In our experience, Silicone Implants are far more popular with patients than are Saline Implants because of their more natural ‘feel’ and the fact that they cannot spontaneously deflate like Saline Implants.
Silicone implants were at the centre of great controversy in the late 80s/early 90s amid fears and claims that silicone could cause various auto-immune diseases such as scleroderma or an arthritis-like illness. This prompted a number of major independent world studies, in particular those of:
- “The Institute of Medicine” commissioned by the US Congress;
- “The National Scientific Panel” appointed by the US courts;
- “The Scientific & Technical Options Assessment Programme” commissioned by the European Parliament; and
- “The Independent Review Group” in the United Kingdom, commissioned by the British Minister of Health
Each of the above studies concluded that there is no increased risk of auto-immune disease and that breast feeding is safe in patients with silicone gel implants.
Similarly, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued the following statement on 26 September 1991:
“There is no conclusive evidence at present that women with breast implants have an increased risk of developing arthritis-like diseases or other auto-immune diseases. Women with breast implants who have developed such diseases may have done so regardless of their implants”.
As a result of the above studies, silicone implants once again became available. However, unlike the former silicone implants which contained a liquid silicone gel that would run out through a ruptured implant wall, all silicone implants nowadays contain a cohesive silicone gel which, in the event of wall rupture, will not flow out of the implant to the extent the liquid silicone did.
