Re: Fw: new WebMD article on implants

[Guest guest]

Hi Patty,

Thanks for passing on this info, I have printed it up for my

girlfriend with silicone implants that have ruptured,who is adamantly

in denial so she can read the truth about these time bombs. Also

thank you for the healing file on all the fastings and cleansings. I

am so grateful to you for consolidating such vital information for us

to benefit from. I am getting explanted on the 23rd and plan to start

the detoxing soon afterward. I have been a vegie for years and fast

once a month fairly regularly, for health and spiritual reasons, and

I feel this has contributed to keeping the major complications of

silicone poisoning at bay. Thank you again for all your efforts and

insight. I am grateful, Jan

In , " ~*Patty*~ " <fdp@l...> wrote:

> From our good friend and advocate in Washington DC

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: Zuckerman

> ifriends@c...

> Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 9:22 PM

> Subject: new WebMD article on implants

>

>

> This article is quite balanced compared to previous articles in

WebMD. So, we're making some progress!

>

>

> Few Problems in Silicone Breast Implants But Safety is Still Matter

of Debate

>

>

>

> http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/66/79654.htm

>

>

> By Salynn Boyles

> WebMD Medical News

>

>

> June 3, 2003 -- Just how safe are silicone gel breast implants?

The FDA may soon consider lifting its decade-long ban on sales of the

implants, but experts still disagree over their safety.

>

>

> A plastic surgeon who spoke with WebMD says close to two dozen

studies disprove widely publicized reports linking silicone gel

implants with various autoimmune diseases, calling the matter " a dead

issue. " But a women's health advocate who also talked with WebMD

counters that the issue is very much alive.

>

>

> Early findings from a Danish registry that tracks women with breast

implants tend to bolster claims of the safety of silicone gel breast

implants. Data from the Danish Registry for Plastic Surgery of the

Breasts published in the June issue of the journal Plastic and

Reconstructive Surgery show a low incidence of serious complications

in nearly 1,500 women who got breast implants.

>

>

> For most of the women, it was their first procedure and most of

them did it for cosmetic reasons. Of all implants, 88% were made of

silicone gel.

>

>

> Sixteen percent of these women experienced some adverse effect;

mostly women complained of a change in feeling, 4% complained of a

hardening of the breast from scarring, and 1% required additional

surgery.

>

>

> 'No Link' With Disease

>

>

> " This is just more evidence substantiating that silicone gel

implants are generally safe, " plastic surgeon Leroy Young, MD, says.

>

>

> Young chairs the American Society for Plastic Surgery's National

Breast Implant Registry, established in the U.S. three years ago.

More than 4,300 women are now included in the U.S. registry, and a

report on their health status is scheduled for release late this

year.

>

>

> The FDA banned the sale of silicone gel breast implants in 1992,

following reports of high rates of rupture as well as autoimmune

diseases such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. The

legal battle over the implants resulted in one of the largest class-

action settlements in history, with implant manufacturer Dow Corning

Corp. agreeing to pay $3.2 billion to breast implant recipients who

became ill.

>

>

> Young concedes that silicone implants are associated with more

serious local complications than saline implants. But he says the

clinical evidence overwhelmingly supports lifting the ban on

silicone.

>

>

> " Over 20 epidemiological studies show no link between silicone gel

breast implants and disease, " he says.

>

>

> Critics Beg to Differ

>

>

> But Zuckerman, PhD, says most of those studies were badly

flawed because they included women with new breast implants and

follow-up was short. Zuckerman is president of the National Center

for Policy Research for Women and Families.

>

>

> " About half of the women in these studies had their implants for

five years or less, and some studies included women who had had their

implants for as little as a month, " she says. " Someone diagnosed with

an autoimmune disease a month after having a breast implant probably

already had it. "

>

>

> She cites a 2001 FDA-funded study, which compared women whose

silicone gel breast implants ruptured with those who implants

remained intact at least six years following surgery. There was a

significant increase in fibromyalgia, but not lupus, among the women

with leaking implants. Two studies published in 2001 by the National

Cancer Institute found a doubling in brain cancer deaths, a tripling

in lung cancer, and a quadrupling in suicides in women with breast

implants.

>

>

> " It is certainly not true that there is no evidence linking breast

implants and disease, " Zuckerman says. " I am not saying the FDA and

NCI studies are definitive. But when you have a doubling or tripling

in deaths in a relatively young population it shouldn't be ignored. "

>

>

> Zuckerman and Young agree on one thing. Women considering breast

implants need to learn all they can about their choices and the

potential risks and benefits associated with them. Young says

silicone is usually the best choice for very thin women with little

breast tissue and women who have had mastectomies, while saline may

be preferable for those with more breast tissue. A new type of

silicone implant that is more solid than liquid minimizes the risk of

leakage, but may be too firm for some women.

>

>

> " When women lie down their breasts tend to look the same as when

they are standing up, " he says. " A lot of women don't like that. "

>

>

>

> --------------------------------------------------------------------

------------

>

> SOURCES: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, June, 2003. Leroy

Young, MD, chairman of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, National Breast Implant

Registry. Zuckerman, PhD, president National Center for Policy

Research for Families.