Breast Implant Risks
Breast implants carry inherent risks that increase the longer you have them, boosting the likelihood that you need to replace or remove the devices at some point - Katie Camero
image by: Suzanne Toro
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America Is Too Glib About Breast Implants
Boob jobs have been ubiquitous in American popular culture since the 1980s, when laws changed to allow plastic surgeons to advertise and credit cards became widely available. But safety concerns have dogged the procedure since the first silicone breast enhancements were successfully implanted by Texas surgeons in 1962. In that time, the Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of silicone implants and then reinstated them on the condition that the industry closely monitor their impact on patients.
Now both silicone implants and the more popular, saline-filled alternatives have found themselves under the agency’s lens again, this time over their potential links to a rare cancer…
Resources
Why Everyone Is Talking About Breast Implant Safety Right Now
The new fear factor: Could simply letting these things exist in your body be ruinous? Claims like Kirbyson's — that breast implants have triggered inexplicable chronic illness — are growing, and new reports show a direct line from implants to a rare lymphoma. In March, the FDA held a public advisory committee meeting on breast implants to discuss these issues. Sides were taken, and tensions ran high.
Silicone Breast Implants Were Banned in the ’90s for Making Women Sick. How Did They Make a Comeback?
While sick implant recipients are still written off as crazy, and BII is not a recognized medical condition, researchers are starting to document the reasons and ways that the body might rebel against a silicone implant. The result may share features with long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome, both illnesses that present with mysterious symptoms and are potentially spurred on by the body’s immune reaction to a virus or other invader. But it is unclear how often these ill effects of implants occur.
Breast Implants and Women's Health: A Silenced Epidemic
The right to life, the right to transparent informed consent, and the right to justice have been denied in regards to breast implants and women's health. With advancements in breast reconstruction and enhancement using a woman's own fat and stem cells, options do exist for women who are at risk.
Everything You Need To Know About Breast Implants
So what made these two women, both previously (seemingly) fans of their surgically enhanced assets, turn their backs on the procedure which can only be said to have helped their respective careers? To hear them tell it, the health ramifications were just too great. Which in turn begs the question: just how dangerous are breast implants? And if they are dangerous, why is the procedure more popular than ever?
Fight Doctor – The Hazards of Breast Implants
Breast implants are the number one cosmetic surgery procedure—forget fighters, it's just a ubiquitous operation. And they have a very strong, long safety record. But I think if people are going to get into extreme, physical activities, it's worth a conversation with your doctor at minimum.
French Breast-Implant Disaster: How Do Europeans See Cosmetic Surgery?
In the past few months, the leak-prone breast implants of French company Poly Implant Prothese has turned into an international furor. At issue is the company's use of non-medical-grade silicone, which has an increased risk of rupture. The gel inside the implant, once released, can inflame the surrounding tissue. Though there's limited evidence for this, fears persist about the irritation leading to an increased risk for cancer. The scope of the potential impact is tremendous.
Her Breast Implants Were Poisoning Her for Years. This Is Her Story
No one told Karen Monetti that getting breast implants could make her sick. Now the former bodybuilding champion is working to warn women about the dangers breast implant illness.
No evidence breast implants are toxic
There are several reasons why this controversy won't go away. One is that people continue to complain of symptoms and medical conditions that defy the efforts of doctors to diagnose and treat. Even today, with all of the modern advances and technology, we have not fully unraveled the complexity and uniqueness of human beings. Another reason is that it is impossible to "prove" that somehow, somewhere, there is not a small population of women who, because of their genetics, medical history, and unknown factors, are unusually susceptible to the presence of a foreign substance, such as silicone, in their bodies.
PIP breast implant controversy shows we’ve learned nothing
The worldwide controversy around the safety of PIP (Poly Implant Prosthèse) breast implants has elicited different responses from governments, despite all of them seemingly acting on the same set of evidence. These responses illustrate how little we have learnt from the debate and worldwide litigation that raged around breast implants in the 1980s and 1990s. From what has been reported to date, the evidence on adverse outcomes from these implants is weak.
The TGA’s proposed breast implant ban exposes a litany of failures, and fails to protect women
The proposed ban on some textured breast implants announced by the Australian pharmaceuticals and medical devices regulator earlier this week tells us something very disquieting about the effectiveness of consumer protection. It will not reassure women living with breast implants concerned about their risk of cancer, or anyone else with an implantable medical device regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Patients Must Be Warned of Breast Implant Risks, F.D.A. Says
A decade after scientists identified a link between certain implants and cancer, the agency ordered “black box” warnings and a new checklist of risks for patients to review.
Patients Continue to Report Problems With Breast Implants
Nearly three decades after the FDA first pulled silicone breast implants off the U.S. market and then allowed some back on, women continue to report debilitating conditions to the agency. The FDA is revisiting the issue again this year and is grappling with efforts to study which issues are proven and which not proven.
Are You Worried About Your Breast Implants? Understanding Your Options
Whatever the reason for implant removal, women should be fully educated about what to expect. Capsular contracture, infection, rupture, and BII are the most common reasons for implant removal. Women removing their breast implants should consider whether they want some, all, or none of their capsule removed. At the end of the day, a woman’s body is her own, and she should have agency over it.
Breast Implants Linked to Rare Cancer Are Recalled Worldwide
The disease is anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, a rare cancer of the immune system. It is not breast cancer, but develops in tissue around the implant. In most cases, removing the implant and the scar tissue around it cures the cancer, but if it is not detected early it can spread and kill the patient. The condition has occurred with implants placed for cosmetic breast enlargement and with those used for reconstruction after mastectomy for breast cancer. The F.D.A. first recognized the link to breast implants in 2011.
Largest-Ever Study Shows Silicone Breast Implants Associated with Rare Diseases
In the largest study of long-term safety outcomes for patients with breast implants, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found that silicone implants are associated with some rare diseases, autoimmune disorders and other conditions; although a causative relationship has not been established. Results of the MD Anderson study are consistent with previously published studies that examined the safety of breast implants.
Making Sense of Recent News About The Safety of Silicone Breast Implants
One of the most commonly asked questions I have heard from patients in recent weeks is “What do you think of the recent reports about breast implant safety?” The question has been prompted by recent news coverage of a major publication that analyzed, in patients with breast implants, long-term safety and implant-specific outcomes, including rare adverse events of connective tissue disorders, neurological diseases, autoimmune disorders, and cancer.
Women Should Be Warned of Breast Implant Hazards, F.D.A. Says
The agency proposed that surgeons discuss the risks with patients and that manufacturers print bold warnings on the device packaging.
Breast Implants Can Cause Complications And, In Rare Cases, Cancer. Here’s What To Know
Breast implants don’t last a lifetime, and often have to be replaced or removed due to complications or, in very rare cases, cancer. We spoke to experts to better understand their risks.
Breast implants study reveals serious safety concerns
Global investigation finds lack of clinical oversight and failure to track long-term outcomes.
Jamee Cook
In 1998, I made a decision that changed my life forever: to get breast implants. It wasn’t anyone’s decision but mine. I was a confident young woman, but I guess felt like my femininity was lacking due to my AA breasts. Hindsight sure changes our perspectives, though.
Largest-Ever Study Shows Silicone Breast Implants Associated with Rare Diseases
In the largest study of long-term safety outcomes for patients with breast implants, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found that silicone implants are associated with some rare diseases, autoimmune disorders and other conditions; although a causative relationship has not been established.
Made of Tissue or Silicon, Breast Implants Require a Lifetime of Care
The Internet and women's magazines are filled with enticing adverts for breast implant surgery, but experts and regulators have varying views on how long they last and possible risks.
My Breast Implants Could Give Me Cancer
There are two types of implants: ones with a smooth surface and ones with a rougher, textured surface. Doctors think the cancer forms exclusively in women with rough implants because they offer more surface area for a biofilm, a thin layer of bacteria, to form and irritate the body, causing lymphoma in the surrounding tissue.
Patients Continue to Report Problems With Breast Implants
Women with breast implants continue to report a range of illnesses they attribute to the devices, from pain, weakness and distorted breasts to connective-tissue disease and a rare cancer.
What New FDA Guidelines for Breast Implants Mean For You
I think these are really good steps in the right direction in patient information and decision-making. I know you just want what you want and you wanted it yesterday, but it's a long-term decision with long-term consequences, some good, some not so good. You should take your time and try to get it as right as you can.
What You Need to Know About Breast Implants
Reports of complications among women with implants have been published in medical journals and discussed at public FDA meetings. There are a number of short-term and long-term risks that any woman thinking about getting breast implants or about removing or replacing older implants needs to be aware of.
Where Women Turn When Doctors Don’t Believe Breast Implants Are Making Them Ill
They think their implants are destroying their health and are frustrated that many doctors don’t agree.
Why women are more likely to have dodgy hip implants or other medical devices
The past year has seen wide concern about the safety of medical implants. Some of the worst scandals have involved devices for women, such as textured breast implants with links to cancer, and transvaginal mesh implants, which were the subject of a senate inquiry. But women are harmed not only by “women’s devices” such as breast implants and vaginal mesh. Women are also more likely to be harmed by apparently gender-neutral devices, like joint replacements and heart implants.
America Is Too Glib About Breast Implants
The procedure is expensive and invasive. So why is it sold with jokes?
Breast Implant Victim Advocacy
Breast Implant Victim Advocacy is a group of women fighting for public awareness of the dangers associated with breast implants.
BreastImplantInfo.org
This website is your most accurate source for information about breast implants so that you can make choices that are best for you. Unlike most breast implant websites, the information on our website is not paid for by plastic surgeons or breast implant makers who want you as customers.
National Breast Implant Registry
Collecting information on breast implant procedures and devices allows plastic surgeons and breast implant manufacturers to identify trends and other information that can be used to improve the safety of breast implants for current and future patients. By registering today, you will have an opportunity to view information related to your practice compared to other Registry Users using your personalized dashboard that you can use to improve your practice.
MedTruth
Breast implants have been sold in the U.S. since the 1960s. In the past 20 years, studies and patient stories have uncovered serious complications, including breast implant illness and even cancer.
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