The Safe Saline Implant by Lynda Roth

[Guest guest]

This is the very first article I came across in July 1997, 2 months after my implantation, that alerted me to the possibility of illness from my "safe" saline implants. I printed this article off, stored it, and sure enough, in January 1998 when the shit hit the fan with my health, I pulled this back out.....I remember thinking...Oh, no......not me......after explant I got the book, "Betrayed". How many more women will suffer because THEY ARE NOT BEING TOLD THE TRUTH ABOUT SALINE IMPLANTS???

Dirty Doctor Dean Edell says "saline implants are perfectly safe,perfectly fine."Cosmopolitan not long ago dared to say, "No one questions the safety ofsaline implants."Here is an excellent article by Lynda Roth of Coalition of Silicone Survivors.Her web page is:http://www2.privatei.com/~coss/coss/sshead.html - Coalition of SiliconeSurvivorsHer address is: coss@... -----------------------------------------THE 'SAFE' SALINE BREAST IMPLANT? by Lynda RothI can hardly pick up a newspaper or a magazine without finding an article oran ad about breast implants. If they are not decrying the 'greed' of theattorneys or the'misinformed' women, they are advertising other forms ofsilicone implants. I see ads for chin, cheek, pectoral, and saline breastimplants everywhere. I shudder every time I see one of these, for I knowthat someone, somewhere, will think that these products are safe and willhave this surgery.>I hear everyday from women who only had saline (saline-filled, siliconeimplants) and are extremely ill. One woman who, with her sister, wrote abook (Betrayed, by Gloria Bywalec & Marie Rzeppa) had salineimplants>for only 15 months. She is extremely ill with noticeable tremorsand neurological problems. She believed the manufacturers and the doctors whenthey told her that these devices could not harm her. I have heard fromother women who have had these devices for as long as 18-20 years and theyare extremely ill with all kinds of fungal, autoimmune, and neurologicalproblems.There has never been an FDA approved breast implant. I know many women havebelieved that these devices must be safe or they would have been removedfrom the market, but this is simply untrue. In 1994, the FDA listed thecurrently understood risks of Saline-filled breast prostheses. On April 20,1995, the Department of Health & Human Services issued a new bulletin forwomen who were considering saline (silicone-shell) implants. Risks includeddeflation (common), more difficulty visualizing breast tumors inmammography, capsular contracture (hardness, very common), calciumdeposits in the tissue around implants (hard to distinguish fromcalcification inbreast cancer formations), repeat surgeries, infection, hematoma, delayedwound healing, changes in nipple sensation (common), shifting of theimplants (up, down, sideways under the armpit), and swelling and/or jointpain or arthritis-like pain, general aching (fibromyalgia), unusual hairloss, unexplained or unusual loss of energy (chronic fatigue), lessresistance to colds and flu, swollen glands and lymph nodes, rashes, memoryproblems, headaches, muscle weakness or burning, nausea and/or vomiting, andirritable bowel syndrome (alternating diarrhea and constipation).>In addition to these, women who have had long or short term saline-filledsilicone prostheses have had many other problems. These include:Spontaneous rupture or one or both implants, multiple ruptures withimmediate deflation and many surgeries, extremely hard breasts, fungalinfections in the nails, vagina, mouth, and rectal areas, implantscontaining any number of fungal, viral, or bacterial organisms (some as yetunnamed, and some very deadly--saline solution is dated and was neverintended for implantation inside the human body), defective implants withfaulty valves, skin and nipple necrosis (death), antibodies to silicone andmany other antibodies, multipe chemical sensitivities (in addition to silicaand silicone in the shell, there may be as many as 25 other chemicals ofwhich the shell is comprised), foreign body reactions immediately around theimplant, severe neurological problems including a Multiple Sclerosis typesyndrome, and even death.In addition, Health & Human Services raised the issue of the safety ofbreast feeding infants when implants are present. This is a grave concernto groups like ours, since early studies show that children of mothers withany type of implant may be at greater danger for autoimmune illnesses.Why, you ask, would the FDA allow unsafe implants to remain on the market?We have asked this question often! The FDA receives a great deal ofpressure from industry to allow products on the market. Manufacturers ofsaline-filled silicone breast implants have until June of 1998 todemonstrate the safety and efficacy of these devices. If they cannot provethat they are much safer than the silicone gel-filled devices, they will beremoved from the market (presumably, but with industry and cancergroup>pressure, who knows?)We hear the argument that there is silicone in food, medicine, in the>environment (not true, silica is in the environment, and is a knowncarcinogen when inhaled in too much quantity), and that we are exposed to itall the time. While this is somewhat true, those sources are not in our bodies 24 hours aday, 7 days a week, for years. Also, a chemical in our digestive tract isentirely different than a chemical or toxin in our blood, lymph, andnervoussystem. Our immune systems naturally reject foreign objects. What happenswhen you get a glass splinter in your finger? It becomes inflamed. So doestissue around implants, and this sets up a chronic inflammatory condition inour entire bodies.Every type of silicone implantable device has caused the same inflammatoryresponse in humans. This includes cheek, chin, testicular, penile, jointreplacement, TMJ implants, tubal ligation clips, silicone sheaths used insurgery and even the Norplant Birth Control Device. There are numerouslawsuits on the Norplant device.I wonder when we began to think that placing foreign objects in human bodieswas a natural extension of plastic or reconstructive surgery? Did thesedoctors check with biochemists and biologists, who surely would have toldthem that there would be tremendous immune responses? If you don't believe>this, ask a biologist. I did, and he confirmed this information.>>Saline implants were, and are, included in the global settlement and in the>new revised settlements. Why would they be included if the manufacturers>were not aware of the many problems and defects these devices have? Why>would women have to sign away their right to ever sue the manufacturers (if>they currently receive a saline implant) if the manufacturers did not know>of the dangers and wish to protect themselves?>>Women and girls, husbands and fathers, sisters and brothers, educate>yourselves and your families to the dangers of implanting any (I repeat,>ANY) foreign body inside of your own body. There are many ways to improve>your looks and your self-esteem without ever resorting to this often tragic>option. Find out the facts. Contact any one of the groups on the internet>for more information before you have any cosmetic surgery. The life you>save may surely be your own!>