What You Need To Know About Breast Implant Illness And My Opinion On BII
The decision to have plastic surgery is a very personal one. Women who believe they are suffering from Breast Implant Illness are encouraged to have their silicone breast implants removed and replaced, either with saline implants or, preferably, with their own fat. This made no difference, as every surgeon Emma contacted, had no experience in breast implant illness, did not do explants or did not provide a consultation within a reasonable period.
Strom B.L., Reidenberg M.M., Freundlich B., et al. Breast Silicone Implants and Risk of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.†Journal of Chemical Epidemiology. Some women who undergo breast augmentation surgery experience certain changes in their bodies over time that make them feel unsure about their implants, or physically ill.
These studies compare women suffering from a particular disease (cases) to those who are healthy (controls) and determine whether breast implants are more common in the ill women. It is important that patients remember to avoid any strenuous activities for at least six weeks following breast implant removal surgery, and to wear compressive bras to allow contraction of the breast tissue.
There are four general types of breast implants, and they are defined by their filler material: Silicone gel, saline solution, composite and structured filler. Not all patients have problems with breast implants, but many do. In my experience, women who do experience issues almost always find that their symptoms improve dramatically when their breast implants are removed.
All women completed a questionnaire asking if they had breast implants. Any time you put a foreign material into your body, there is a potential for problems to arise and breast implants are no exception. BII patients tend to believe that a total capsulectomy is necessary to remove all causative agents and they prefer it en bloc, oftentimes without having a full understanding of what size incision is necessary for en bloc.
There are legitimate concerns about a potential link between breast implants and symptoms of BII. In surgical training we are taught that these implants are inert and in general well tolerated by the body unless the implant becomes secondarily infected. Calcification of the breast tissue may also occur following the insertion of an implant, due to calcium buildup.
Women who had connective tissue disease or cancer prior to surgery were excluded. It was the primary reason silicone implants (both textured and Breast implants smooth) were removed from the market in 1992 for 14 years. I believe Breast Implant Illness is real. The information on whether the women had implants was self-reported and unverified.