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Since they were introduced in the 1960s, breast implants have become the instant solution for many women who aren't satisfied with their breasts. Fueled by the glowing testimonials of movie stars, fashion icons, and other celebrities who have had breast implants, the industry grew by leaps and bounds owing mostly to the insecurities and fears of women with small breasts.
The National Research Center for Women and Families reported that over 100,000 American women and teenagers underwent surgery to have breast implants in 1997. That figure tripled in 2005 with over 360,000 women undergoing the procedure.
Breast implants are silicone shells that are either filled with saline (salt water) or silicone gel. Saline-filled breast implants are pre-filled or filled during surgery while silicone gel implants are pre-filled. These are implanted either under the breast tissue or chest muscle for augmentation.
Breast implants come in various shapes and sizes. Aside from increasing breast size, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health said implants are also used in revision surgery to correct problems of the original breast augmentation surgery, and to replace breast tissue following cancer surgery or one that has failed to develop due to a severe breast abnormality.
Despite its popularity, breast augmentation carries a lot of health, cosmetic, and economic risks that increase over time. The FDA said these include complications like breast pain, chest wall deformity, delayed wound healing, infection, inflammation, nipple or breast changes, redness, bruising, and rupture or deflation of the implant that may require additional operations or removal of the implant itself. In 2004 alone, over 50,000 implant removal procedures were reported.
But the worse is yet to come. The FDA added that removing breast implants may also produce undesirable and irreversible breast changes such as wrinkling, dimpling, puckering, and breast tissue loss. To this day, many safety issues remain unanswered and the long-term risks of breast implants are unknown due to the lack of scientific studies.
“Breast implants do not last forever. If you decide to get breast implants, you will likely need additional surgeries on your breasts over your lifetime due to rupture, other complications (for example, capsular contracture, breast pain), or unacceptable cosmetic outcomes (for example, asymmetry, unsatisfactory style/size, wrinkling/rippling),” the FDA said.
“Experts also advise women to have realistic expectations about breast implants. There is no guarantee that the results will match those of other women. Overall health, age, chest structure, the shape and position of the breast and nipple, skin texture, the tendency to bleed, prior breast surgeries, and the surgical team's skill and experience all figure into the outcome of breast implant surgeries,” added Carol Rados in the FDA Consumer magazine.