USA TODAY
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 09:48:43 EDT
WOMEN'S HEALTH
BREAST IMPLANTS
Feb. 28, 1996
Implant study shows small autoimmune disease risk
Researchers link silicon breast implants with a small increased risk in autoimmune diseases in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. "We certainly can reassure women that there are no major hazards," says Dr. Charles Hennekens of Harvard Medical School. Women with implants were 24% more likely to report any of the diseases. However, the differences between them and women without implants were barely significant, according to the researchers.
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Feb. 8, 1996
Implant recipients warned about unapproved tests
ATLANTA - Women worried about their silicone breast implants should use traditional tests to check for illnesses, not unproven methods, the government told doctors Thursday. The FDA says some tests being sold by laboratories are not supported by "good scientific evidence." Among recommended tests: Magnetic resonance imaging.
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More evidence against link between implants and diseases
A second study published in the New England Journal of Medicine fails to link silicone breast implants with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Dr. Matthew Laing of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, examined 87,000 women in the Nurses Health Study. Laing and colleagues found 1,183 women with breast implants and diagnosed 516 women with specific connective tissue diseases. Just three women with implants were among those suffering relatively rare maladies showing they were no more likely than other women to get such diagnoses. However, women with implants were 50% more likely to report symptoms themselves. A larger study is needed to confirm these findings.
Studies question link between breast implants, tissue diseases
Two new studies dispute the connection between silicone breast implants and connective tissue diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The findings undercut anecdotal evidence from women that the implants trigger an autoimmune reaction in their bodies. T. Michael Jackson, spokesman for Dow Corning, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization due to breast implant litigation, said the company welcomes the findings. But Dr. Sidney Wolfe with Washington-based Public Citizen charges that the "studies were grossly over-interpreted.''
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Breast implants not a big health risk
Women with silicone breast implants are not at increased risk of autoimmune diseases like lupus, the nation's top drug regulator told Congress. But Food and Drug Commissioner David Kessler said he can't estimate how likely these women are to have implants burst inside their breasts, flooding their bodies with silicone gel. Some studies suggest 71% of these women will eventually experience such a rupture. And he couldn't say if certain women, perhaps as many as 10,000, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of this silicone and devastating diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Some 1 million American women have the implants, and thousands claim the product has injured them. Lawmakers assailed Kessler at the congressional hearing for severely restricting women's access to the implants since 1992 when the FDA banned silicone implants for purely cosmetic surgery. Critics say the FDA's refusal to declare implants safe makes women delay getting tested for breast cancer because they fear they can't get reconstructive surgery if they are ill.
Jury awards $10 million in implant case
RENO, Nev. Dow Chemical Co. must pay $10 million in punitive damages to a woman who blames her ill health on leaky silicone breast implants, a jury ruled Monday. The Washoe District Court jury on Saturday awarded Charlotte Mahlum $3.9 million to compensate her for her losses. "I'm stunned," Mahlum said after the verdict. "Maybe now these big companies these doctors will understand we're not crazy, we're sick.''
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Judge finalizes new scaled-back breast implant settlement
A federal judge finalized details of a scaled-back breast implant injury settlement, allowing women to reject the deal and file their own lawsuits if they believe payments are too low. Under the settlement, women who can prove they had breast implants made by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Baxter International Inc. and 3M Co. could receive payments of $10,000 to $750,000, based on their health and age. The settlement, reached Oct. 1, covers about half of the 444,000 women covered by the old $4.25 billion deal, which collapsed due to lack of money. Proposed payments under the old settlement ranged as high as $1.4 million.
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Breast implant settlement severely underfunded
A $4.25 billion settlement of breast implant claims is so severely underfunded that women could receive as little as 5% of what they were originally promised, a federal court has disclosed. A partial analysis of claims filed with settlement administrators shows more than 70,000 women would likely be eligible to get money in the first wave of payments - far more than anyone anticipated. That means women who were expecting net payments ranging from $1.4 million to $105,000 could receive as little as $70,000 to $5,250.