Mammary implants marketed by Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) were found to contain industrial grade silicone and this caused heightened anxiety and extensive publicity regarding their safety in humans. These implants were used in a large number of patients worldwide for augmentation or breast reconstruction. We reviewed articles identified by searches of Medline, PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar databases up to May 2014 using the terms: "PIP", "Poly Implant Prothèse", "breast implants" and "augmentation mammoplasty" "siloxanes" or "silicone". In addition the websites of regulating bodies in Europe, USA, and Australia were searched for reports related to PIP mammary implants. PIP mammary implants are more likely to rupture than other implants and can cause adverse effects in the short to the medium term related to the symptoms of rupture such as pain, lumps in the breast and axilla and anxiety. Based on peer-reviewed published studies we have calculated an overall rupture rate of 14.5% (383/2,635) for PIP implants. However, there is no evidence that PIP implant rupture causes long-term adverse health effects in humans so far. Silicone lymphadenopathy represents a foreign body reaction and should be treated conservatively. The long-term adverse effects usually arise from inappropriate extensive surgery, such as axillary lymph node dissection or extensive resection of breast tissue due to silicone leakage.
Keywords: Breast implantation; Breast implants; Prosthesis failure; Silicone; Silicone gels.