pureheart@earthlink.net

Silicone breast implants: Are they safe?

Are silicone breast implants now considered safe? Why did the Food and
Drug Administration ban them in the first place?

No name / No state given

In October 2003, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel
recommended lifting the FDA's ban on silicone breast implants. Since
1992, the FDA has restricted the use of silicone breast implants
— primarily to medical studies — after claims that the
implants had caused a variety of serious medical conditions. A 1999
Institute of Medicine study found that breast implants don't cause
cancer, lupus or other chronic conditions — although they can
rupture and cause other problems. The decision to lift restrictions is
controversial. Studies presented to the panel showed little evidence
that implants cause serious disease. But many people have raised
concerns that studies didn't follow women long enough. The FDA won't
vote on the panel's recommendation until 2004. Until the FDA and,
subsequently, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons change their
position on silicone breast implants, Mayo Clinic doctors support
current restrictions.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=AN00672&si=2318