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Study tracks complications linked to breast implants
March 5, 1997
Web posted at: 9:40 p.m. EST (0240 GMT)ROCHESTER, Minnesota (CNN) -- Almost one out of five women with breast implants had to return to the operating room within five years to fix problems with the implants, Mayo Clinic researchers said in a study published Wednesday.
The most common complication involved scar tissue that encapsulated the implant. Other problems included ruptures, blood clots and infections, the researchers said.
They said the complication rates they saw were similar to or lower than those reported in earlier studies. The study did not look at diseases or other health problems that some suspect may be linked to the silicone gel in some implants.
The study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved 749 women in Minnesota who got breast implants at the Mayo Clinic between 1964 and 1991.
Within five years of getting implants, 12 percent of the women who had the procedures returned for surgery to treat complications. The risk of complications was much higher for women who got implants as part of breast reconstruction following cancer surgery: Up to 34 percent had complications requiring more surgery within five years.
Between 1 million and 2 million women in the United States have had breast implants.
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