Saline made viscous with polyethylene glycol: a new alternate breast implant filler material

Silicone shell implants filled with either saline or polyethylene glycol 20,000 at 85 percent weight/volume were placed subcutaneously on the dorsal aspect of 20 rabbits, and after 2 weeks, selected implants were ruptured by subcutaneous insertion of a hypodermic needle. After 6 weeks and 6 months, histologic analyses of tissue samples from both groups showed no deviation in any organ from the norm. Further physical and chemical experiments on these devices showed no contradiction to their use as potential alternative filler material for breast implants in plastic surgery.