Breast Implant Illness? — Bad Lemons

Despite emotional testimony from women who say their breast implants made them sick with cancer or autoimmune symptoms, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no plans to ban the textured implants that are being blamed. The typical surgical approach is to remove the breast implants, possibly with removal of the capsule (this is sometimes referred to as an en-bloc capsulectomy). This problem has previously been investigated extensively in the 1990s during the silicone breast implant moratorium in the United States when no link was found.

Over the past year, our practice has seen an increasing number of patients for implant removal consultation. There isn't enough information about the health of children breastfed by women with implants to answer mothers' questions or lay the concerns to rest.

A: Although there is no diagnostic testing specifically for Breast Implant Illness (BII), there are tests for autoimmune diseases that can be performed to evaluate for potential causes of a patient's symptoms. Those studies were mandated as a condition of approving the implants, and the agency cautioned that the devices could be taken off the market if the research wasn't properly carried out.

The life of breast implants varies by person and can't be predicted. I have all the symptoms and I need to know the tests I need to get to prove my implants are leaking. Upon implantation they release heavy metals, silicone, and chemicals that can migrate and be stored throughout the body.

1 Symptoms that improved included fatigue, cognitive problems, burning pain in the chest wall and breast, dry eyes, anxiety, and joint pain. Prior to getting implants, these nurse Blake were healthy women, with an average age of 34. When breast implants are removed that have been implanted for a long period of time, a mastopexy is often performed to tighten up the loose skin: this is additional surgery usually done at the same time and at an additional expense.

There is one Facebook group alone with more than 70,000 members, all of whom report Breast Implant Illness (BII) symptoms. He said many publications have suggested a link between breast implants and chronic illness but a definitive link is yet to be proven. There are also patients who have undergone removal of their implants without noting any improvement in their symptoms.

A: In 1999, The Institute of Medicine Committee on the Safety of Silicone conducted an extensive review of the available literature and concluded there was no demonstrated clear link between silicone implants and any systemic illness. Sarah's pain to purpose” is using her personal experience along with her understanding about the body to guide women through the sea of mis-information about Breast Implant Illness in hopes of finding their path to true and lasting healing.