What Price? Technology

It's as varied as vertigo, brain fog, joint pain and general malaise: Breast Implant Illness (BII) refers to a pattern of symptoms experienced by women who have breast implants. The cost of breast implants will differ from doctor to doctor. As the FDA takes a fresh look at breast implant safety, women are taking their grievances to court. Cooper said she feels failed as a patient and as a woman,” requesting that the agency better regulate breast implants.

However, they reiterate the importance of further studies into breast implants to ensure their safety. This study of 189 Ohio women with scleroderma and 1, 043 healthy women was briefly described in a letter to the editor in the Journal of Rheumatology. And many, sometimes all, of the symptoms disappear after the implants are removed.

It's hard to tell but before my implants, I was always healthy, skin and hair were good, I had a ton of energy but for some reason, after my implants, I started breaking out (I was in my early 20's) and I have never stopped breaking out. The authors suggest it may be useful to discuss the chemical composition of implants and what we know, based upon decades of scientific research, but address where knowledge falls short and more research is needed.

Lee IM, Cook NR, Shadick NA, Pereira E, Buring JE. Prospective cohort study of breast implants and the risk of connective-tissue diseases.” Internal Journals of Epidemiology. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the major plastic surgery societies, and other health authorities have been devoting more attention to BII than they did in the past.

Instead of comparing sick women to healthy women, all of the women in this study were patients in a rheumatology practice. She eventually had explant surgery, where her implants were removed, and over time, she began to heal. The companies had conducted 3-year studies of local complications such as pain, infection, hardening, and the need for additional surgery.

Breast implants are the opposite of health and beauty. Never in my wildest dreams did I think all of my illnesses could be from my implants. I also noticed my scar tissue when I felt around my implants seemed to be getting thicker on the inside. She first thought she wanted a breast lift, which involves surgically removing excess skin and reshaping the breasts, but the plastic surgeons she consulted with convinced her a breast augmentation would better help achieve her goals.

It is hoped the Breast and Cosmetic Implant Register, which covers implant procedures in England and Wales, will also lead to a better understanding of breast implant illness. Because the physical symptoms that accompany this illness are so broad and unique from patient to patient, many women have been breast implant illness left scrambling for answers.