Cosmetic silicone injections are lethal weapons

Wednesday December 6, 2006 ins: Breast Enhancement Tag(s):

Technorati Tags: breast implants, silicone

It is sad to note that risks and complications in cosmetic surgery and cosmetic treatments take place because patients brought those very things to themselves. Aside from the fact that some people don’t choose their surgeons carefully and opt for a much cheaper alternative such as going to unlicensed physicians for a specific operation, they also go as far as participating in underground cosmetic surgery where illicit drugs and substances are distributed.

Physorg tells about the lethal consequences of using illegal cosmetic silicone injections. Yes, people are still using them despite the fact that this type of injection has been banned by the US Food and Drug Administration since 1992. People seek them out because they are cheaper and easier to get than professional plastic surgery or hormone therapy for transgender patients.

Seven patients who presented to the hospital with respiratory distress due to illicit silicone injection were studied, along with an additional 37 cases from the literature. Patients’ demographic information, clinical presentation, imaging findings and outcome were analyzed.

"Twenty-five of the patients were transsexual males, and 19 were females," Dr. Restrepo said. "The most common sites of injection were the breast, hips, buttocks, vagina, chest and arms."

All 44 patients experienced respiratory difficulties after receiving the injections, and nearly half experienced fever. One-quarter of the patients died from resultant bleeding in the lungs.

Silicone that is injected improperly travels through the bloodstream and causes blood to coagulate in the lungs, creating circulatory obstructions that can be immediately life-threatening if not identified and treated quickly. The imaging findings of pulmonary silicone embolism include dark, hazy patches in the lung tissue on x-rays or computed tomography (CT) scans.

This blog post may sound like a little rambling against those who just take the risks for granted, but this is actually what this post intends to do – make people realize that they are putting their life on the line when they try to go for cheaper yet dangerous options. If operations handled by professionals and experts could sometimes go wrong and can prove to be risky, how much more with practices that are labeled risky and illegal in the first place.

When will people ever learn?

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