The FDA just released an official statement that says fake boobs are generally safe, but typically prone to failure with aging. Does that surprise us? No. Anytime you cut your body open and insert a foreign substance (um, boobs) you’re at risk for varied complications. The important part here is that women should go into breast augmentation with an awareness that fake boobs are like milk, love, and ground meat- they all spoil eventually.
…the Food and Drug Administration said that silicone breast implants are generally safe, when used as intended. And the devices don’t seem to cause autoimmune disease, breast cancer, or reproductive problems, as some previous reports had suggested. But the agency also said that women frequently have problems with the implants, so much so that they often have to have surgery to remove or replace them.
“Breast implants are not lifetime devices,” Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, head of FDA’s device division, said at a press conference. “The longer a woman has silicone-filled breast implants, the more likely she is to experience complications.”
Those complications include hardening of the breast, scarring, and rupture of the implant, which requires surgery to remove or replace it. In research on women with implants prior to 2006, 20 to 40 percent of the women who got implants for cosmetic reasons, and 40 to 70 percent of the women who got implants for reconstruction after breast cancer, had surgery to deal with problems.
[ npr ]
