• The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) have provided care for most of the more than 1 million women in the United States who have chosen breast implant surgery over the past 30 years.

• ASPS and ASAPS support research on the safety of breast implants and have worked closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assure that patients are accurately informed about the benefits and risks of implant surgery.

• The number of breast augmentation procedures more than tripled from 1992-1997, according to a study by ASPS.
  
  

  Ø	In 1992, 32,607 women had breast augmentation, jumping to 122,285 in 1997.
  Ø	Sixty percent of women who had breast augmentation in 1997 were between the ages of 19 and 34. Just over one-third were between the ages of 35 and 50.

  
  
• In 1997, breast implants were used in 33% of breast reconstruction procedures.

• Scientific evidence does not link breast implants to connective-tissue disease (CTD) or breast cancer.

• A 30-year retrospective study conducted at the Mayo Clinic found no association between breast implants and CTD's and other disorders that were studied. The study represents more than 20,000 years of patient follow-up. (Risk of connective-tissue diseases and other disorders after breast implantation, New England Journal of Medicine, June 16, 1994).

• A Harvard Medical School study, conducted over a 14-year period, failed to find any major link between silicone breast implants and a number of immune-system illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus and scleroderma (Silicone breast implants and the risk of connective tissue diseases and symptoms, New England Journal of Medicine, June 21, 1995).

• A study of nearly 400,000 women published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) excluded large risks of connective tissue diseases following breast implantation (Self-reported breast implants and connective-tissue disease in female health professionals, JAMA, February, 28, 1996).

RELATED ARTICLES

The following organizations are among those that have issued positions supporting the conclusions of scientific studies on breast implant safety: American Academy of Neurology, American Cancer Society, American College of Rheumatology, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, American Medical Women's Association, American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, British Department of Health, European Committee on Quality Assurance and Medical Devices in Plastic Surgery, National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations, and Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization.