WASHINGTON — Don’t expect breast implants to last for life, the government warned Wednesday: About 1 in 5 women who receive them for cosmetic reasons will have them removed within 10 years, and those chances are even higher for cancer survivors.
It’s not the first time the Food and Drug Administration has issued such a warning. But the agency repeated it Wednesday after reviewing new data on silicone-gel breast implants five years after they returned to the market following a health scare.
The agency concluded the implants are basically safe as long as women understand they come with complications. Those include painful scar tissue and ruptured implants.
“The longer you have the implant, the more likely you are to have complications,” said FDA medical device chief Jeff Shuren. He said women should get regular checkups, including scans to make sure the implants haven’t ruptured.
While FDA’s safety review concentrated on silicone-gel implants, the agency’s updated advice booklet for women makes clear that saline-filled versions come with the same complications — women getting those wind up back on the operating table, too.
Plastic surgeons say they’ve long told women about risks.
“It doesn’t discourage a single one of them, which is pretty amazing,” said Dr. Michael Zenn, vice chief of plastic surgery at Duke University Medical Center.
