Can the silicone shell of a saline breast implant cause silicone toxicity or silicosis?
This subject is controversial. All breast implants, whether filled with saline or silicone gel, have an out shell made of solid silicone. There are no certifiable cases of silicone toxicity caused directly and solely from the silicone shell or gel of a breast implant. Silicon is a very common element. Silicone is any of a family of chemical polymer compounds that contain chains of silicon and oxygen. Silica is silicon dioxide, which is the main ingredient of sand, quartz, and glass. Silicosis is a lung disease cause by inhaling crystalline silica powder. Only crystalline silica can cause silicosis, which primarily occurs in industrial workers who deal with silica, such as stone workers or people working in foundries. So not only is silicosis not caused by silicone, you have to inhale silica to get the disease. This means that the amorphous silica in the silicone of the implant must selectively detach itself out of its solid form and must somehow transform into a crystalline form and th
