Breast Implants: The History of Breast Implants

Wanting to improve, enhance or enlarge is not a new relationship between women and their breasts. In fact, the concept is probably older than you think. The 1890s saw the first attempts by injecting paraffin into the breast. Sure, we can easily say that it was a bad idea, but back then they were just trying to find something that might work. Despite the problems with infection, lumpiness and hardness, this practice lasted for almost 30 years.

In the 1920s, surgeons replaced the paraffin injections with fat transplants from other parts of the body. They would surgically remove fat from wherever there was excess and put it in the bust-line. The problem with this procedure was that the body reabsorbed the fat and would leave the breast misshapen. Though it did not exactly give the look women wanted, but with no other alternatives, this procedure had a 20 year run.

Interestingly enough, breast implants hold a tiny spot in the history of World War II. Japanese "ladies of the night" would inject silicon straight into their breasts to seduce American soldiers. It was their attempt at having a more voluptuous and curvier body- more like the 1940s American woman. In the 60s, exotic dancers in the United States took the injections to enhance their figure. However, direct silicon into the blood-stream was a bad idea and caused many health problems such as infections, tumors and the need for removal of the breast.

In the 1950s, surgeons experimented with sponges made from a variety of man-made materials. However, they were unable to find one that didn't have serious side effects. After about 10 years of searching, we finally arrived at the product that we know today- the silicon breast implant. Yes, the first one emerged on the scene in 1961 by Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin. In 1962, the first woman received a pair of this new invention.

Once the procedure became main stream and thousands of women were getting them, problems began to arise. The initial coating for the silicon was polyurethane foam and this proved to be quite dangerous. The coating would dissolve in the body and then become a cancer- causing substance. In 1988, the first claims of health-related problems due to the silicon breast implants came about and thousands of plaintiffs and billions of dollars in settlements came after. Claims that silicon leaked into the body and then caused connective-tissue diseases and even cancer scared everyone. As a result, the FDA removed silicon from the market until further studies were conducted. Saline took its place as a filler and was a safe alternative.

By 1999, studies revealed that silicon breast implants were not responsible for causing disease. Now, though the implants come with their own risk, nothing proved that it caused these illnesses.

Today, women have a choice of saline or silicon. The incision site, size, amount of tissue, shape and placement over or under the muscle all play a role in picking the best one.

The procedure has really come a long way since those paraffin injections of the 1890s. It also shows that women, through the years, are really not that different. The desire to enhance the bust-line, maybe be a little sexy, transcends time and the cultures of different eras. A woman wants to be womanly no matter what century she's from.