Breast Implant Illness

Larry A. Law

There is a Facebook group called Breast Implant Illness and Healing by Nicole that has nearly 200,000 members. The failure of breast implants has led to countless horror stories with many doctors telling women that their concerns are all in their head. Although it is not an official disease diagnosis, breast implant illness (BII) is a collection of complex symptoms that occur in healthy women after they decide to have implant surgery. The symptoms are far-ranging and often debilitating. Since the symptoms are so numerous and varied, doctors have a difficult time pinpointing an exact diagnosis. In 2020, the top ten symptoms reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) involving breast implants were fatigue (49%), brain fog (25%), joint pain (25%), anxiety (24%), hair loss (21%), depression (19%), rash (18%), autoimmune diseases (18%), inflammation (18%), and weight problems (18%). 

Breast Augmentation Surgery

Between 2006 and 2019, breast augmentation surgery was the most popular cosmetic surgical procedure in the United States. In 2021, there were 364,753 breast augmentation surgeries, making it second only to liposuction, though The American Society of Plastic Surgeons say the number of breast surgeries is dropping each year. In 2006, the FDA ended a 14-year ban on silicone-gel breast implants despite decades of debate over safety concerns and a huge amount of litigation from women. The women complained of injury from leaking implants that made them sick and even caused conditions of rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. At the time, the FDA had approved the manufacture of implants from two California companies, Mentor and Allergan, but limited the use to women aged 22 and older.

Recent Recall

In 2019, the FDA issued a worldwide recall of all textured breast implants from the pharmaceutical company Allergan. The FDA requested Allergan issue the recall because of a drastic increase in a rare and deadly form of cancer called breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma that was associated with Allergan's implants. The disease is an immune system cancer that develops in the scar tissue capsule that forms around the breast implant. On October 24, 2019, the FDA issued a black box warning for breast implants. This type of notice is the most serious warning mandated by the FDA prior to banning a product. 

Danica Patrick

Female race car driver, Danica Patrick, shared her experiences with BII and urged women with breast implants to have them removed and trust their intuition when they first suspect something is wrong. In 2014, the former NASCAR driver said she decided to get breast implants in her quest to attain "an ideal body." Within a few years, she began experiencing symptoms including fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, hormonal problems, heavy metal toxicity, dysbiosis (gut bacteria imbalance), and leaky gut. Her symptoms led to a diagnosis of BII and she had her implants removed in March 2022. Getting her implants removed (explant surgery) led to healing, but she said that it was a long road to full recovery. It is much better to avoid this journey than do damage to yourself by having a deadly, synthetic substance embedded within your body. For information on how to support your immune system and reverse the symptoms of BII before it is too late, see my book.