| |
June 23, 2003
Dr Diana Zuckerman, president
of the National Center for Policy Research (CPR) for Women & Families
in Washington, wrote this article for Health24 to explain
more
about these and other studies and the high risk of complications.
Swedish researchers found that women with breast implants were
three times as likely (300%) to commit suicide as other women.
The authors attribute this to the fact that plastic surgery
patients might be more emotionally vulnerable.
A US study
However, in the US, the National Cancer Institute did a study
that found that women with breast augmentation were four times
as likely to commit suicide as other plastic surgery patients
of the same age.
Since the US study compared one type of plastic surgery patients
(breast implants) to other types (such as liposuction), the
higher suicide rate cannot be blamed on the women themselves.
High complication rate
Compared to other types of plastic surgery, breast implants
have a high complication rate, and it gets higher every year
after the initial surgery. Our centre receives many desperate
letters from women with implant problems who can't afford to
get them fixed or can't find doctors who will fix them.
Many of these women have broken implants, and some have breasts
that are very painful or misshapen. Most are angry at themselves
for getting implants and not fully appreciating the consequences
when they made that fateful decision.
Based on our experience and a review of the research, a more
logical explanation for the high suicide rate for women with
implants is the experience of having implants, not the women's
emotional vulnerability.
Complication rate gets higher every year after surgery
It is also worth noting that a Danish study, which reported
that 16% of the women had complications, was based on women
who had implants for less than 2,5 years - many of them for
less than one year. The study was funded by Dow Corning, which
manufactures the silicone used in the implants.
In the US, the complication rate was about 40% for augmentation
patients who had implants for three years, and even higher
for breast cancer patients who underwent reconstruction with
implants.
Diana
Zuckerman,
Ph.D., President, National Center for Policy Research (CPR)
for Women & Families,
Washington, DC 20006, www.center4policy.org
|
