Use was restricted in the country 14 years ago.

On 17 November 2006, the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the body that regulates medicaments and food in the United States, approved the use in the country of silicone implants after being restricted for 14 years. American women who had breast implants inserted had to use implants made of a kind of salt water - saline prostheses - while the silicone version was restricted to patients participating in studies and research.

The implants were approved for women over 22 years of age or those of any age undergoing breast-reconstruction surgery. However, the FDA warns that the silicone implants do not last for ever and that the patient who uses silicone will have to undergo another operation to replace it in a few years’ time. The organization will also oblige the companies that make the implants to conduct studies to verify the safety of the use of the product in patients.

In the United States alone, 291,000 women underwent breast-augmentation procedures in 2005, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Another 50,000 underwent mammary reconstitution. With the approval, surgeons now hope that silicone implants will win the preference of the nearly 300,000 American women who undergo breast-augmentation surgery every year in the United States.