Fake breasts, real problems

In January 1992, the FDA started down a path that would lead to what is now essentially a ban on silicone gel breast implants. The FDA currently allows the silicone gel implants to be used in two circumstances. The first is for use in women who have undergone a mastectomy. The second circumstance is if they agree to be tracked as part of a long-term study.\nWell, because the silicone gel breast implants have a much more natural feel than the saline version currently in use, there has been an incredible number of women interested in participating in the long-term studies.\nAccordingly, a large number of studies have been conducted since the 1992 ban. These studies tend to exonerate silicone gel breast implants from the numerous charges that resulted in their ban.\nOne of the most recent studies released on the matter was by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences on June 21, 1999. The study covered the relationship between silicone gel implants and systemic diseases. "This investigation discovered no association between silicone gel implants and cancer, immunologic disease, or other systemic diseases." It also concluded that implants "pose no risk for breast-feeding or to unborn infants" ("Silicone-Gel Breast Implants: Health and Regulatory Update 2000" by Rodney J. Rohrich, M.D., and Arshad R. Muzaffar, M.D.).\nIn May 2001, the FDA published in the Journal of Rheumatology the findings of its study of the health effects of ruptured silicone gel breast implants. The FDA found that "women with MRI diagnosed breast implant rupture were no more likely than women with intact implants to report that they had either persistent symptoms or diagnosed illnesses."\nSome of the critics of the implants argue that silicone is just not safe for implantation in the human body because of its very nature.\nBut this just doesn't jive with the multitude of other ways in which we implant silicone into our bodies. According to the National Library of Medicine, silicone implants are "located literally throughout every part of the body." Silicone is used to "construct heart valves and other cardio-vascular prostheses." It is also used in "dentistry; in the gastro-intestinal tract, as a facilitator for nerve regeneration; in ophthalmology; in the ear, nose, throat and the respiratory tract; as a prosthesis or ingredient in prostheses for many parts of the skeletal system; as a tissue expander; as a cosmetic agent for treatment of scars and wrinkles; in the urological tract, including penile prostheses; and in many other applications."\nStanding on the back of these positive findings, Inamed Corp. of Santa Barbara, Calif., has applied for approval to sell their particular version of the implants (which they have sold in Europe for many years without problems) in the United States (Associated Press, Oct. 9).\nAlthough the science has cleared many of the allegations about the implants, certain feminist groups and other various and sundry critics are not satisfied. They curse the silicone breast implants as the cause of pain for those who have them. According to the AP, these groups are planning to unleash negative ads depicting "implants as ticking bombs in women's bodies."\nPersonally, I believe that women should have the right to choose what they put in their bodies. Now, if this means that they elect to ingest only organically grown fruits and vegetables (although since they are all carbon-based, one could argue they're all organic), so be it. But if it means that they want to use the most natural looking and feeling implant to bolster their self-image, so be it as well.