In Vivo Study of Electrolyte Exchanges through Membranes of Saline-Filled Breast Implants

Saline-filled breast implants are currently used in breast reconstruction and augmentation. Free diffusion of electrolytes through these implants has been questioned recently and is of potentially high importance. Many questions are still unanswered about this phenomenon. Eighteen prostheses were reviewed and tested for diffusion and exchange of electrolytes and glucose in vivo. None of these implants demonstrated major variation of the inner contents from the original saline used to fill them, emphasizing the real innocuousness of such implants in terms of possible ionic pooling. Extrapolation of these results to all implants made by different manufacturers is not possible according to the sample size in the present study. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 104476, 1999.)