breast implant

One of the first uses of silicone in a medical implant came in the form of lifesaving tubes implanted into young children to funnel excess fluid from the brain into the chest cavity, where the fluid could be safely metabolized and excreted. Since these "shunts" were first used, in the late 1950s, silicone in various forms has come to be an important part of many implants. "It is used in tracheotomy tubes, in artificial lenses …

…dissemination of this information is very necessary to protect your comapny and my colleagues" (Bryne 98). Vinnick complained to Dow about an incident when he removed a pair of silicone implants, the gel in a ruptured implant was terribly runny while the gel inside the other implant was of ideal cohesion. This difference led him and some others to believe that when silicone gel came into contact with tissue fluids and fat the gel's consistency changed.