Silicone in breast implants are bulletproof

Question

"Doctors noted that the silicone implant was likely responsible for deflecting the bullet’s trajectory – ultimately saving the woman’s life."

- CNN

Comments

This statement is misleading. While it is possible for a breast implant to protect someone from a bullet wound, a study conducted by plastic surgeon Christopher Pannucci found that a silicone implant only reduces a bullet's average distance by 20%

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that quote completely disproved your point, just because something changes the trajectory of a bullet does not make it bulletproof.

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This is an interesting study and if done correctly could save a woman's life. Although it would be beneficial for a breast implant to also have a feature that it is bulletproof, it is only reflecting the trajectory of the bullet which could make the article's headline a little misleading.

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I like that you included a study that supports for point. I think the quote in the CNN article is not used correctly in their claim. Just because someone's breast implant was a likely stop to the bullet in no way means that all implants are bulletproof. I looked more into the study you found and it does say that a breast implant has the ability the reduce a bullet's ability to penetrate, but to say that all are bulletproof implies that all breast implants are 100% bulletproof, which is clearly not correct. I agree with your explanation and appreciate the source that you gave to disprove this claim.

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Unfortunantly I think they are explaining the reason this person survived an incident, rather than saying that all breast implants are bulletproof.

Answer 1

This claim in the article states that the silicone in women's breast implants is bulletproof. That statement is not true, although it is true that the silicone did save a woman's life when she got shot up close; the bullet got lodged inside the silicone. However, according to an article on dr-adams.com, "The handgun they used fired bullets at 300 meters per second into blocks of ballistics gel 2.5 meters away. They then measured how deep the bullet penetrated. Afterward, they added a few large saline breast implants in front of the gel and shot it again. They found that the implant reduced the average distance the bullet traveled into the gel by about 20%." Going from that kind of research, I would say this is a little exaggerated.

Answer 2

The case study of a bullet-deflecting silicone breast implant is credible as a documented medical event, but it’s important to view it in context. Instances of implants altering bullet trajectories are extremely rare and not widely recognized in trauma science as reliable protection. The article may unintentionally imply a protective value to implants, but medical experts view this as an unusual outcome rather than a practical or replicable benefit.

Answer 3

This claim is very misleading and absolutely false. Nowhere in the article linked does it state that breast implants are bulletproof! The only thing the CNN article discusses is the fact that the implant stopped the bullet from hitting central organs, not that implants themselves are completely bulletproof. This claim is not scientifically proven after doing research. There are sources that say it can decrease the likelihood of death from gunshot wounds but nothing that says it is 100% effective.

Answer 4

While CNN is an extremely credible source, nowhere in the article does it state that silicone breast implants are actually bulletproof. Granted, there have been several instances where a silicone breast implant has changed the projectory of a bullet, letting it miss vital organs, this doesn't mean it is entirely bulletproof. The victim is still shot, just not killed. If someone markets glass as bulletproof and it shatters when shot, but no one gets killed, the glass is still not bulletproof.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/americas/breast-implant-bullet-wound-wellness-intl-scli/index.html

Answer 5

This claim is misleading. While the doctors noted that the silicone implants made a difference in this specific case, they did not say that this would be true in every case. That is important to note, as in another case where the bullet came from another angle the implants may be ineffective. More conclusive research would need to be done to make this claim truthful, so the claim remains misleading for now.

Answer 6

The claim that "silicone breast implants are bulletproof" is false and misleading. This claim states a much greater idea that is untrue. The article that is linked as the source refers to a single case in which the women's breast implant saved her from a gun shot wound puncturing her vital organs. The National Library of Medicine published an article referring to the same case as the CNN article, however through their extensive research on case it stated clearly that the implant may have had some impact in changing the trajectory preventing the bullet from hitting the thoracic cavity but it is specific to this case only.

Answer 7

he CNN article doesn’t suggest that silicone breast implants are bulletproof. Instead, both the article and the medical case study explain that the woman’s implants helped save her life by deflecting the bullet’s path away from her vital organs, rather than stopping it completely.

There are other cases where implants have offered similar protection. For example, a study in the peer-reviewed journal ePlasty found that saline implants reduced bullet penetration by “20.6% compared to cases with no implant” and suggested that silicone implants might offer even more reduction. Although implants can provide some level of protection, they aren’t a dependable way to stop or deflect bullets.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/americas/breast-implant-bullet-wound-wellness-intl-scli/index.html

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9949879/ 

Answer 8

The claim that silicone breast implants are bullet proof is false. While silicone can change the directory of a bullet due to the liquid inside, the articles linked to the claim do not support the idea that they are bullet proof. The article instead claims that a bullet shot into a woman with implants' breasts will most likely redirect or slow it down. There are other instances of breast implants redirecting bullets and saving women's lives. However, ultimately the claim that they are bullet proof is simply untrue. 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/americas/breast-implant-bullet-wound-wellness-intl-scli/index.html

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9949879/

Answer 9

The article by CNN describes a incident where a silicone implant reportedly altered the bullet's trajectory, sparing vital organs like the heart and lungs. Despite everything in the article being true, the claim that silicone in breast implants is bulletproof is completely false. Bulletproof is defined in the dictionary as "inpenitrable to bullets." Despite the bullet not killing her, it still went through her implant, making it not "bulletproof." Because of this, this claim is false.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bulletproof

Answer 10

Silicone breast implants are not bulletproof according to Dr. Adam's blog they describe that the implants cannot stop a bullet and there could be potentially life or limb-threatening emergencies if they are ruptured while inside your body cavity. If you have implants you shouldn't try to sacrifice your chest because the implants will not stop the bullet. 

https://www.dr-adams.com/blog/can-a-breast-implant-stop-a-bullet/