nickel
02-12-2004, 06:06 AM
Seeking better breast implants
Doctors experiment with 'gummy bear'fillers, titanium coatings
Many women hoping for a more natural-looking alternative to saline breast implants were disappointed by the Food and Drug Administration's recent decision to maintain the ban on silicone-gel-filled implants. But there may be other options on the market one day, as doctors continue their quest to find better ways to boost a woman's bosom.
Among the most promising developments, they say, are cohesive silicone gel, leak-resistant implants with the consistency of a gummy bear and a new type of implant shell coating that may be less likely to cause inflammation and scarring in the surrounding breast tissue.
“I think we are getting closer to developing the perfect implant, in terms of durability, biocompatibility and natural shape,” says Dr. Mark Jewell, a plastic surgeon in Eugene, Ore., and vice president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
Safety concerns linking ruptures of the silicone gel implants to autoimmune problems in some women caused the FDA to ban the sale of the implants in 1992, except for use in clinical trials and by women undergoing breast reconstruction. While the implants were somewhat exonerated by an Institute of Medicine report saying they do not up the risk of autoimmune disease, the new FDA ban calls for more study before they can be put back on the market.
jigglylinky (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3972625/)
Doctors experiment with 'gummy bear'fillers, titanium coatings
Many women hoping for a more natural-looking alternative to saline breast implants were disappointed by the Food and Drug Administration's recent decision to maintain the ban on silicone-gel-filled implants. But there may be other options on the market one day, as doctors continue their quest to find better ways to boost a woman's bosom.
Among the most promising developments, they say, are cohesive silicone gel, leak-resistant implants with the consistency of a gummy bear and a new type of implant shell coating that may be less likely to cause inflammation and scarring in the surrounding breast tissue.
“I think we are getting closer to developing the perfect implant, in terms of durability, biocompatibility and natural shape,” says Dr. Mark Jewell, a plastic surgeon in Eugene, Ore., and vice president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
Safety concerns linking ruptures of the silicone gel implants to autoimmune problems in some women caused the FDA to ban the sale of the implants in 1992, except for use in clinical trials and by women undergoing breast reconstruction. While the implants were somewhat exonerated by an Institute of Medicine report saying they do not up the risk of autoimmune disease, the new FDA ban calls for more study before they can be put back on the market.
jigglylinky (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3972625/)