Silicone Breast Implants Increase Women’s Risk of Diseases

Silicone breast implants can lead to serious health disorders, says a new study.

Silicone breast implants can be done for reconstructive and cosmetic purposes. 

(Photo: iStockphoto)

The belief that ‘large is beautiful’ has made many young and old women opt for surgical breast implants. While cosmetic surgeries such as these are gaining popularity, they do not come without risk.

A study published in the journal Annals of Surgery, revealed the many harmful consequences that might result from silicone breast implants particularly.

Researchers from the University of Texas examined 99,993 patients, out of which around 80,000 received silicone implants while the rest had saline ones. Among them, 72 percent of the women had a breast augmentation, 15 percent had a revision augmentation, 10% had breast reconstruction and 3 percent had revision reconstruction.

The results showed some grave health outcomes for those who had silicone implants.

Women with silicone implants had six times higher risk of arthritis, 45 times higher risk of still birth and 40 times higher risk of skin cancer when compared to people without these implants.

Some other health problems included immune system disorders and chronic hardening of skin.

Dr Mark Clemens, an associate professor in the department of plastic surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center and co-author of the study, said:

We are sharing critical information on complication rates and rare associations with systemic harms.This data gives women important safety information about silicone breast implants to have real expectations and to help them choose what is right for them.

The study highlights the importance of complete information about such surgeries before considering them and also signals further research into their harms and alternatives.