Lipo Breast Reduction: A New Option for the Overendowed

By Anne Krueger

Bigger boobs are big these days (augmentation is still the No. 1 hit on the cosmetic surgery chart for women), but among my circle of friends—and a growing number of females—smaller breasts are coming in vogue.
I don’t know anybody who has had breast augmentation (at least nobody has fessed up to it), but I do have two friends who’ve had breast reductions—one just last year. Breast reductions, also called mammoplasties, have risen to the top five cosmetic surgical procedures for women, with 153,087 in 2007, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Read More

Toxic Platinum Hiding in Silicon Implants

A new study concerning high levels of platinum salts found in the bodies of 16 women with silicon gel breast implants could put the breaks on the conditional and undisclosed approvals granted last year to Mentor and Inamed by the FDA.

Although the presence of platinum (it transforms silicon into a harder, gel-like substance) had been debated a long time ago, it hadn't been the focus of controversy, until this new study (free text link below) discovered high amounts platinum in the hair, urine and breast milk of women with silicon implants.

Also, the platinum scientists found was in a more harmful oxidized state, not surprisingly, a bone of contention among chemists who work for breast implant manufacturers.

The trick about implants: They become health-harming time bombs that rupture more often than not, as in the case of the former co-founder of the National Organization of Women.
Analytical Chemistry April 1, 2006 Free Full Text Article
Washington Post April 7, 2006
Yahoo News April 7, 2006DrEddyClinic.com

A Game of Deception Involving Breast Implants

The FDA conditionally approved Mentor Corp.'s request to sell breast implants earlier this year, only if an undisclosed letter spelling out those specifications were followed. So much for that agreement, based on a letter from a former employee and senior engineer...

Seems the engineer and other Mentor employees resolved a problem with demo implants being distributed for doctors -- they were leaking silicone oil -- for their prospective customers. The big problem: The company never bothered to make the same modification on implants to be fitted for patients, according to a letter to the Washington Post from the former engineer (free text link below).

Moreover, one FDA panel member wasn't pleased to learn during an April meeting that Mentor implants under review might be different than the final product, a huge issue considering more than 300,000 patients in this country underwent breast implant procedures for cosmetic reasons or due to a mastectomy.

Not surprisingly, Mentor officials tried to disparage their former employee, I suspect, to mask the veracity of his claims -- when in doubt blame the messenger. The hanging question here isn't whether silicone implants can be safe, because they can be. But are they safe, particularly when rupturing is a problem?
Washington Post December 5, 2005