SILICONE GEL-FILLED BREAST IMPLANTS AND CONNECTIVE-TISSUE DISEASES

Recent worldwide press and media speculation that silicone implants ma y be linked to an increased incidence of breast cancer, other cancers, and connective tissue diseases-particularly systemic sclerosis-is a c urrent cause for concern to the medical profession and public alike. W e conducted a cross-sectional study of the prevalence of connective ti ssue diseases, as well as signs and symptoms associated with these con ditions, in women who had received a silicone gel-filled breast implan t for either breast augmentation or breast reconstruction following ma stectomy for breast cancer compared with women without implants in Sou th East Scotland. We compared 317 patients who had had a silicone gel- filled breast implant inserted with matched controls. We found no incr eased incidence of antinuclear antibodies or rheumatoid factor in the study groups. We detected one case of rheumatoid arthritis in the reco nstruction group and one in matched controls, but no cases of any othe r connective tissue disease. No cases were found among the augmentatio n patients or their controls. No differences were found in symptoms or physical signs of connective tissue diseases between the study patien ts and their controls. This study has failed to find any case for a li nk between silicone gel-filled breast implants and connective tissue d iseases.