17 novembre, 2006 13:24

FDA approves silicone breast implants again

FROM CNN.COM

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FDA is allowing silicone breast implants to be sold once again, 14 years after they were removed by the same agency over questions of safety.

The approved silicone implants are made by two companies, Inamed Aesthetics and Mentor. In 1992 then-FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler took silicone breast implants off the market, citing concerns over their safety, including how often they rupture in a woman's body and whether leaking silicone

Could lead to diseases as some women claimed.

After the ban they were available only to women in clinical trials who needed them after surgery, especially after breast cancer. At that point, lawsuits over the products drove one of the the manufacturers, Dow Corning, into bankruptcy.

Since then, most studies have failed to link the implants to serious or chronic diseases such as cancer and lupus, but questions remained over how often the implants rupture and what happens if the silicone enters the body. (Posted 5:02 p.m.)