Breast Enhancement Information - The History Of Silicone Gel Implants

Silicone gel implants are considered as the most common and today's most popular form of breast implants used in breast augmentation surgeries. It was the first to be widely accepted by the medical field followed by saline implants. Now, these two are commonly used in breast surgeries, but silicone gel implants generally still have the upper hand.

Silicone gel implants are implants filled with silicone gel and encased in a silicone shell. It is called a gel because the material inside is not liquid but is also not solid. Silicone gel implants have been in the business for several years now since it was first discovered as a plausible material for breast augmentation back in the 1960s.

It was first invented by plastic surgeons Cronin and Gerow, and was made commercially available in 1962. Some years after they were invented, silicone gel implants got their first taste of controversy when studies showed that the silicone gel may be carcinogenic after a study was done on rats. However, the Committee on Carcinogenicity ruled out the case as only pertaining to the tested animals. Thus, silicone gel implants were in the clear.

However, early results were not good, so it took a long while before silicone gel implants became successful and safe for breast surgery. During this time, the implants went under thorough study, testing, and improvements. In 2006, silicone breast implants finally gained the approval of the FDA.

When silicone gel implants became widely accepted, it became the primary form of breast implant material used for breast augmentation surgeries. They became significantly popular during the late 1980s and the early 1990s when the cosmetic surgery field experienced a sudden boom. However, at such popularity, the FDA took it as their responsibility to run more studies in order to rule out medical risks of using silicone gel implants for breast augmentation surgeries, so the FDA banned silicone gel for use in surgeries other than reconstructive surgery. During that time, FDA asked silicone implant manufacturers to provide technical data about the implants. The Agency staged a moratorium on the silicone implants while the issue was being reviewed.

A number of complications linked to silicone-based breast augmentation surgeries propelled even greater controversy. A study dedicated to these complications was conducted in 1997. The biggest complications faced were capsular contracture and silicone gel implant leakage, both of which are now easily controlled. The issue of silicone gel implant leakage was resolved when the outer shell used in silicone gel implants was changed (the original polyurethane foam showed signs of degradation during tests). The study that preceded the FDA's eventual approval and recognition took 15 long years, during which silicone implants were placed under extreme scrutiny. But in the end, the FDA finally gave silicone gel implants its much-needed thumbs up.

Undeniably, silicone gel implants are the most studied and the most scrutinized device of the medical world. Decades of studies and tests were spent on them and the breast augmentation procedure itself. And now, the FDA has given silicone gel implants and silicone breast surgeries the green light, and manufacturers now provide silicone gel implants widely to meet the growing supply of this particular cosmetic surgery procedure.

Of course, no surgery goes without risks, but silicone gel implants have managed to establish their safety and feasibility despite this. The decades of research that supports the use of silicone gel implants in breast augmentation provided enough historical data to back up the credibility that this breast augmentation device has now achieved. And with this, a lot of women are finally able to give their breasts a boost using safe silicone gel implants for cosmetic enhancement purposes only.