[melonie_charm]

... apparently the only work that the FDA will currently allow US plastic surgeons to perform on string implants (and that apparently means ANY US plastic surgeon, even the inventor of string implants) is to REMOVE THEM - to be replaced by conventional implants which do have FDA approval.  I have nothing but admiration for Dr. Johnson - he's undoubtedly the best all round plastic surgeon I have ever met.  If you'll check the timing of your friend's perceived change in Dr. Johnson's outlook and the FDA ruling in regard to his string implants (declaring that as breast implants PPP string implants are not covered under the general approval of PPP for use as suture material in the human body, and must undergo the same approval procedure as any other type of breast implant) you'll find that they coincide!  If I'm not mistaken, this same FDA ruling in regard to breast implants was also responsible for ending the further use of implants made by the French company PolyImplantProstheses, which were previously allowed in the USA under a similar (but much larger) clinical trial.

Whether or not you or I or anybody else agrees with the wisdom of the FDA ruling is irrelevant.  For a fact the FDA has the authority to totally control the permissible activities of Doctors, Hospitals, Clinics, Medical Device manufacturers etc.  For years the FDA banned the use of silicone implants in the USA even though it was eventually proven that the alleged silicone implant health risks were non-existant.  About 2 years ago the FDA reversed their silicone ban, based on an extremely expensive study funded by the US implant manufacturers and others, and aided by leading medical colleges and institutions.  String implants have not received any such support or financial backing, and very probably never will.

At the moment, to the best of my knowledge, the only implants FDA approved for general use by any US plastic surgeon are those implants listed in the catalog of US Implant manufacturers Mentor and McGhan Medical.  The FDA has also approved a clinical trial of implants manufactured by the US division of Silimed, although these are only available to a limited number of patients through a limited number of plastic surgeons who are participating in the trial.

About string implant maintenance for myself or any other girl who currently has string implants, all I can tell you is that I received the same alternative as your friend did, to have my string implants replaced with conventional ones.   So, like your friend, I'm just hanging in there and hoping no complications develop with my own string implants because I also love them!  I guess I'll just have to deal with the fact that my breasts will likely continue to keep accumulating fluid and keep growing!

[steveo]

"...I guess I'll just have to deal with the fact that my breasts will likely continue to keep accumulating fluid and keep growing! "

Darn!
 

[JohnnyA]

The next time the Pope is looking for candidates for Sainthood, I will certainly drop your name in the suggestion box for immediate cannonization ! Thanks for the thorough review of the somewhat disheartening world of augmentation. I will keep checking with the FORUM to keep my friend...and myself...ABREAST of the opportunities.

JohnnyA  

[Catch]

That's the FDA for you. The FDA is the largest, single obstruction to medical progress in the world.

Another case of government run amock!

[steveo]

Damn! And I have been told that Govt. is the answer to everything and they have my best interests in mind! Who can I trust now?
 

[ninjrk]

Ha!  You ought to see what the regulatory agencies in Japan and Europe are like.  The FDA is a cake-walk compared to them.

To be fair, there are studies that caution us against using too much Prolene simply to repair a hollow organ or anastamosis because of the possible tissue reaction. We're talking about 4-8 inches of the stuff. They're not totally off-base wanting to see some good safety data for several hundred feet of it.  Constantly dumping serum is not a normal reaction to an implant, ya know.  That's implant rejection.

Matt  

[Catch]

Steveo: Start by NOT trusting the following:
1. Government in any shape or form!
2. Anyone who tries to tell you Government is the answer to anything.

The only exception being the fighting men of the U.S. military.  View the generals and pointy heads at the Pentagon with skeptical vigilance.

Borrowed (or stole) your ackowledgement to the Colonel.  If you wish it will be removed.

 

[Catch]

Come to think about it, you don't have a reason in the world to trust me!

[Lesbian Bob]

"The FDA is the largest, single obstruction to medical progress in the world."

What kind of libertarian nonsense is that?  The U.S. FDA not only approves drugs and devices faster than anyone else but also has higher standards and is more respected than any other country's medical regulation agency.  

Keep in mind that Dr. J isn't certified in plastic surgery by either of the two most respected boards (he failed the test the first time he took it), and any doctor can buy a board certification for surgery, even one who isn't a surgeon or even an M.D., thanks to $20,000 two-week specials run by some organizations.

 

[MrHHH]

Sorry, I'll have to stick up for the FDA also. There's a lot of con artists out there who would love to start selling medical snake oil in the US.

Hell, if it wasn't for the FDA I could make some 5000cc implants and sell them. Anyone feel good about that?  

[TheZookie007]

If indeed Doc J isn't board certified, then how in the hell was he allowed to practice? I guess gals like Minka, Chelsea, Melonie et al. are luckier than I thought!  

[ninjrk]

Easy, you don't need to be board certified to do surgery, you just need the MD and a liscense to practice in your state.  Board certification simply allows you to state that you've met certain basic competencies in your specialization.  That's not to say that those who don't have their boards suck or all those who do are good.  It does mean that I get a little twitchy when uncertified guys with very limited research start using people as guinea pigs.  He could get around the FDA, sort-of, because Prolene is already a certified-safe material.  However, it was never tested in anything approaching the volumes that Dr. Johnson was using and the FDA reserves the right to stop that.

The more that I hear about the string implants, the more nervous I get for the models wearing them.  They're describing a classic implant rejection with the sera build-up.  I'd be worried that, if they can't drain the serum, they might be looking at pressure necrosis, amoung other things.

Matt  

[**DONOTDELETE**]

speaking of that, i remember reading about a dentist who was practicing plastic surgery someplace.  

[Lesbian Bob]

Read all about Dr. J at www.houston-press.com/issues/1996-06-20/feature.html/1/index.html  

I don't think Wendy Whoppers is too enthusiastic about him, either.

One legitimate certification board is the American Board of Medial Specialties, www.ambs.org, and Dr. J's own website says that his own certification is not by a board recognized by them: "Dr. Johnson is a member of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (not a member of the A.B.M.S.)."

[Catch]

It dosen't take a libertarian to be upset with the FDA.  The conservative view works just fine.

I'm not advocating the demolition of the agency. Just that it focus on medical science instead of "junk science" and political pressure.  As for the rapid approval of devices, techniques, and drugs - the European agancy's are much faster.  Many of those countries are hampered by socialized medicine not government regulation.  The FDA took a bad turn for the worse in the early 90's.  It still hasn't recovered.

For those that will protest that silicone is so harmful: Why is it that the same percentage of women of the population have auto-immune disorders now  compared to before silicon breast implants? This despite diagnositic proceedures have vastly improved for the elusive problems like lupus erythematosis.

Perhaps string implants are dangerous; however, it was the ban on large implants that prompted the search for new techniques.  Result - string implants.

 No need to go into the preliminary research that seemed to indicate that silicone implants may prevent cancer.  These studies were first steps in a promising new direction and were stopped by political pressure alone.