Safety of silicone gel breast implants have sparked off doubts in the researchers after potentially harmful levels of the metal platinum was found in some of the women who were sporting silicone implants for a number of years.
This discovery is not perfect timing, uncannily close to the permission due to be accorded by the Food and Drug Administration, that will allow silicone implants to make a comeback into the markets for unconditional sale.The journal of the American Chemical Society has carried two reports that have placed on record, high levels of platinum salts in the urine, hair and breast milk of 16 women with silicone gel implants, which carries a potential risk of allergic or toxic reactions.
Chemists, who are in the implant maker’s circuit, are up in arms against the FDA inferences on this matter, and they have reiterated that the platinum that is used in the silicone gel implants are in an inert form, incapable of causing harm.
Lykissa, a forensic toxicologist with the firm ExperTox said, "Implant manufacturers have said for years that their platinum is not harmful, and when the device is manufactured, they are correct. But in the body, we know that the implants degrade and the platinum can disperse and take on a more reactive form."
Amidst the furore, FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan has confirmed that they are debating the article threadbare and reviewing its contents, and it might take a while before anything conclusive comes out.
