ilena

http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=1482531&nav=3w6oIX82

Are silicone breast implants making a comeback?

The Food and Drug Administration starts public hearings into lifting
the ban on the implants.

A steady stream of people, mostly women, lined up to voice their
opinions about silicone breast implants before the FDA panel. Among
the crowd are medical professionals, advocacy groups and members of
the public.

Some are there to argue for access to an implant they say feels more
natural.

Testimony will continue through Wednesday. An FDA panel recommendation
is expected late in the day, no word on when the final decision by the
FDA will be issued.

Others call the implants dangerous devices that left them scarred.

Central to the debate, is research done by one implant maker, the
Inamed Corporation. Their research suggests that silicone implants,
are no more dangerous than the saline devices.

A two-year study of more than 900 women, finds rupture and scarring
are still common problems, with rates that are comparable to saline
implants.

Within the first three years, 20 percent of cosmetic patients, and 46
percent of cancer reconstruction patients, end up with problems that
require a second surgery - but still no link to long-term illnesses.

Researcher Dr. Caroline Glicksman says, "There is no correlation
between systemic illness and silicone, and what I think it comes down
to at this panel hearing, is a woman's right to choose."

But opponents argue that women don't have enough information to make
an informed decision, and say that the evidence from the Inamed study
suggests another story.

President of the Center for Policy Research for Women and Families,
Dr. Diana Zuckerman says, "We were shocked that, in two-years, women
had an increase of pain and fatigue, hair loss and rashes. These could
be harbingers of serious autoimmune diseases later."

Information the FDA panel must weigh carefully, before it issues its
recommendation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information, please visit:

http://www.BreastImplantAwareness.org

http://www.BreastImplantInfo.org (Dr. Zuckerman's site)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you have not yet done so, please sign the petition asking the FDA
to delay any safety approval on Inamed's implants:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/705718085