COSMETIC SALINE BREAST IMPLANTS - A SURVEY OF SATISFACTION, BREAST-FEEDING-EXPERIENCE, CANCER SCREENING, AND HEALTH

Saline breast implants have been used for the past 30 years for cosmet ic and reconstructive purposes. Data based on a large number of patien ts are needed to evaluate patient satisfaction, cancer screening pract ices, problems associated with breast-feeding, and health effects. We conducted a follow-up study of 292 cosmetic saline breast implant pati ents from Texas and Louisiana who consented to a telephone interview. Using a Likert scale, we measured the patients' degree of satisfaction with tile implants. The results indicated that 80.5 percent were sati sfied, 73.3 percent would recommend saline breast implants to others, and 65.1 percent felt that implants improved their quality of life. Th e extent of satisfaction was independent of the number of additional s urgeries, age at implant, and follow-up time. Mammography use and brea st self-examination were reported with high frequency in this survey. Ninety-one percent of study participants who were between 40 and 49 ye ars of age at time of interview and 94 percent of those 50 or older re ported having had at least one mammogram. Breast self-examination was practiced by 75 percent of the women, and 61 percent reported checking their breasts at least once a month. Of the 46 women who had children after augmentation, 28 reported breast-feeding and 8 (28.6 percent) r eported having implant-related problems. The patients were asked to pr ovide information regarding a series of conditions for which they soug ht medical attention. They reported: atypical rheumatoid syndrome (n = 1), Sjogren syndrome (n = 1), atypical autoimmune disorder (n = 1), a nd chronic fatigue syndrome (n = 2). Overall,women who elected to have saline breast implants were satisfied with their augmentations, had m ammograms and performed breast self-examinations more often than nonau gmented women. A few had problems when breast-feeding that could be re lated to their implants. There were no reports of breast cancer, but f ive women reported autoimmune conditions.