Thursday, June 23, 2011

Breast implants safe but Not lifetime devices

Silicone gel-filled implants are not lifetime devices, and the longer they're in the body, the more likely there'll be complications, U.S. health regulators said Wednesday. After getting silicone implants, women still need to be vigilant.
Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, was quick to warn that follow-up visits, along with routine MRI scans, are crucial for all women who receive the implants to screen for infection and ruptures. And most women who get the implants will need to replace them or have additional surgery within eight to 10 years.
"The longer the woman has the silicone implant, the more likely she is to have experienced complications," said Shuren in today's press conference.
Experts said 5 million to 10 million women worldwide have breast implants. While the most common complications include hardening around the implants, which can lead to pain, wrinkling, asymmetrical pain, infection and implant rupture, most women report satisfaction
No evidence that silicone breast implants cause breast cancer, they did touch upon anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a rare type of cancer that made headlines this winter when the FDA explored its occurrence among a small group of women who had breast implants. Shuren said there are 34 cases in published literature and, at most, 60 cases worldwide, of the rare lymphoma among the millions of women with implants.

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