Silicone implants- The facts and safety factor behind them

Silicone is derived from silicon. The chemical polymer can be got after a process of heating and refining.

Though many may not realize but the element silicon is quite commonplace and sand is actually a compound made up of oxygen and silicon, which is then known as silica.

Silicone as a breast implant to be used in cosmetic breast augmentation was banned in 1992 by the FDA as there was a lack of data to determine whether the implants were harmless or not.

This ban led to the availability of silicone gel implants only for clinical trials in the U.S. and for those women who needed breast reconstruction after already having had those implants and who needed replacements due to medical reasons.

Afterwards, it was found out through a number of studies and clinical trials that there was no risk of getting breast cancer due to these implants.

The 14 year old ban ended on November 2006 with the FDA approving these silicone gel based implants for breast augmentation surgery, manufactured by two companies- Allergan which was previously known as Inamed and Mentor.


Liquid injectable form of silicone has been in use for over fifty years. It has been in use for augmentation of soft tissues which has evoked mixed reactions from both physicians and the general public as well.

A lot of doctors think that the concept of using silicone for cosmetic injections in the face is too risky a thing. However, some of the doctors use the silicone for facial injections legally as off label.

Often, the use of liquid silicone injections has resulted in complications like pneumonitis and granulomas. Although silicone may not cause any systemic disease, it may prove to be problematic.

There may arise migration and localized inflammation which can lead to exertion of pressure on the nerves around, affecting movement and sensation in the muscles of the face.

Further, the permanence of silicone may be considered as one of the major disadvantages of using silicone in case of any errors committed in the procedure that cannot be corrected, causing disfiguration.

However, there are numerous advantages of using silicone like its being an economical option, easy to use and long lasting.

In fact, though it is not approved for use as a facial injection, it is approved and used to treat a detached retina by injection into the eyeball.

There are many other uses for the compound silicone in cosmetic surgery procedures. The augmentation of the facial structure has been made successfully with the help of solid silicone implants.

The implants can be manufactured in varying ranks of flexibility and strength, depending on the many varieties of cosmetic processes which include male pectoral implants, cheek augmentation and chin augmentation.

There are other uses of silicone as well. It comprises the external case of tissue expanders which are used in surgeries for reconstructive process after some kind of a trauma, breast reconstruction after mastectomy or in reconstructive surgery after Mohs or skin cancer.

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