THE ART OF SCIENCES : Implants au Naturel

For better or worse, breast implants are a big part of Southern California culture--just flip through the back pages of many of our local publications. Women in this state account for 19% of all breast augmentations in the United States; in 1992, 6,000 Californians had them.

But since safety concerns led the FDA to curb the use of silicone gel implants last year, the search has been on for something cosmetically superior to the only current alternative, saline implants.

Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis think they have just the stuff: soybean oil. It’s very safe, says Dr. V. Leroy Young, professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery, adding that many intravenous formulas for patients too sick to eat are soy-based. And the soybean oil implants are radiolucent and won’t interfere with mammograms, unlike silicone gel implants, which are radiopaque and can make cancer detection difficult. Young is awaiting FDA approval for clinical trials.

Implant makers are looking at a variety of other alternative implant materials. Maybe they should check out olive oil--expand your chest and lower your cholesterol.