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One of the first uses of silicone in a medical implant came in the form of lifes

aving tubes implanted into young children to funnel excess fluid from the brain
into the chest cavity, where the fluid could be safely metabolized and excreted.
Since these "shunts" were first used, in the late 1950s, silicone in various f
orms has come to be an important part of many implants. "It is used in tracheoto
my tubes, in artificial lenses for the eye, in artificial heart valves and in fa
cial implants for birth defects or re-constructive surgery after cancer" (Ames 1
).
The most widely used implementation of silicone is through breast re-con
structive surgery through elective surgery of an individual, or re-constructive
surgery to replace breasts due to women recovering from mastectomies from breast
cancer or miscellaneous types of accidents.
The early history and use of implants showed no ill effects of the use o
f paraffin or silicone. Because of this newly developed surgical process and re
latively little use of FDA guidelines there was no comprehensive testing done to
ensure the utmost safety of a silicone recipient.
By this time the millions of women throughout the world who already had
Dow's silicone prosthesis implanted into their breasts had no idea of the dramat
ic health risks. Because of these potential health risks, women should avoid th
e use of breast implants.
In 1976, Congress gave the FDA authority to regulate breast
implants. By this time breast implants had been in use for a
significant amount of time and were considered "grandfathered."
This means that they were allowed to remain on the marke
t, even
though they have not gone through string
ent testing. The FDA felt
there was no evidence to
substantiate that the implants were
harmful. Furthe
rmore Congress also gave the FDA the power to go
back and
require manufactures to provide proof that the implants
were indeed safe and effective, if it was felt that there was a reason
to do so. (Bruning 7)
"In 1977, Richard Mithoff, a Houston attorney, wins the first lawsuit fo
r a Cleveland woman who claims that her ruptured implants and subsequent operati
ons had caused pain and suffering. She receives a $170,000 settlement from Dow C
orning. This case received little publicity" (Frontline 1).
Since this case received little attention women from all walks of life s
till continued to seek out cosmetic surgery.
In 1982 the "FDA proposed to classify silicone breast implants into a Cl
ass III category that would require manufacturers to prove their safety in order
to keep them on the market" (Frontline 2).
It wasn't until 1990 that heavy media exposure began to unveil the possi
ble links between silicone breast implants and various types of toxic disorders.
Connie Chung of Face to Face of this same year confronted Dow Corning executiv
es who vehemently denied any link to toxic disease from their silicone implants
(Frontline 2).
For better or worse, we live in a society that puts great emphasis on ap
pearance. This preference apparently knows no boundaries. In the 1940's, "Japa
nese prostitutes had their breasts injected with substances such as paraffin,
sponges and non-medical grade silicone to enlarge their breasts, believing tha
t American servicemen favor women with large breasts" (Frontline 1) this is the
case today as-well.
During the 1960's breast implants made a boom as women discover that the
re rolls in the job market can be increased by the way they look. With the help
of the sexual revolution women also found it pleasing to create a better them t
hrough breast enlargement. Not only was there a desire for women to seek this t
ype of elective surgery, but prosthetic medical use for breast implants was incr
easing dramatically from women suffering from breast cancer.
Many women have conflicting images of their breasts. On the one hand, br

