Myrl Jeffcoat myrlj@jps.net

22 mars, 2005 10:27

Silicone Migration and Leakage: The Starting Point for Disease

Implant manufacturers have maintained for many years that silicone implants are safe and inert. Yet simply lacing an implant on a paper napkin will produce an observable absorption of gel on the paper within hours. While this “bleeding” effect does not, in itself, prove toxicitiy, it certainly raises reasonable doubts about silicone safely remaining within the implant. This “bleeding,” moreover occurs in all implant recipients, and is the first—and fastest—means by which the body can be exposed to silicone.

It is hypothesized that because the gel and the outer envelope are both made from the same material—elemental silicone and oxygen—it is possible for the gel to slip through the microscopic pores in the outer envelope due to pressure (from wearing a bra or carrying a grocery bag against the chest, for example) or even due to the simple force of gravity over time.

I have talked to so many doctors who know absolutely nothing about it…

After having her polyurethane foam-coated implants explanted due to many years of problems—including gallbladder removal, pneumonia, hospitalizations, irritable bowel syndrome, memory loss, and joint pain—Nina had a mammogram that was interpreted by three different doctors as indicating breast cancer. She claims her plastic surgeon id a “rushed botch job” in removing the implants (her primary-care physician literally had “to scream at the surgeon on the phone” to get him to do the explantation in the first place), leaving behind large amounts of silicone gel that had escaped into her body. Nina’s heart sank when she was told she needed mastectomies on both breasts. In desperation, she got a fourth opinion and was told that what looked like cancerous growths on her mammogram may have been gel residue from the implant. She was operated on, and a voluminous amount of leaked gel was removed. No sign of cancer was found in either breast. Recovery from silicone disease remains quite slow for her, however.

Then, of course, there is the risk of leakage due to rupture, which is virtually equivalent (physiologically_ to gel injection. This can occur regardless of whether the implant is placed directly under the breast tissue (between the mammary glands and the chest muscle) or under the chest muscle against the chest wall. Many factors have been shown to cause rupture—from a cut during a breast biopsy, to the bite of an infant, to the pressure exerted by a shoulder strap during an automobile accident. Highly active women who ski or windsurf may also put too much stress on their implants, causing the seams to burst open and gel to leak into the body. Wherever the silicone goes, scarring, swelling, and inflammation may occur. [page 22-23 retyped from: “The Silicone Breast Implant Controversy – Frank Vasey, MD, and Josh Feldstein]