1. (a) In general The Director of NIH may conduct or support research to examine the long-term health implications of silicone breast implants, both gel and saline filled. Such research studies may include the following:

   1. (1) Developing and examining techniques to measure concentrations of silicone in body fluids and tissues.
   2. (2) Surveillance of recipients of silicone breast implants, including long-term outcomes and local complications.
2. (b) Definition For purposes of this section, the term “breast implant” means a breast prosthesis that is implanted to augment or reconstruct the female breast.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title IV, § 498C, as added Pub. L. 107–250, title II, § 215(b), Oct. 26, 2002, 116 Stat. 1615.)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Breast Implants; Study by Comptroller General

Pub. L. 107–250, title II, § 214, Oct. 26, 2002, 116 Stat. 1615, which provided that the Comptroller General was to conduct a study of information typically provided by health professionals to women on breast implant surgery and to report the findings of the study to Congress, was repealed by Pub. L. 111–8, div. G, title I, § 1301(g), Mar. 11, 2009, 123 Stat. 829.