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Cheap, Deadly Beauty Fix On the Rise

Doctors report spike in illegal injections of silicone

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Apr 17, 2009 7:28 AM CDT

(Newser) – Illegal and potentially fatal silicone injections—a cheaper way to plump up the body than cosmetic surgery—are on the rise, the New York Times reports. The underground treatment, usually administered at home or at "pumping parties," has spread among Latinas and transgender women attracted by the quick way to feminize their bodies. Silicone can be deadly if it lodges in the lungs.

“This seems to be kind of an underground occurrence, so it’s difficult to get numbers of actual events and to know exactly what these people are being injected with,” said a spokesman for the FDA, which plans to issue a warning to doctors and ERs to be on the alert for silicone poisoning. “It’s important to note that none of the products that are reportedly being used are approved for this purpose.”

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Doctors have reported three cases of silicone injections in the last 10 months in New York. (Shutter stock)

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If you go to a pumping party, you can have it tonight. It’s a big temptation, especially among young people who, when you’re 20, you’re not thinking about your own mortality. - Nick Gorton, an emergency room doctor

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Cheap, Deadly Beauty Fix On the Rise