Top Ten Things You Should Know About Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants

By Dr. Jennifer L. Walden*

1. About 383,000 women had Breast Augmentation surgery in 2006, making it the most common cosmetic surgical procedure among women (Source: ASAPS).

2. About 2 million American women have breast implants, with 70% used in aesthetic breast enhancement surgery, and 30% in reconstruction (Source: ASPS). 

3. The shell of both silicone and saline-filled breast implants is made of a silicone.  The gel inside silicone gel-filled implants is made of a cohesive, natural feeling form of silicone.

4. Silicone is used in many other areas of medicine such as heart valves, pacemakers, catheters, and joint prostheses.

5. Despite the negative press that silicone implants has received, no study to date has ever linked implants to cancer or autoimmune disease, as seen in many scientific studies over the past twenty years.

6. U.S. women now have access to implants that are already available as an option in more than 75 countries, especially to the primary breast augmentation patient.

7. Long term data on the safety and effectiveness of silicone implants has been gathered over the years through many studies by plastic surgeons and both implant companies with large patient numbers—the clinical adjunct study (that follows women who currently have silicone implants in) has over 80,000 participants!

8. Current studies show that patients are highly satisfied with their gel implants whether used for breast augmentation, reconstruction, or revision. 

9. The cohesive gel that breast implants are made of today is more form-stable, with better retention of shape and design to minimize silicone migration.

10. Silicone gel-filled implants offer women a soft, natural option for augmentation with optimal aesthetic results!

*Dr. Walden is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Manhattan who performs augmentation with both silicone and saline-filled breast implants. She is a principal investigator in both Mentor and Allergan’s Clinical Adjunct Studies as well as the Post-Approval Study and Breast Implant Follow-Up Study for collecting long-term data on silicone gel-filled breast implants. She has been featured on the CBS Early Show on the FDA release of silicone-filled breast implants and on ABC 20/20 on the safety of silicone breast implants. 

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