The Big Five-0

FOR the past five decades, surgeons have been enhancing women’s appearance and confidence, thanks to a revolutionary invention: the silicone gel breast implant. Most plastic surgeons agree that 50 years is a remarkable lifespan for any device in modern medicine.

Aesthetic Surgery Journal recently published a report* chronicling the history of the silicone breast implant. “Relatively few medical devices continue to remain in existence for 50 years. The history of the breast implant, from its conceptual origin by Drs Cronin and Gerow as a medical device that would enhance breast size to a saline-filled model introduced in France in 1964 to the latest-generation devices, remains intriguing… This device has even survived attempts to completely remove it from the marketplace,” writes Mark L. Jewell, Assistant Clinical Professor Plastic Surgery, Oregon Health Science University in Portland.

Silicone gel breast implants vary in size, shape, texture and profile. Given these choices, in addition to a variety of placement methods, each implant procedure can be designed to meet the patient’s individual aesthetic goals.

* Jewell ML. Silicone gel breast implants at 50: the state of the science. Aesthet Surg J. 2012 Nov 1;32(8):1031-4. doi: 10.1177/1090820X12461649. Epub 2012 Sep 24