Women's Health
1. What is silicone?
In the field of medicine, silicone is used in a variety of products: probes, catheters, tips for perforating needles and pace-makers. In the thin-tissue surgery field, implants are used to correct the body contour.
The first productive process of silicone polymers was patented in 1958.
Silicone, or dimethylpolysolixane in the language of chemists, is produced as silicone elastomer, silicone gel or silicone oil. In silicones, oxygen and silicon are linked in the same way as stones and glass. In addition, the methylic groups are linked to the silicon atoms. Except for amorphous silica as a stabilizing and filling material, silicone contains no other additive, and especially no softening agent.
2. Do silicone implants represent a health risk?
Silicone already exists to a reasonable extent in the blood stream of any living being who has had injectable medication, because this is the lubricant used in injection needles and medicine against gases, among other applications.
It has already been scientifically proved that silicone is, up to this date, the best material for manufacturing implantable products, serving not only for aesthetic purposes but also in reconstructing many parts of the body.
3. Are polyurethane mammary implants cancerigenic?
No. The idea that the TDA (a chemical also known as Toluenediamina 2,4) released by polyurethane might be cancerigenic was refuted even by the FDA after studies published by the North-American inspection agency in 1995 proved the contrary. This was even reported in the last announcement made by that agency with regard to polyurethane implants
4. Have mammary implants coated with polyurethane foam been forbidden by the FDA?
No. This implant has never been forbidden by the FDA
5. Can the silicone gel leak?
In comparison with first-generation implants, only insignificant traces of gel can be found in the capsular tissue. This is due to the proven quality both of the implant envelopes and the filling gel, which is highly cohesive and of low transudation.
6. What does cohesiveness mean?
Cohesiveness is the property that silicone gel molecules have of keeping linked together and not allowing the gel to ‘leak’ if the implant breaks. A common mistake is to confuse hardness with cohesiveness. What characterizes a cohesive gel are properties of elongation and memory, rather than hardness. A gel does not need to be hard to be cohesive.
7. Are implants assured to be safe?
Yes. For more than 30 years, the safety of and confidence in silicone implants have been continually assured in studies and experiments. National and international inspection organizations stipulate clear requirements for the manufacture of implants. Materials, development, manufacturing process, sterilization and packaging are all subjected to strict rules.
Mammary implants have been used since the early 60s. Since that time, over 2 million women decided to have silicone implants.
The implants are constantly being improved upon. Cooperation between patients, doctors and manufacturers has allowed us to make constant adaptations until we reached the current scientific and technological knowledge.
Breast augmentation is among the most common plastic-surgery operations performe
8. Patient's card
In order to offer even more security, Silimed provides a "patient's card" on each implant box for the surgeon or his/her team to place the labels with the serial and ref numbers and the volume of the implants used on each breast. Always carry this card with you to show for any reason, such as a mammography examination.
9. Can a mammary implant change my appearance?
Yes. Mammary implants can give a feeling and quite natural appearance to the reconstructed breast. Some studies even show longer survival in patients who have had their breasts reconstructed.
As far as aesthetic surgery is concerned, breast augmentation improves the appearance according to each patient's desires.
10. How should I prepare for a visit to my surgeon?
Ask your doctor anything you want to know. Prepare yourself for this conversation making a list of the doubts which occurred to you.
It is very important that you make sure of your choice, before the surgery.
11. Is there more than one type of mammary implant?
Yes. Implants vary in surface, profile and shape, and all are filled with high cohesivity gel. As for the surface, they are provided with smooth envelope, textured envelope or polyurethane foam coated.
The profile may be high, moderate, natural low or extra-projection natural; the shape may be round or anatomic.
The wide range of options aims to meet the needs and desires of each patient.
12. Why the different surfaces?
Due to a natural reaction of the human body, a capsule is formed around foreign bodies, including implants.
This capsule may become hard and contract the implant. The contracture may deform the implant and alter the shape of the breast. We call this complication capsular contracture. The incidence of capsular contracture is related, among other reasons, to the implant surface.
The first implants to be produced were smooth-surfaced. Polyurethane-foam-coated implants appeared in the middle of the seventies.
And finally in the 80s, textured implants appeared in an attempt to imitate the rugous effect of polyurethane foam.
Regardless of the modern techniques used, polyurethane implants resulted in remarkably low rates of capsular contracture, varying from 0 to 4%. Textured implants present a lower incidence of contracture than smooth implants.
13. Are there different surgical procedures?
Yes. Your doctor will be able to provide you with valuable information in this respect.
14. What types of incision are used to augment the breast?
Besides the axillary, transareolar and periareolar incisions, the most used option is incision in the inframammary fold.
15. What about the positioning of the implant?
In operations to augment the breast, the implant can be positioned either below the glandular tissue (retroglandular) or below the muscle (retromuscular).
In breast reconstruction, the positioning of the implant will depend on the patient's oncological condition. Your doctor will tell you the best position in your case.
16. Is it possible to detect a tumor in breasts with implants?
Both the mammography and other specific examinations detect tumors even in the initial stages.
However, there are studies showing that, in some cases, tumors are not possible to be detected by mammography. Thus, it is advisable that persons bearing implants talk to the radiologist, so that the most suitable type of exam is chosen.
17. What influence does a breast implant have on cancer treatment?
Major studies, even published by international organizations, have proved that women with mammary implants are not more susceptible to breast cancer than women without implants. It is also proved that there is no relation whatsoever between the silicone of any of the three existing surfaces and the development of cancer.
Another quite interesting study has shown that, among women who had breast cancer and underwent mastectomy, survival is longer in those who had their breasts reconstructed.
18. What is the useful life of a silicone implant?
Silicone implants do not have a useful-life limit established by the scientific community. Silimed defines an average period of ten years as the expected useful life, but this parameter may be altered if some reason arises to justify it.
The patient must have periodical follow-up to assess the need to change the implant. Although the limits of the useful life of implants are not acknowledged by the scientific community, Silimed defines an average period of ten years as the expected useful life, but this parameter may be changed if some reason arises to justify it. Today we know of several patients in Brazil and abroad who have had the same implant for more than twenty years without any problem.
19. How often after surgery should I visit the doctor for a check-up?
It is best that a semi-annual or annual basis control is made with your doctor.
Locate a Silimed representative in your country.