Last year alone, close to 500,000 American women went under the knife for breast implants, according to an article in today’s issue of The Washington Post. World-wide, between 5-to-10 million women have had breast augmentation, to date (either for cosmetic purposes, or as a result of breast cancer).

While physician service providers each have their personal opinions on the safety of breast implants, the article reported that, recently, the FDA said that “implants might increase the risk of developing a rare form of lymphoma known as anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system., but based on recent evidence, implants are relatively safe.”

According to the news article, the agency said, “based on the totality of the evidence, the FDA believes that silicone gel-filled breast implants have reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness when used as labeled.

“Breast implants are not lifetime devices. The longer a woman has silicone gel-filled breast implants, the more likely she is to experience complications,”

Women considering getting breast implants should do their research and keep in mind that, according to studies, one in five women, who has the surgery, ends up having the implants taken out, eventually.

My friend Samantha, who lives in Chicago, can attest to being one in five. She felt discomfort, shortly after having her surgery, which was solely for cosmetic purposes. She returned to the physician services provider who performed the surgery on her, and had them removed.

“As a woman, I think it is natural get over-hyped about the idea of having larger breasts,” Samantha said. “For me, I realized that I was good the way I was before the surgery, so that is why I had my implants removed.”