Plastic surgeon, full member of the OPREH Alexander Volodin talks about how true the numerous myths of “silicone breasts” are.
When it comes to aesthetic surgery, it is important to understand that the doctor works with healthy people and the goal of the operation is to improve the quality of life, and not to save it. This puts health safety at the forefront of plastic surgery.
That is why in my work I pay such attention to careful preoperative planning and examination, and the prerequisite for my work in the clinic was to equip the surgical and resuscitation unit with the most modern and premium anesthesia machines and medical equipment in general.
Since one of the main directions of my work is aesthetic breast surgery, the safety of implants used is of particular importance. It should be noted that modern implants of the latest generation used for breast augmentation are not just “silicone balls”, but high-tech products, in the development, creation, and study of which enormous efforts and resources of both private companies and independent groups of scientists were invested.
The high cohesive gel inside the implants is a chain of high molecular weight compounds that, even if the shell is damaged, do not spread in the tissues, but remain inside the implant and maintain their shape. This is precisely due to the fact that at the microscopic level, the gel is a “ball” of interwoven silicone chains. The shell itself cannot be damaged without direct mechanical impact (in other words, pierce it with a sharp object), and the story that the implant can “explode” in an airplane is no more than a myth. For different models, it can differ, be either smooth or textured, for the most dense growth and fixation in tissues, which is extremely important for the stable position of anatomical implants.
The safety of implants both for the patients themselves and for subsequent pregnancy and lactation has been proven in many global studies both in the USA and in Europe, in connection with which the implants of leading manufacturers have been certified and approved for use in all countries of the world.
However, recently, the situation with the recall of Allergan products both in Russia and in other countries is relevant in the media. This happened in connection with the publication of data linking a very rare disease – anaplastic large cell lymphoma (alcl) with textured Allergan implants. I want to note right away that over all years in the world about 500 cases have been identified (not a single confirmed in Russia), despite the fact that the number of people with implants in the world is more than 10 million only according to official data, in reality this number is much higher.
From this we can make a simple calculation – the chance of this complication is less than 0.0005%, i.e., the chance of just this is thousands of times less than any other, and it is impossible to determine the exact connection with implants, and even more so with the shell and the specific model. Among these cases there were implants of other companies, and a greater number of implants specifically allergen is logically explained by the fact that they were one of the most common models in the world. Naturally, this is also understood in controlling organizations, therefore, there was no ban on Allergan implants as such, there was only a recommendation, and under the circumstances, the company voluntarily recalled its products.
As I said above, as well as on my @dr_volodin instagram, all modern implants, with rare exceptions, have a very similar structure, both shells and gel, and the other manufacturers instantly shared the place of the allergen implants on the market. Based on this, as well as statistics, it can be concluded that the real reasons for the cause of the whole situation with these implants are far from any threat to health, but most likely completely different…
From myself, I want to say that modern implants are the safest and most effective way to breast enlargement. And answering the question, would I put implants to someone from my loved ones or discourage, I will answer – yes, if the person really needs it to find inner harmony, because plastic surgery is primarily done for people, not for others. And in terms of security – this is absolutely not the case when beauty requires sacrifice, the main thing is to find “your” doctor and clinic that meets the highest modern safety standards in aesthetic medicine.
