What Are Silicone Implants and How Are They Made?

TL;DR

Silicone implants are medical devices made from chemically inert silicone polymers, which consist of silicon, oxygen, and various other components. They mimic the natural feel of breast tissue due to their liquid-like filling and flexible outer shell. The difference between silicone and silicon lies in their structures; silicone is used for implants while silicon is a crystalline element.

Transcript

there has been a lot of news lately in Britain and in Europe about silicones that have been used for medical implants particularly in women's breasts when people talk about this in the media they keep on muddling up silicon and the element and silicones which are the materials that are used for these implants so it seem sensible just to tell you wh... Read More

Key Insights

• 🅰️ Silicones are a type of plastic material made of silicon, carbon, and hydrogen.
• 😷 Silicones are chemically inert and stable, making them suitable for medical purposes.
• ✋ Breast implants made with industrial grade silicone may have a higher risk of rupture.
• 😌 The difference between silicon and silicones lies in their chemical structures and applications.
• 😒 Industrial grade silicone has higher impurity levels and is not suitable for ingestion or medical use.
• ❓ Silicones can be made into different viscosities, from watery to oily or viscous.
• 💪 The silicone chains in breast implants are crosslinked to create a flexible and strong material.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the difference between silicon and silicones?

Silicon is an element similar to carbon, while silicones are plastic materials made of silicon, carbon, and hydrogen.

Q: Why are silicon-oxygen bonds used in silicones?

Silicon-oxygen bonds create more stable compounds and result in chemically inert materials that don't react with other substances.

Q: What is industrial grade silicone?

Industrial grade refers to silicone with a higher impurity level, suitable for industrial purposes but not for applications involving ingestion or medical use.

Q: Why are there concerns about certain breast implants?

Some implants made with industrial grade silicone may have thinner or less crosslinked outer plastic, leading to a higher risk of rupturing.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Silicones are plastic materials made of silicon, carbon, and hydrogen, used for medical implants like breast implants.

• The element silicon is in the same periodic group as carbon and can potentially form similar chains, but silicon-oxygen bonds make more stable compounds.

• Silicone implants consist of a silicone chain-bonded bag filled with a liquid-like material for a natural feel.