The History of Breast Implants
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While over 200,000 women a year undergo breast enhancement surgery, it took a long time for the procedure to be perfected and made popular. In fact, it was first attempted in 1890. Paraffin was the substance that was utilized in early breast augmentation. It was injected right into the breast, but usually resulted in infections and hardening of the breasts. While actual patients of this process were few and far between, it lasted until 1920, when the last recorded instance of paraffin implantation dates from.
Fat was the next substance, transplanted from the buttocks or hips and implanted beneath the breast tissue. However, this proved fairly disastrous. The body tended to re-absorb the fat, which left breast lumpy and asymmetrical. A prominent scar was also left on the side or back where fat was removed, and as a result the entire process became fairly undesirable. By the 1940’s it was no longer regularly practiced.
After World War II, Japanese prostitutes sought to attract occupying American servicemen and experimentation was begun with silicone. However, unlike the implants of today, silicone entered the body through injections directly into the breast. No obvious symptoms were detected, and by the 1960’s American dancers and entertainers had adopted the practice. At this point, the side effects became painfully clear: chronic inflammation, infections, benign lumps and organ damage due to silicone migration. A string of mastectomies rendered this process unpopular, though it is still believed to be performed in underground circles and underprivileged areas around the world.
Silicone was still seen as a viable means of augmentation, however, and by the late 1960’s it was being experimented on inside polyurethane foam. It was constantly modified slightly and grew in popularity until the early 1990’s, at which time 100,000 had silicone breast implants. In 1991, the FDA released a report that conjectured that the polyurethane foam could degrade and spread itself and silicone throughout the body and act as a carcinogen. The implants were taken off of the market.
Saline implants were developed and marketed pending FDA approval. The approval soon came, albeit with the warning that saline implants could break fairly easily and cause some health problems. They grew incredibly in popularity, and in 2000 alone 200,000 women had breast enhancement surgery. In 2005, the FDA announced that some silicone implants were safe enough for use and allowed augmentation surgery to go forward in limited trials.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons oversees plastic surgeons and other cosmetic surgery professionals, including those who perform breast enhancement.