Breast Implant Controversy
“Dow Corning and the Silicone Breast Implant Controversy” Dow Corning Corporation is a silicone product manufacturer founded in 1943. After World War II it was one of the fastest-growing companies. By 1990 it manufactured 5000 products. They made the first breast implant in 1963. In a span of 30 years 2 million women received implants and Dow Corning manufactured 35 percent of them. In 1975 Dow Corning manufactured a second type of implant call Flo-gel mammaries which would more closely resemble natural breasts. Keith R. Mckennon was recruited and recently named chairman and CEO of Dow Corning after transferring from Dow Chemical where he was executive Vice President and well known for solving problems. Keith R. Mckennon is now faced with the issues of the company. It is 1992 and he is on his way back to headquarters trying to find solutions for his company. He was leaving washington where he had testified before the FDA Advisory Committee on the safety of the companies silicone breast implants. The Implants manufactured by Dow Corning are prone to rupturing, bleeding through, or hardening which have to harmful effects on the body. The problem with the poorly tested and manufactured implants lead to pain, scarring, and autoimmune diseases. They are also known to Interfere with the detection of breast cancer. Dow Corning did not preformed a sufficient number of tests to determine whether or not the implants would be safe for their intended medical uses. They committed fraud in marketing the implants as safe when they were clearly not. The corporation is now faced with multiple lawsuits and criticisms from the FDA, Congress, the media, and women's advocacy organizations around the United States. There are a multitude of moral issues set forth by this case. When the Cronin breast implant was first released by Dow Corning in 1963 they were unregulated by the government and FDA. In 1964 they created food and drug research labs to run tests on the safety of