Silicone breast implants were originally designed by Dow Corning in the early 1960's. The first breast implants were implanted inside a human being in 1962. In the beginning, silicone breast implants were used almost exclusively for mastectomy patients. However, two forces were at work to change this. The first force was the increasing number of surgeons in the plastic surgery profession. Doctors were attracted to the field of plastic surgery because of the regular working hours, affluent customers, and high profits. Yet the plastic surgery field was growing faster than demand required.

A new market had to be created to satisfy plastic surgeons. Secondly, the availability of new softer, more pliable implants, that could be inserted using smaller incisions with less trauma to the patient, made breast implants less expensive and more attractive to the consumer.

The truth about silicone breast implants was now public knowledge. Although Dow had long since had a reputation as being an ethical company, its reputation was now severely tarnished. This was reflected in Dow's stock value, as it continued to plummet. Dow had violated the public trust. Consumers expected Dow to produce safe products. The also expected to be provided with accurate information so that they could decide whether or not to purchase implants. Dow intentionally deceived the public into thinking that the implants were safe. In Dow's own tests, less than 1 percent of all implants failed. This failure rate was acceptable to Dow. Yet some surgeons claimed a failure rate of over 30 percent. This discrepancy may have

manufacturing once it was clear that the consumers were becoming aware of the problems. By reacting more quickly, Dow could have minimized this crisis. Furthermore, Dow could have even profited from further research. It could have used intense research and testing as a selling point for its product. As it was, Dow suffered horribly not only because of the defects associated with the implants, but also because Dow tried to hide the truth from the consumer.

By the 1980's, the breast augmentation business had begun to flourish. Nearly 80 percent of breast implants done in the 80's were for cosmetic purposes only. Surgeons continued to advertise breast implants aggressively as breast enhancements accounted for a majority of their overall income. The potential for profit in the breast implant market was phenomenal. By the 1990's nearly 2 million women had completed breast enhancements. Yet this boom was not to last forever. As more women were having breast enhancements, more women also began to experience serious complications with their implants. Once these complications became public, the golden era for silicone breast implants would be over.

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honest about the risks involved. Dow could have also recalled its product or at least halted

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2415
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)