Breast implant-related silicone granulomas: the literature and the litigation.

Formation of a granuloma is a common tissue response to the presence of a variety of foreign materials. A silicone granuloma is, by definition, a type of tissue reaction elicited occasionally by silicone. Granulomas of this sort have not engendered a great deal of attention in the scientific literature since their first description in 1964, and they were considered by most surgeons through the 1980s to be an incidental finding of little or no consequence.

Silicone gel breast implant rupture rates: research issues.

Documenting the rate of rupture of silicone breast implants appears to be deceptively easy. Largely because of the phenomenon of "silent rupture," it isn't. The authors explore the various technical biases (selection, misclassification, and confounding) and methodological problems that have plagued much of the research conducted to date.