The safety and efficacy of breast implants for augmentation mammaplasty.

This review of the efficacy and safety of breast implants was intended to focus on our current body of knowledge about these devices. There are informational gaps, but not all of these can be laid at the door of imperfect studies or failed scientific methods. Certain properties of the implants are still unmeasurable, immunologic investigation is still evolving, the cause of wound contraction is inexplicable here or in the burnscar contracture, and the indications for and results of this surgery necessarily are subjective. Still, there are a number of investigative avenues open to us, and our cumulative experience shows no reluctance on the part of plastic surgeons to initiate further studies.