they undergo this kind of surgery. It is naïve to undergo such a radical procedure without knowing all the dangerous consequences.

If you are contemplating breast implant surgery you should know the dangers of silicone breast implants. One of the biggest dangers is that silicone breast implants can rupture and leak inside the body. The woman can be unaware that the silicone breast implant is leaking for months. Silicone breast implants are made from a silicone shell filled with silicone gel. The shell can be nicked or damage during surgery or rupture afterwards. These types of breast implants were banned from the general public by the FDA in 1992 because of reports of leakages of dangerous silicone gel in the body and women getting sick. All kinds of lawsuits were filed against the makers of silicone gel breast implants. In 2006, silicone breast implants were once again allowed by the FDA after a decade or more of study about the dangers of silicone breast implants. Silicone breast implant manufactures improved their silicone breast implants so that they are now a more cohesive gel implant and less likely to leak. However, there are toxic chemicals in the silicone gel which many women can suffer immune reactions to if it leaks in the body.

Some of the women who have testified about the dangers of silicone breast implants have experienced things like rashes, unexplained illness, open sores, hair loss, leaking silicone, memory loss, muscle weakness, and mental confusion. Some women in the lawsuit had developed lupus, fibromyalgia, sceleroderma, rehematoid arthritis and other serious disease after having silicone gel implants.

One of the dangers of silicone breast implants is the fact that it is difficult to monitor breast health. Silicone breast implants can interfere with the accuracy of mammograms so breast cancers may not be caught quickly. Frequent expensive Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is usually advised for women who have silicone beast implants. Other dangers of silicone breast implants are the loss of sensation in the nipples and the possibility of capsular contracture. Capsular contracture is a painful condition where scar tissue tightens the silicone implant inside the breast. Infection sets in followed by severe pain in the breast. When this happens the woman must undergo another breast surgery to remove the implant. Antibiotics will also have to be taken to heal the infection caused by the silicone implant.

Before any woman chooses to undergo breast implant surgery she should learn all she can about the dangers of silicone breast implants. There are other breast implants, such as the saline breast implants, that may be a better option. Each woman who undergoes breast implant surgery should be aware of the risks and benefits associated with all types of breast augmentation procedures. The pain that many women suffer after silicone breast implant surgery can last the rest of their life. The pain can be caused just from having silicone implants in the body. The good news is that silicone breast implants can be removed if the woman decides later that the dangers of silicone breast implants are not worth having larger breasts.

Last updated on Feb 26th, 2011 and filed under Plastic Surgery. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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