Silicone injections can be deadly

Sunday December 3, 2006 in: Global Plastic Surgery Tag(s):

Technorati Tags: plastic surgery, liquid silicone, breast augmentation

Liquid silicone is illegal in the United States, but a number of people--many of them transsexuals-still take the risk of getting them to enlarge their breasts and buttocks for a more feminine look. Not many know that the risk they're facing is real, since being injected with liquid silicone can be lethal. United Press International reports:

"We really don't know how big a problem this is, but we now have reports that show that when the liquid silicone leaks into the blood system, embolism can occur that causes respiratory distress and even death," said Carlos Restrepo, director of chest radiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

Of 44 reported cases of respiratory distress following liquid silicone injections, 25 percent of the patients died, Restrepo said this week at the 92nd annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

He suggested that if an emergency room doctor finds a transsexual in respiratory distress he should consider the man is suffering from pulmonary emboli caused by silicone injections. Of the 44 cases he reviewed, 29 were transsexual men. The others were women. He treated seven such men who presented at his hospital's emergency department.

It is sad enough that something as deadly as liquid silicone is still in demand in the underground cosmetic industry. It is sadder still that there exists an underground cosmetic industry in the first place.

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I sometimes work with plastic surgeons (research), and yeah, liquid silicone (LIS) is kind of scary... mainly because side effects may not be seen for something like 25 years! Also, it's not just transsexuals getting the filler to add volume to breasts and buttocks, men and women sometimes elect liquid silicone over other dermal fillers to add volume to the face (to combat the signs of aging). Don't do it. There are other options. The doctor I'm working with right now performs plastic surgery in New Jersey, but he offers at least one alternative for achieving a more youthful look... maybe you've heard of it - Botox? :-) But, other surgeons offer all sorts of FDA approved fillers like Zyderm or Cosmoplast. Oil? Not thanks.

Jay at 11:06pm on Nov 8, 2007

Illegal?

Is liquid silicone really illegal in the U.S.? I work with a plastic surgeon who specializes in breast augmentation in st louis, and although I'm not a doctor myself, isn't LIS in products like Silikon 1000? And isn't Silikon 1000 approved by the FDA for use as a prolonged retinal tamponade in selected cases of complicated retinal detachments where other interventions are not appropriate for patient management. Like I said, I'm not an expert, but it would appear LIS is FDA approved, just not for cosmetic use???

Melanie at 11:45pm on Dec 10, 2007

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