Absolutely Safe

In this day and age, breast implants are thought to be “absolutely safe,” a claim that filmmaker Carol Ciancutti-Leyva examines in this thought-provoking documentary. As Ciancutti-Leyva notes at the outset, her mother Audrey chose augmentation after a mastectomy in the 1970s, a time when the procedure carried greater risks (and before saline became an alternative to silicone). Over the years, Audrey experienced ruptures, joint pain, and chronic fatigue, eventually speaking before an FDA Safety Hearing in 2003 (her testimony is included here). Filmed over a 10-year-period, Absolutely Safe looks at five decades of implant technology, while interviewing women such as former exotic dancer Wendi, who has her silicone implants removed after experiencing health problems, and young wife Denée, who gets implants in order to boost her self-confidence—even though her husband thinks she looks just fine (the film includes some graphic operating-room footage of the procedures for both women). As a toxicologist notes here, these “devices” (as the medical profession refers to them) can leak heavy metals—such as tin, zinc, and platinum—difficult for the body to expel. Offering opinions on both sides, other interviewees include plastic surgeons, a Dow Corning executive, an FDA spokesperson (who cautions that “nothing is free of risk”) and satisfied breast implant customers. Veteran documentarian Jennifer Fox (An American Love Story, Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman) served as executive producer for this documentary, which offers an admirable balance between the personal and the scientific. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)