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

The claim references an instance in where a woman was shot and fortunately survived due to the silicone breast implants in her chest. While there is truth in the fact that the woman was able to survive due to her silicone breast implants, it is not safe to state that silicone breast implants are bulletproof, as the claim can be very misleading due to the fact that silicone itself is not bulletproof.

In a study published by the National Library of Medicine, it is stated that "The impact of a gunshot is tied to a bullet's path and placement within the body.12 The extent of the resulting trauma is influenced by multiple factors, one of which being the physical characteristics of the tissue that has been penetrated.12 Thus, if there is some sort of barrier (eg, bone or implant) to slow or deflect a bullet, it may serve as a protective factor." This means that while the bullet was affected by the silicone and different parts of the patients body, the silicone itself within the breast implant is not bulletproof

In a YouTube video posted by TAOFLEDERMAUS, a test is conducted where different  rounds of bullet are shot at a standard silicone breast.  in the video we can see that silicone breast implants do affect that trajectory and impact, it is negligible at best so they are in fact NOT bulletproof,


sources
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9949879/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjHn3RPdGIg

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The claim that "silicone in breast implants are bulletproof" is misleading and not entirely true. The link to the article is from CNN, and the actual headline for that article is "Woman’s breast implant deflects bullet, saving her life".
So, technically, the woman's breast implant caught the bullet and saved her life. proving that silicone in breast implants is bulletproof isn't true because it happened by chance that the woman's breast implant caught the bullet and prevented further injuries. The article says that SAGE medical journal published a study that said the breast implant deflected the bullet away from the 30 year old woman's vital organs. It is important to note that SAGE has received funding from the FACS board of plastic surgeons. The rest of the article mainly talks about the medical technicalities. Along with how the woman's other injuries and how she's doing. All in all, people shouldn't think that getting and having silicone in breast implants will protect you from bullets.

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I completely agree; saying silicone implants are ‘bulletproof’ is a huge stretch. The original article makes it sound like they function like body armor when they might slow a bullet slightly in rare cases. The experiment by Dr. Adams is a great example—it shows that implants reduce penetration depth but don’t stop bullets. It’s wild how often headlines twist scientific findings into something dramatic. Did you find any cases where an implant prevented serious injury, or is it mostly just altering trajectory?

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The statement that “silicone breast implants are bulletproof” is incorrect and misleading. While there is one unusual case where an implant may have altered the trajectory of a bullet, this does not mean that breast implants are a reliable form of protection. As Dr. Adams points out, while implants might offer a very minor level of protection in rare scenarios, they are not designed to stop bullets or prevent serious injury.
Dr. Adams' Blog discussing the effects of breast implants on bullet penetration: Can a breast implant stop a bullet?
CNN Article covering the case where an implant may have deflected a bullet: CNN Article on Implants and Bullet Deflection

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Your claim is interesting, but I think the wording might be a bit misleading. The CNN article states that the silicone implant *deflected* the bullet, not that it made the woman completely bulletproof. There's a big difference between an implant altering a bullet’s trajectory and it actually stopping a bullet like a Kevlar vest would. Did you come across any additional studies or expert opinions on how silicone behaves under gunfire? It would be helpful to see whether this was a rare case or if silicone implants have a consistent ability to redirect bullets.

Answer 1

The claim that “Silicone in breast implants are bulletproof”, made by the user under the name “Collegekid” is not only exaggerating the article used as a source, but also deceptive. The quote used from the source to back up the users original point says that the silicone implant the Toronto woman had when she got shot “deflected the bullet’s trajectory”. This doesn’t say the silicone was bulletproof, only that it made the bullet go a slightly different trajectory due to the implant. There is some truth in the fact that the silicone implant altered where the bullet was supposed to go, making it not hit any vital organs. However, the silicone implant itself isn't bulletproof, because if it was, the bullet wouldn’t have been able to penetrate and go straight through the implant. Additionally, in the same source the user used, surgeon Giancarlo McEvenue says “The implant caused the change in the trajectory of the bullet”(CNN) not that the bullet was stopped or absorbed by the implant. The surgeon also goes into detail about how the bullet entered the woman's body and where it ended up, explaining that the bullet went through one breast, “ricocheting” into another, meaning that the implant did change where the bullet was intended to go but again, didn’t stop the bullet. In all, the user took one piece of evidence they found from this source and came up with their own explanation, that the silicone implant must have been bulletproof. However, after further research, you can clearly see the user exaggerated what the quote said in the source.

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

Answer 2

The claim that "silicone breast implants are bulletproof" is a misinterpretation of isolated incidents, not supported by scientific evidence. A CNN article and a SAGE Journals case study (McEvenue et al., 2020) describe rare cases where implants altered the trajectory of a bullet, potentially preventing serious injury. However, this does not mean that silicone implants are bulletproof.

Silicone lacks the strength of materials specifically designed to stop bullets, such as Kevlar (Cunniff, 1999). Wound ballistics research has shown that bullets can deflect unpredictably due to soft tissues and foreign objects (Fackler, 1987). Thus, any deviation in a bullet’s path caused by breast implants is more likely a coincidence than a dependable form of protection.

While implants may offer some cushioning and sometimes alter a bullet’s path, they are not bulletproof. Presenting them as such is not only inaccurate but could also create a false sense of security. Implants cannot reliably protect against gunfire, and spreading this misinformation can have harmful consequences.

Answer 3

The claim stating breast implants are bulletproof is a very misleading term. The article from CNN is written by a trusted author who seems to have no bias on the topic, but the article itself is also not claiming that breast implants are bulletproof. The article done by CNN talks about an instance where a woman was shot, and her breast implant luckily helped to save her life. The article stated, "is one of only a handful of instances recorded in medical literature where a breast implant played a role in saving a patient’s life, and the first recorded instance of a silicone implant doing so, surgeon Giancarlo McEvenue told CNN." There have been other occasions where this has happened, ultamitly it seems that this has been enhanced due to luck. There have been studies done at the University of Utah (Christopher Pannucci) where implants were shot to see what would happen; they did not always, if ever, stop the bullets. It was found that implants are capable of slowing or changing how a bullet will fly, however.  Overall, the claim that breast implants are severely misleading and is also simply not true. 

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

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2140495-breast-implants-can-lessen-gunshot-injuries-by-slowing-bullets/

Answer 4

This claim originates from a 2020 CNN report about a Toronto woman who survived a close-range gunshot wound, while doctors noted that her silicone implant likely redirected the bullet, saving her life. While CNN is a very reputable source, many news companies give articles with exaggerated titles to make them more eye-catching for the audience. Based on the rest of the article, it appears that this one was also sensationalized, exaggerating how protective breast implants are as medical findings do not support the idea that implants are bulletproof. 

A peer-reviewed case study on this story was published in the journal Plastic Surgery Case Studies explaining that the implant did not stop the bullet but instead deflected it, redirecting the bullet's trajectory, and steering it away from vital organs. This aligns with another report from 2012 (NY Daily News, Bulletproof breasts? Canadian woman says she survived ex-boyfriend’s gunfire because her enhanced breasts took brunt of force – New York Daily News) about a similar case in which a woman credited her implants for absorbing the impact of a gunshot. 

While these incidents show that implants can alter a bullet’s path, they are not designed to withstand gunfire and are not considered protective gear. 

In summary, while there have been these rare cases where breast implants changed a bullet’s trajectory, they are not bulletproof and do not provide reliable protection The claim definitely exaggerates the role of implants in stopping bullets.