This was revealed by Drs. Loren Lipworth and Joseph K. McLaughlin who said the suicides were not caused by silicone toxicity but underlying psychological problems. Their findings were published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery.

The subjects were 3,527 Swedish women who had breast implants for an average of 19 years. The risk of suicide went up 10 years after surgery and continued to rise after 20 or more years. The women were also three times more likely to have drug or alcohol problems and were more likely to be involved in an accident or injury as a result of these problems.

"What our data suggests to us is there is a subset of women choosing to get cosmetic breast implants who have psychiatric illness prior to implantation. This results in a high risk of unnatural cause of death - suicide and deaths related to alcohol dependence and drug abuse," said Lipworth, an assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Lipworth's study is not the first to confirm the breast implant - suicide link. Dr. Louise A. Brinton, chief of the hormonal and reproductive epidemiology branch of the US National Cancer Institute, had established this link earlier and remains baffled why this happens.

"There could be a host of explanations. It could be these women have unrealistic expectations about how implants are going to change their lives. There could be complications of breast implants that affect the quality of life. Or there could be underlying personality predispositions that lead both to seeking implants and suicide. We can't tell which, although anecdotal evidence points to the third possibility," he told WebMD.

Atlanta plastic surgeon Dr. Foad Nahai, president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, said breast augmentation normally results in improved self-esteem if it is done for the right reasons. However, he admits that not all plastic surgeons take time to screen patients properly. This view is shared by Dr. David B. Sarwer, associate professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Human Appearance.

"Plastic surgeons need to do a better job of screening patients for psychological illnesses. My colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and I have recently reviewed these findings, and we argue that plastic surgeons should evaluate the psychological status of all patients. If they encounter a patient in psychiatric treatment or with a history of psychiatric hospitalization, they should insist that those patients get a mental health consultation prior to surgery," Sarwer said.

"If a woman is getting breast implants to save a marriage or if they want to attract more men when they go into a singles bar, this isn't going to work. But if a woman is doing it for herself, for her self-esteem, and wants to look better in her clothes, we are seeing someone who is doing it for the right reasons," Nahai added.

The new study is another blow to breasts implants that have been linked to a host of medical problems. To avoid complications, switch to other non-invasive means of breast enhancement. One of these is the Clevastin Natural Breast Enlargement System. When used as directed, this product will give you as natural lift without the need for expensive surgery. Check out for details.