Implant Study Stirs Furor
In the latest twist to a controversy that has raged in the medical community and in courts for nearly 40 years, a court-appointed panel of independent scientists concluded that silicone breast implants are not linked to disease. CBS News Legal Correspondent Kristin Jeannette-Meyers reports.
The latest findings are being heralded by doctors who have long thought that there is no connection between silicone breast implants and a host of illnesses claimed by women in lawsuits against manufacturers.
"It's very good news, and it should reassure women that there is no concern that they are either going to make themselves sick because they've had implants, or that they are going to make their children sick, which also some people have tried to claim," says Dr. Wendy Epstein.
This much-anticipated report concludes there is no proof implants play a part in women's diseases in four major areas: toxicology, immunology, epidemiology, and rheumatology.
But critics argue that the report is based on old research funded by implant manufacturers.
Sybil Niden Goldrich is a breast cancer survivor who used to have silicone implants, and now is an activist.
"It's incredibly important for people to understand this study does not say breast implants are safe," Goldrich says.
While that statement is true, the report does say there is no evidence silicone implants cause the very diseases women have blamed on them in court cases.
"I think the headline for this report should be we still don't know whether silicone breast implants are safe or not," says Dr. Diana Zuckerman, a board member of the National Women's Health Network, a private, non-profit consumer organization.
The panel was made up of experts who had never worked for the implant companies or for any of the women suing those companies.
It was created in the hope that it would provide so-called neutral commentary for future court cases. But clearly, the battle rages on.
Zuckerman argues that while the study addresses whether there is clear evidence that implants do not cause particular kinds of diseases, it does not conclude that breast implants are safe.
"Women getting breast implants want to know if they get them, will they be healthy? And this report can't answer those questions," Dr. Zuckerman told CBS This Morning Co-Anchor Thalia Assuras.
She adds that the study looked at several illnesses but neglected other breast implant issues reported by some women, including a hardening of breasts, rupturing of implants, and movement of silicone gel to other parts of the body.
"I guess one thing that is really important for people to understand is that the absence of proof in research doesn't prove the absence of illness," Dr. Zuckerman says.
"I would just recommend that women continue to be very cautios and to think about all the potential health risks of breast implants, not just the ones that were looked at in this particular report," she adds.