Can Breast Implants Make You Sick?

In 2016, when Britney Pollock was 26, she decided to get breast implants: 400 cubic centimeters of silicone, inserted under her pectoral muscles.

She “felt great” after the procedure, says Pollock, now 34 and a teacher based in California. “It just felt good to look good.”

Things started to change around 2019. “I started getting sick randomly and I couldn’t figure out why,” she says.

Joint and muscle pain caused her to wake up every morning feeling like she had been “hit by a bus.” She had brain fog, migraines, strange rashes, vision problems and “electrical pains in my body and especially in my breasts,” she says. These “weird, random symptoms” came and went: one day she was out and about; the next day she had to call in sick from work or cancel plans with friends.

Pollock sought help from various specialists. Ultimately, a rheumatologist at the University of California, Los Angeles told her that, based on her ailments and the timeline of their progression, she may have had an autoimmune disease caused or exacerbated by her implants. Although removing the implants might not cure her completely, the doctor explained, it could ease her symptoms or prevent them from getting worse.

Pollock had her implants removed in September 2023. Since then, many of her symptoms have mellowed or disappeared. “Overall I feel a little better, and mentally it feels better that they are no longer inside me and causing potential damage,” she says.

Pollock is among an unknown number of people suffering from what many unofficially call “breast implant disease” (BII). The term has gained popularity on social media, but is not a formal medical diagnosis and therefore still unknown to many doctors.

What is Breast Implant Disease?

BII refers to autoimmune disorders characterized by “chronic, low-level inflammation caused in some way by breast implants,” says Dr. Brian Buinewicz, a plastic surgeon who practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Buinewicz co-authored a 2021 study on BII, listing generalized pain, fatigue, brain fog, migraines, anxiety, arthritis, vision changes, rashes, gastrointestinal problems and depression as the most common symptoms cited by a cohort of 248 participants.

The greatest risk of inflammation appeared to be caused by textured silicone implants, but the study found that people with all types of implants could experience symptoms of BII and find relief with removal.

Autoimmune dysfunction affects many of the body’s organ systems, which is why such a wide range of symptoms can arise, says Buinewicz.

Why do breast implants make some people sick?

We’re not sure why breast implants can cause health problems. There are several theories.

Buinewicz, who performs about 25 explant or implant removal surgeries each month, suggests that the problems may be silicone-related, since both saline and silicone gel implants have a polysiloxane-silicone rubber shell. Silicone is currently considered non-toxic and biologically inert, meaning it should not cause a reaction from living tissue. It is widely used in both medical and everyday applications, such as cookware. Still, doctors are now wondering whether it could cause inflammation, especially in patients who have some form of pre-existing allergy or sensitivity.

Buinewicz’s 2021 study also raised the possibility that low-grade bacterial infections related to implants could be associated with BII, but further research is needed.

Researchers in 2023 argued that people who express high levels of a gene called RAC2 may be more susceptible to severe inflammatory reactions to foreign objects in the body, such as pacemakers or breast implants.

In Facebook groups for people with BII, some fear heavy metals like it platinumtraces of which may be present in breast implants may cause the toxic effects they feel; or that their bodies simply push out foreign materials, the way the skin pushes out a splinter. Some report discovering that their implants were leaking or leaking severely capsular contracturea hardening of scar tissue around an implant, which can sometimes occur tractor inflammatory conditions.

In October 2021, the FDA tightened safety regulations for breast implants, which require clearer communication about possible “systemic symptoms” – meaning that to offer breast implants at all, healthcare providers must explain to potential patients that implants can pose a risk to multiple organs and body systems, not just “localized” problems such as breast swelling or nipple pain.

Are we sure that breast implants cause autoimmune symptoms?

Do implants really cause the reported symptoms or can other factors explain them? Autoimmune diseases are often mysterious in origin, and BII in particular is a “relatively new entity” that has “really come to the forefront on social media platforms” through a shared anecdote, notes Dr. Andrea Pusic, head of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.

That doesn’t mean BII isn’t real, but doctors are likely to consider more well-known and easily treatable causes before the possible role of implants.

“We believe these women, but there is a lot unknown about the causality of the symptoms,” Pusic says. “Many other things can cause some of the symptoms women attribute to their breast implants,” including anxiety, depression, menopause and thyroid problems.

“The vast majority of women who receive implants or reconstruction for cosmetic purposes experience no symptoms,” Pusic says. “That doesn’t mean we’ve answered the question” of whether implants can cause autoimmune reactions, “but it is reassuring information for women considering breast implant reconstruction as part of their cancer treatment,” she says.

Pusic co-designed Chest-Qa tool that measures patient outcomes from breast surgery. She and her team will soon update it with an implant disease scale, which will allow doctors to better measure the incidence of patient-reported autoimmune symptoms after breast surgery.

Could Breast Implant Disease Be Related to Mental Health?

The mind-body connection – the link between our emotions and physical health – is an established concept in integrated medicine. Because breast enlargement is often linked to body image and societal pressures surrounding appearance, it is reasonable to consider whether BII may have physical components that are influenced by these emotional and psychological factors.

Dr. Tameca Harris-Jackson is a Florida-based clinical social worker and therapist who works closely with members of marginalized groups, including women, transgender people, and people of color. Medical professionals tend to downplay the pain of marginalized individuals, she says. They often dismiss concerns about cosmetic procedures such as breast implants even more readily, treating them as elective. Addressing these quality of life concerns can discourage patients and increase health problems.

But it is possible for physical and psychosomatic symptoms to coexist and exacerbate each other. Harris-Jackson recommends that people who feel like they have symptoms of BII create timelines of their mental and physical health before and after the procedure, including details such as post-procedure anxiety due to unmet expectations about how they would feel or how surgery could affect their health. relationships. This will give patients and doctors a clearer picture of how such factors may correlate with their symptoms.

Does implant removal resolve breast implant disease symptoms?

Research into BII is incomplete and ongoing. However, some research indicates that removing breast implants and capsular scar tissue surrounding implants may provide patients with some relief. Buinewicz’s 2021 study found that removal of implants and capsular tissue was safe and resulted in high patient satisfaction. A 2000 study showed a temporary reduction in musculoskeletal pain, improved vitality, mental health and body satisfaction after explantation. And a 2022 study from the Netherlands followed 152 women who had their implants removed for clinical reasons and found that 43% experienced significant symptom improvement.

Anecdotally, patients like Pollock and the television personality Michelle Visagewho released a documentary in 2021 about BII and her explant surgery, says they feel better after their implants were removed.

But explants are not always a quick fix and symptoms can persist even after removal. Pollock continues to experience vision problems, which she attributes to the autoimmune reaction caused by her implants. Keri Hall, 40, who has a Facebook group for explant patients says it took three or four years before she felt “consistently more normal.” Still, Hall’s thyroid health and cholesterol levels improved shortly after the explant, ultimately convincing her skeptical doctor that the implants had been contributing to her health problems all along.