Index: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Home > Breast implant

A breast implant is a technique used in cosmetic surgery to increase the size of one's breasts or to reconstruct the breast (for example, after a mastectomy). There are three types of breast implants:

Saline-filled which have an external silicone shell and are filled with sterile saline liquid. These implants are currently the only ones available in the United States.

Silicone gel-filled which have an external silicone shell and are filled with silicone gel. They are not currently available for implant in the United States, but future regulation may change this. In the 60 countries outside the United States where silicone implants remain available, they are used in approximately 90% of implant operations.

String implant, a third, much less common type of implant. This implant uses a polypropylene material as an implant. String implants are unique in that they cause the breast to perpetually expand after surgery, and are preferred by those women who choose to have the largest breasts possible. They are not currently available for implant in the United States, but future regulation may change this.

1 History

Breast implants have been used at least since 1865 to augment the size of women's breasts. The earliest known implant occurred in Germany in which fat from a benign tumor was removed from a woman's back and implanted in her breast. In following years the medical community experimented with implants of various materials, most commonly paraffin. The first use of silicone as breast-implant material may have been by Japanese prostitutes in the period immediately following World War II.

2 Risks and controversy

In the United States, implants from silicone gel were banned by the Food and Drug Administration because of growing concerns about the safety of such implants. More than one million women had availed themselves of the implants at the time of the ban, and the subsequent litigation led manufacturers to agree to a settlement of USD$4.25 billion. The degree of risk associated with silicone-gel breast implants is still a matter of debate within the scientific community.

The health hazards of breast implants have been debated greatly in recent years. Some people believe that breast implants cause such illnesses as autoimmune disease, although both the AMA and FDA have found there to be no evidence of this. [1]. However, documented problems with breast implants include rupture, deflation, infection, scarring and hardening of the implants. [2]

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons , breast augmentation is the most commonly performed cosmetic surgical procedure on women in the United States. In 20022002 is a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). 2002 was the first palindromic year since 1991 and the last until 2112. 2002 was also designated: International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains National Science Year in the United Kingdom, 236,888 women in the U.S. underwent breast augmentation. [3] According to the National Institute for Women , one in four silicone implant recipients must undergo surgery, within 5 years, to correct implant problems.

See also: breast reconstruction, breast reductionBreast reduction is a surgical procedure which involves the reduction in the size of breasts; it may also involve lifting of the breasts. As with breast augmentation, this procedure is almost universally performed exclusively on women. It is formally know, breast fetishism

3 External links

SurgerySurgery is the medical specialty that treats diseases or injuries by operative manual and instrumental treatment. Its practitioners are referred to as surgeons''. History of surgery Although surgeons are now considered to be specialised physicians, the pr

<Hide>

Topics: Breast Implant, History, Risks And Controversy, External Links...

Breast reconstructionBreast reconstruction is the rebuilding of a breast, usually in women. It involves using existing flesh or prosthetic material to construct a natural-looking breast. Often this even includes the reformation of a natural-looking areola and nipple. This pro	Breastmilk to feed infants. The term breasts can refer to the upper ventral region of the human torso. Alternatively the term is used for each of two parts of that, especially for women: the breasts are parts of the female human body that contain the organs tha	BreastfeedingBreastfeeding is the practice of a woman feeding an infant (or sometimes a toddler or a young child) with milk produced from her mammary glands, usually directly from the nipples. Babies have a sucking instinct allowing them to extract the milk. While man
Breast cancerBreast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. Worldwide, it is the most common form of cancer in females, affecting approximately 10% of all women at some stage of their life in the Western world. Although significant efforts are made to achieve early detecti	Breast implantTopics relating to transitioning A breast implant is a technique used in cosmetic surgery to increase the size of one's breasts or to reconstruct the breast (for example, after a mastectomy). There are three types of breast implants: Saline-filled which h	Breast pumpA breast pump is a mechanical device that extracts milk from the breasts of a woman who is lactating. Mechanically, a breast pump is directly analogous to a milking machine used in commercial dairy production. The expressed breast milk may be stored, for
Breaststroke	Breast self-examination	Breast reduction
Breast milk	Breast engorgement

Non User