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NYC Cosmetic Surgeon: Silicone Making Comeback

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Nov 21, 2006 7:49 am US/Eastern

NYC Cosmetic Surgeon: Silicone Making Comeback

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Silicone breast implants are becoming more popular since the federal ban on them was lifted, Dr. Brad Jacobs says.
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A New York City cosmetic surgeon says silicone breast implants are making a comeback since the federal government approved the implants last week.

Doctor Brad Jacobs says more patients have been calling about the silicone implants than the saline implants. He expects breast surgeries to increase by 40 percent. Jacobs holds a news conference this morning about the federal government's silicone reversal.

Silicone gel implants had been banned by the federal government for 14 years after there were concerns the implants were not safe. Studies since 1992 has shown no adverse effects of silicone implants, and on Friday the Food and Drug Administration approved their use again.

Some 300,000 women in the United States each year have their breasts surgically enlarged. In this country, silicone-gel implants now account for only an estimated ten percent to 15 percent of the breast augmentation market, with saline implants making up the rest.

With the F.D.A. lifting the ban on silicone, surgeons expect silicone to overtake saline as the implant of choice.

Proponents say silicone-gel implants look and feel more natural than do those filled with saline.

The F.D.A. approved the silicone implants for women 22 and older, and for women of all ages undergoing breast reconstruction surgery.