easts are symbols of beauty, sexuality, and nurturing; on the other, they are tr
oublesome organs that are increasingly likely to threaten women's lives. In the
United States the likelihood that a woman will be found to have breast cancer h
as slowly and inexorably mounted since the 1930s, when some systematic data coll
ection began. The increase in diagnoses, already a cause for concern, accelerat
ed in the 1980s, growing by a rate of four percent a year. This year, according
to the American Cancer Society, some 184,300 women will discover that they have
the disease; another 44,300 will die of it. Of the women in whom cancer is diagn
osed, 9,200 will not yet be forty--nearly twice the number of women under forty
who were found to have breast cancer in 1970. "The disease is now the leading c
ause of death for American women aged forty to fifty-five, and causes women to l
ose more years of productive life than any other disease. Numbers like these are
why breast cancer is often called an epidemic" (Plotkin 2).
Silicone as a synthetic plastic was first developed in the 1930's. It c
ontains silicone, a natural material, combined with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
that have been polymerized, a process in which molecules are combined to form m
ore complex molecules. Silicone can be processed into three forms: a gel, a so
lid like compound known as elestomer, and a fluid.
Early breast implants were made of polyurethane foam, paraffin, steel, a
nd grafts of human tissue. These were not successful and when the first breast
implant became available in the 1960's through Dow Corning, they were held as a
breakthrough. Although an improvement, the first silicone implants had problems
as well.
Gradually the product improved. "With the advent of silicone gel, impla
nts felt softer and looked more natural" (Bruning 6).
With the development of the silicone implant there came about several al
ternatives besides silicone. These alternatives include gel-filled implants (th
e most frequent type used), saline-filled implants, and double lumen implants.
Some have outer shells that are textured or coated.
Since extensive research had been conducted on the development of synthe
tic implants and cosmetic surgery clinics have become increasingly popular and e
conomically affordable, women have sought out these clinics in droves. This ena
bled women to feel more confident about themselves and gave them a feeling of hi
gher employability. For example, we see many women in the movie and television
industry who have opted for a more well developed breast.
These women such as Pamela Anderson Lee, La Toya Jackson, Helen Hunt, Lonnie And
erson and Dollie Parton just to name a few, have had very successful careers not
only because of their acting or singing abilities, but because of a better endo
wed body. On a recent episode of the WB program Judge Judy that aired on Novemb
er 12, 1996, the former actress known as Roz Kelley of Happy Days fame was conte
sting a decision of a law suit about her breast implants which she claims has ca
used Rheumatic disease. Ms. Kelley claimed that her fame was based solely on he
r appearance and that is the only reason why she decided to get the surgery. A
witness for the defendant was the actress Rhonda Shear of USA's Up All Night con
tended that although her implants had helped her career, it was not why she elec
ted to have the surgery. The surgery was done out of personal choice and her st
atement for the defense was that "all women who have cosmetic surgery, make a co
nscious choice in doing so." There was no coercion involved.
Not only in Hollywood do we see this type personal enhancement performed
, but in magazines, modeling, and in the exotic entertainment industry also. Wh
y is there such a dramatic emphasis on these women who decide to increase their
bust line? That question remains known only to the individual who elects to hav
e the surgery.
Because this type of surgery has become so popular, many women in today'
s society have elected to have breast augmentation solely for cosmetic purposes.
"When the ASPRS (American Society of Plastic and Re-constructive Surgeons) sur
vey asked women why they chose to have breast augmentation, the three most commo
n reasons given were: The desire for a more proportionate build (93%), a more a
ppealing appearance (83%), and a boost in self confidence (76%)" (Bruning 27).
The ideal woman started to become taller and thinner. Men desired slim hips and

large breasts. This image screams at us day and night on TV, at the movies, in
magazines and newspapers, and at the health clubs. Women have fallen into the
epitome of "buy this product and you will belong to the club of the attractive a
nd well endowed" (Bruning 27).
In Septe
mber of 1991 the FDA after receiving numerous complaints issued a public report
stating that silicone breast implants would not be deemed safe or harmful until
further studies could be conducted. This statement outraged many women who had
already began to feel the effects of their implants. "Implants, both ruptured a
nd intact, have been charged with causing a tremendous array of diseases. These
range from memory loss to difficulty swallowing to joint pain to decreased sex d
rive to "skin tightening" to autoimmune diseases and even to cancer. Some have r
eferred to this broad constellation of symptoms as "silicone gel syndrome" (Doyl
e 1). The first public hint of serious problems did not surface until 1977, whe
n an investigative story of breast enlargement was published by Ms. Magazine con
tained a revealing article the headline "A 60% Complication Rate for an Operatio
n You Don't Need" (Bryne 81-82).
After a shocking discovery from investigating Dow Corning's
internal memo's, thousands of these memo's revealed lack of long
term testing, complaints from doctors, and leakage of silicone from
the implants. The most outrageous incident discovered was
complaints from surgeons of implants rupturing in the operating
room, as they tried to install them into women's breasts (Byrne 98).
Pathology reports indicate considerable silicone reaction to the extruded materi
al can cause severe foreign body reaction in susceptible individuals. A letter
written to Dow Corning from Charles A. Vinnick a predominant cosmetic surgeon in
California wrote: " I am loathe to publish my series of cases as I feel that i
t may open Pandora's box. I do feel, however, that rapid dissemination of this
information is very necessary to protect your comapny and my colleagues" (Bryne
98). Vinnick complained to Dow about an incident when he removed a pair of sili
cone implants, the gel in a ruptured implant was terribly runny while the gel in
side the other implant was of ideal cohesion. This difference led him and some
others to believe that when silicone gel came into contact with tissue fluids an
d fat the gel's consistency changed.
Several
studies were done on various ani

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