Despite more than a decade of controversy over their safety, breast implants are more popular than ever among women who want to build upon what nature gave them or who want to restore what disease has taken away. Whatever the reason, opting for breast implants is a personal decision that should be made only after a woman fully understands and accepts the potential risks of the devices and the importance of follow-up evaluations with her physician.
Some people see an enormous benefit to getting implants and are willing to accept associated risks. They say that using breast implants to rebuild the breast (reconstruction), or change its size and shape (augmentation), significantly improves the quality of life for many women. Advocates of breast implants also say that a woman’s consent to the surgery should be considered valid as long as she weighs the risks and benefits of the procedure.
While every surgical procedure has potential risks, such as infection, bleeding, and scarring, there are risks that are specific to breast implants. Learning about them is key to being properly informed about the procedure.
A Primer on Breast Implants
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), there were nearly 255,000 breast enhancement implant surgeries in 2003, nearly twice the number done in 1998. Another 68,000 women received breast implants for reconstruction following mastectomy due to cancer or other disease.
But also in 2003, 45,000 augmentation patients and 17,000 reconstruction patients had their breast implants removed. The medical community and others, including the Food and Drug Administration, would like to better understand why.
Breast implants are designed for augmentation, a cosmetic procedure; reconstruction; and replacement of existing implants, called revision. There are two primary types: saline-filled and silicone gel-filled. Depending on the type of implant, the shell is either pre-filled with a fixed volume of solution or filled through a valve during the surgery to the desired size. Some allow for adjustments of the filler volume after surgery. Breast implants vary in shape, size, and shell texture.
At this time, there are two manufacturers with approved saline-filled breast implants. No manufacturer has yet received FDA approval to market a silicone gel-filled breast implant.
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