What is industrial silicone? Fake breast implants

KBS News

I became curious about how an industrial silicone looks like as I watched news on the people who tried to make and sell industrial silicone to many hospitals. I still have not seen one. I wanted to know the difference between the industrial silicone and cosmetic surgery silicone, so I searched for it on the web.

What is a commercial silicone? Let’s refer to the online information.



Polysiloxane is usually called silicon and has shapes of oil, rubber, and others. R is a form of methyl that is the most representative of the silicones. The properties are rather unique in that it has no reaction or toxicity. It does not burn well, and therefore used as lubricant and brake oil. The silicone rubber is made by mixing the linear silicone polymer. Silicone is not only used as oil but used as silly putty (play dough) and is used to make toys such as Superball that is very elastic. It is widely used for weatherproof materials, glue, cosmetics, rubber, medical tools, contact lens, etc. Silicone implant used in cosmetic surgery is also included.

Reference: Naver


Silicone is a molecular structure of polysiloxane that is chemically stable therefore does not react within the body or any type of environment. Silicone is widely used in the medical field because it has this chemical stability. The biggest advantage is that it does not react to any type of environment and stays as it is, unchanged.

A silicon is just a silicon, there is no distinction of industrial silicon and medical silicon. The problem is if there are an impurities added during the manufacturing stage and how pure the substance is.

The core problem is what type of impurities are mixed and what type of vinyl is mixed with the polyiloxane but these were not covered in the news.


Analyzing the news

So I tried to analyze the news.
The news said that a company with a plant in Kyungki Sihung has sold silicone withough Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) certification to various hospitals.

There was an interview with contents that said "The skin decayed due to the industrial silicone…”

This news is shocking but is not medical or scientific. There was no news on what types of impurities were added, if these impurities cause cancer or what kind of effect the impurities have on the body. (I feel this a lot with the medical or scientific related news. There aren’t much details or analysis. The news only provides simple selective headlines)
When I do reconstruction nose surgeries on patients who are aged in the 50’s or 60’s, I see that those silicones are different from the ones that we use today. No matter how many times I see these silicones, I feel that these are not pure silicones. It feels very strong as well. I observed this many times. We cannot check on the substances because the silicones are too old.

But as the news said, “Does such silicone cause ulcer and infection, skin necrosis and decaying of skin?”

The answer is no in reality.
If you are one who is considering cosmetic surgery and want to check on the silicone that would be used, you can get the lot number, serial number of the implant and check it with the KFDA or Customs office.

But how worried would one be if she has used silicone for her body 20~30 years ago.
I think that people would feel sick if they hear that "industrial silicone leads to skin decay.”

What is the news said this?
"The purity is not up to standard, the those implants with impurities are not determined to be safe as it might cause cancer, capsular contracture, and tissue reaction, therefore, one needs to check with the hospital.”


Fake breast implants

As many of you know, there are many fake products in China. They sell fake eggs that are made of plastic.

I was invited to a Chinese hospital for breast reconstruction and found a breast implant that I have never seen before. It was not made by a company that I had heard of. There was no brand name either.

From what I know, I don’t think there is such a product in Korea. So this news was very chocking to me.

Breast implant was certified in 2007 July, and this cohesive gel product is registered in the KFDA so that there are records of the products. The hospitals also need to keep records of the implant and the patients.

Reference : KFDA Homepage

But those silicone used for the nose is not under the tracking scheme.
But those of you who want nose correction can ask for the package, manufacturing company name, production date and other information before having the surgery. I always use products from Bistool and show the complete product to the patient if he/she wishes to see it. I use products from Polytech Germany and Natrelle US for breast augmentation implants. They both have CE and KFDA certifications and are imported through official routes.

I wrote this for those patients who are worried due to the news (those patients who received cosmetic surgery). But you do not need to worry about this.
If you used low purity implant, the implant would have already caused chemical problems.

As for the silicone gel breast implant in China, I hope that the police find out about this and check on the substance in scientific investigating labs. If they find out what kinds of substances are in the product, it would be helpful to the patients as well as future customers. There should be no simple news that say “industrial implants lead to skin decay.”

Let’s summarize



We, at our clinic, provide the product certification sticker along with a patient diary that I have made for the breast augmentation surgeries.

Before you get a nose correction, ask for the implant serial number that will be used on your nose. Check the product package of the implant used, after the nose correction and match the product number.
I think that there will be some patients who do not check the above contents although I have mentioned it.

The most important thing is the conscience of the medical agencies. Find a hospital or a clinic with appropriate price. Do not go to a clinic because there are many patients. Go to a clinic that the doctor takes big responsibility under his/her own name. This is important.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day.