Are silicone gel-filled breast implants safe?
Products made of solid silicone have been used within the body for decades without incident. Solid silicone is used to augment or reconstruct the cheeks, chin, brow bone, calves, pectoral areas for men, and is used in artificial joints, testicles, and heart valves. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of silicone elastomer-shelled saline-filled breast implants and silicone elastomer-shelled silicone gel-filled implants for breast augmentation and reconstruction. Some of the approved gel-filled implants are being marketed as cohesive, in that they have a thicker gel that holds its shape, sort of like a soft solid. There are a few even firmer silicone breast implants under investigation. The FDA does not approve of injections of liquid silicone, a method of breast augmentation that was used decades ago and that was found to have serious drawbacks. The liquid migrated and the body formed pockets of inflamed tissue called granulomas around the liquid. Unfortunately, s
