Cosmetic Surgery Blog

An exhaustive review conducted to determine the safety of silicon breast implants from risks of cancer, connective tissue diseases, and other serious chronic problems have proven that this cosmetic procedure is safe. The latest review, the very first one after almost a decade, appears in an issue of Annals of Plastic Surgery that is published by Lippicott Williams and Wilkins and part of the Wolters Kluwer Health, one of the leading providers of business and information intelligence for professionals, students, and major institutions in medicine including allied health, nursing, the pharmaceutical industry and pharmacy.

The Team of Experts

The study that was led by Joseph K. McLaughlin, Ph.D., and Loren Lipworth, Sc.D from the International Epidemiology Institute and Rockville and Vanderbuilt University Medical Center, Nashville, respectively, performed comprehensive  reviews and researches as to the safety of using silicone gel-filled breast implants. Along with other colleagues, the study was the very first updated issue since a report last 1999 about the safety and the performance quality of this cosmetic procedure. The team has agreed that there is a need to perform studies, especially now that newer device and designs are introduced to the market.

A dozen of studies have been carefully evaluated regarding the risks of cancer of women after undergoing a cosmetic breast implant. Results have been remarkably consistent, showing no valid evidences of increased rates of breast cancer and other forms of cancer among women who had the cosmetic surgery. There was also one study that was reported that breast implant could increase the risks of lung cancer. However, this has been explained by experts, saying the risks of lung cancer are indeed high, but only to those women who have histories of smoking.

There have also been numerous studies that have unanimously concluded that there is no proven fact between breast implants and CTDs or connective tissue disorders. Careful reviews have concluded that there are no credible evidence that associates breast implants to some types of connective tissue disorders as well as neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis. Furthermore, no evidences are found that children born to women who have breast implants are prone to birth defects and some other health problems.

However, there is one association that has been consistently recorded in women with silicone-gel implants: suicide. This is based from a recent study conducted by the International Epidemiology Institute showing some increases in long-term suicide rates from women with silicone breast implants. The increase in suicide rate, together with recorded increase of suicide from drug dependence and alcohol, is not likely to be directly associated with breast implants per se. Instead, the direct association of suicide has gained the importance of conducting mental health screenings and follow ups for those women who seek breast implants.

The reviews conclude that the weight of those epidemiologic evidences do not practically support direct associations between breast-implant related risks like cancer to silicone-gel breast implants. Neither are they conclusive for adverse offspring effects and neurological diseases.

Further studies will still be conducted to document the increase suicide rates after having a cosmetic breast implant. These studies will focus more on the psychiatric side of medicine.

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