Do breast implants cause cancer?

There is no known causal link between breast implants and cancer, and this has been repeatedly conveyed in the scientific literature over decades. Rather, the academic literature has shown that women with breast implants actually may pick up cancers at the same time or even earlier, given that they are more in tune with their breast anatomy after having undergone BA and doing implant massage, and that the implants may act as a "platform" for a palpable lestion.

Most plastic surgeons would agree that their postoperative breast augmentation patients are far more obsessive about changes in the appearance or feel of their breasts after the implants have been placed than the average woman who does not have implants.

Indeed, it is important that women alert their mammographer that they have breast implants in place and their location (submuscular or subglandular). The mammographer will perform a couple of extra views on mammography called Eklund views which will attempt to push the implant towards the chest wall while compressing the breast tissue together in order to assess it. Submuscular, smaller implants tend to impart better visualization than larger, subglandular ones.

The most important thing for women over 40 to do (and women younger than that with a strong family history) is to get an annual mammogram to check for occult breast cancer. This can save a life!

There are multiple studies showing that breast implants do not cause cancer. In fact, the most common way that breast cancer patients are currently being reconstructed is through placement of a submuscular breast implant.

Unfortunately, scare sites abound on the Internet and they suggest that these implants cause cancer. Instead of educating women through science, they scare them away from a time-tested procedure which has been shown to be not only effective but, more importantly, safe!