Ed Brent of Atlanta told the panel that his wife, P. J. Brent, committed suicide in 2000, two months after testifying at a previous hearing on implants. Ms. Brent believed that her silicone implants had seeped into her breast milk and sickened her two children, Mr. Brent said. The five children she had before the implants are healthy, he added.
The companies haven't studied the health effects of silicone leakage, known as extracapsular rupture, and one study included just 23 women, said Kathy L. Keithley Johnston, executive director of Columbia, Missouri-based consumer group Toxic Discovery.
``You would think that after 40 years, implant manufacturers should find more than 23 women with extracapsular rupture,'' Johnston said. ``Without a doubt, there are'' more than that many women attending today's hearing at a hotel in Gaithersburg, Maryland, she said.
reporter on this story:Kerry Dooley Young in Gaithersburg, Maryland,
Marti Jacobs - Kathy L. Keithley Johnston - Kathy Nye
Marti Jacobs - Mary McDonough
ABC30.com: Companies Push To Lift Ban
"I have experienced the gamut of problems including outright rejection. Eventually, necrosis developed and the implant actually came out through my skin and popped out on its own," says silicone implant patient, Kathleen Van Fossen-Nye.
Another woman who testified is actress Mary McDonough from "The Waltons" TV series. She believes her health problems were caused by silicone gel implants. McDonough said the FDA needs more than four years of data from a study that began in 2001.
"Almost every breast implant will fail in the body over time," said Keithley-Johnston, a Columbia registered nurse and executive director of Toxic Discovery.
"And no one knows the long-term effects of silicone on the human body."
The Columbia Daily Tribune By SARA AGNEW of the Tribune’s staff Published Saturday, April 9, 2005
I'm sure President George W. Bush wouldn't take that chance with Laura or Barbara or Jenna. As he has reminded us more than once, when there is so much confusion, let us err on the side of life.Steve Young is author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful" and can be heard on Los Angeles's KTLK AM 1150, Saturdays 1-4 PM.
