FDA Lifts Ban on Silicone Gel Breast Implants

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has lifted a 14-year ban on the use of silicone-gel breast implants. During the time of the ban, women who wanted breast reconstruction after a mastectomy for breast cancer would use a saline implant, or would have to participate in a 5-year study on silicone-gel implants. The FDA has now approved silicone implants for women who are 22 and older, or those who are having breast reconstruction. There has been concern over leakage and rupture of silicone, and whether it may be the cause of diseases such as cancer and lupus.

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