The problems that have followed liquid silicone injections to the breast raise concern about and have implications for use of silicone injections in other sites.
Similar clinical problems and histologic skin changes have been reported after silicone injections to the face, extremities, abdomen, and penis, as well as breasts.
Facial skin discoloration, induration, and subcutaneous nodule formation may follow silicone injection, but these are relatively minor complications compared with the aesthetic problems that patients with hemifacial atrophy and lipodistrophy may have to endure without treatment by the silicone procedure. There is no argument that the benefits for these patients outweigh potential local risks.
Quite the opposite may be true for patients seeking injections merely for cosmetic purposes. Here, the risks may far outweigh any possible benefit.
Physicians have assumed that problems associated with silicone injections were caused by adulterated liquid silicone. This is not the case. In Las Vegas and
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