Silicone regains popularity
Silicone regains popularity

By Jeff Raymond

Published: November 28, 2007

After ending a 14-year hiatus from the market last November, silicone breast implants are gaining in popularity in Oklahoma.

The Food and Drug Administration pulled silicone implants, which doctors describe as having the consistency of gummy bear candy, from the market in 1992 after women reported they leaked, causing disfigurement and disease.

But research published in this month's issue of the Annuals of Plastic Surgery showed no increased risk of cancers and other disorders among women who have had silicone implants.

Many women prefer the firmer silicone to saline, two Oklahoma City plastic surgeons say. Silicone implants feel and look more natural and don't have the "ripples” that occur around the edges of saline implants.

The number of women who ask for silicone has grown tenfold in the last year, he said, adding that women now have an option they didn't have before.

Nevertheless, he said, "There's still a lot of people with a lot of reservations about silicone. They're mostly unfounded I think.”

When patients ask him which implant he recommends, he tells them the silicone model is lighter, softer and a better match for women's tissue. However, saline implants cost about $4,200 compared to $5,200 for the silicone option.

"It's like generic versus brand name,” he said.

Insurance normally does not pay for breast augmentation.

"I don't think it's a time bomb, and the timing is different from one woman to another,” Brou said. "I think the great majority of people are perfectly happy with their results, and the minority experience complications that are mild.”

Dr. Stephen C. Gauthier, an Oklahoma City plastic surgeon who is completing board certification, said about three-quarters of his patients prefer silicone.

"The thing that patients need to remember is that even saline implants have a silicone shell,” he said, adding that the silicone wouldn't escape from the new models.

However, he said, plastic surgeons should provide options and not attempt to talk patients into choosing one implant over the other. Also, the FDA does not allow silicone implants in women who are younger than 22 years old.

Using silicone in medicine is nothing new, Gauthier noted. He uses the substance on the skin of burn patients at Integris Baptist Medical Center. He said he hopes new implants would last longer than their predecessors, perhaps longer than 15 years.

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