Non-silicone Breast Implants Risk of Cancer?

asked 11 months ago by anon
Latest answer by Richard Baxter, MD
Question viewed 283 times
Tags: cancer, detection, risk

Can non-silicone breast implants increase the risk of breast cancer? Is it because detection is more difficult with implants or is it the implant itself that poses a risk? or both?

5 answers to Non-silicone Breast Implants Risk of Cancer?

Implants

Neither silicone or saline implants have been implicated in breast cancer. A rare lymphoma (60 patients out of millions) has been linked to implants.Detection by self exam is unchanged with implants. Mammography is less sensitive with implants. Submuscular placement of the implant decreases this mammogram sensitivity less than on top of the muscle.

Michael Hueneke, MD
Nashville Plastic Surgeon

Breast implants of any type are not associated with breast cancer

Both saline and silicone gel implants have a silicone shell, so technically there isn't such a thing as "non-silicone" implant. However, studies have confirmed that women with breast implants of any type do not have a higher incidence of breast cancer. While it is theoretically possible that implants can interfere with early detection by obscuring some of the breast in mammograms, studies have also found that stage at detection isn't any different either. more

Richard Baxter, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

No Breast Implants Known To Cause Cancer

There is no evidence that either silicone or saline implants cause breast cancer. The main concern is that all implants can potentially interfere with the interpretation of mammograms. There is also a possibility that, in the case of severe capsular contracture, there could be a problem in discovery of a mass on breast exam.

John Whitt, MD
Louisville Plastic Surgeon

Can breast implants cause cancer?

There is no evidence that breast implants of any kind, saline or silicone gel, can cause breast cancer. There has been a suggestion that a very very rare form of lymphoma occuring in the capsule around the implant may be linked to a certain type of breast implant, and this is being investigated, but there are perhaps 34-60 cases (probably more like 34 confirmed cases) out of millions and millions of women with breast implants, so this occurence would be less of a risk than being hit by... more

Robert M. Grenley, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Breast implants and silicone

All breast implants used in the US at present have an outer shell made from a form of silicone. The diffences come from what the shell is filled with...either saline (salt water) placed at the time of surgery or silicone gel placed at the time of manufacture. But there are no silicone-free breast implants. Neither type have been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

Frank B. McCutcheon, Jr., MD
Asheville Plastic Surgeon

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