Many ladies considering breast augmentation surgery will no doubt have heard of frightening stories about silicone toxicity or autoimmune/connective tissue disease, due to gel “bleed” or migration. As a result, getting breast surgery has, in the last 10 years, received much unfavourable publicity mainly through the irresponsible actions of the media whereby, regardless of the facts, claims have been made with respect to silicone safety. Undoubtedly, most of these stories began to attract attention after the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 1992 imposed a ban on the use of silicone gel breast implants. The FDA concluded, “there was no evidence that silicone gel filled breast implants are unsafe, but there was insufficient evidence to prove safety”. All the above was a result of pending law suits against the manufacturers of breast implants from women who had this cosmetic surgeryand were now allegedly suffering from a whole host of symptoms from a disease process arbitrarily termed “silicone related autoimmune disease”. Since this time there has been much activity and debate within the medical community to try to ascertain whether silicone gel breast implants are safe. To this end there have been many numerous statements issued supporting silicone safety from, amongst other medical bodies, the Chief Medical officer, Department of Health( the full 36 page report can be obtained from Silicone Gel breast Implants Independent Review Group on 0207 972 8000 or it can be downloaded on the internet on http://www.silicone-review.gov.uk) and the American College of Rheumatology. All concluded that silicone implants expose patients to no demonstrable additional risk for connective tissue or rheumatic disease” and ” there is no reason to discourage women from considering breast implant surgery on the basis of acquiring or worsening a connective tissue or autoimmune disorder”. Furthemore, there is no evidence that silicone in breast implants causes cancer in humans. On the contrary recent studies have shown that implanted women seem to have up to 30% less breast cancer than the general population. The finding of silicone in bodily fluids should also be viewed in perspective; silicon is found abundantly in our environment and indeed probably in most people. Our contact with silicone is extensive throughout all of our lives and it is used widely in medicine. Silicone is used as a lubricant in every disposable needle, syringe and intravenous tubing. Silicones are used in lipstick, suntan lotions, food processing, skin creams, hair spray, and cosmetics. Over 1000 medical products use silicone as a component or in the manufacturing process including artificial heart valves, joints, and pacemakers.