Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006
Silicone Breast Implants
They're baaack! Fourteen years after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the implants because of insufficient data regarding cancer and disease risks (not to mention the danger of rupture), the agency has approved them again for women over age 22. Before reaching its decision, the FDA reviewed studies that followed women over a period of four years. Even so, the approval comes with a condition — the two implant makers, Allergan and Mentor, have to conduct a study of 40,000 women with the implants over the next 10 years to ensure that they do not suffer any greater risk of autoimmune disease, connective tissue disorders, or rupture.