Complaints of breast implant illness

UNITED STATES – According to an online news article published by theswaddle.com, tens of thousands of women who have breast implants are complaining of “Breast Implant Illness (BII).”

A recent global recall of textured breast implants manufactured by Allergan has brought to light that tens of thousands of women report symptoms associated with what is being termed “Breast Implant Illness (BII).”  While BII is not a medical diagnosis, the various symptoms are shared among some women with breast implants.

BII’s associated symptoms are vast and include, among others, the following:

• Brain fog;
• Hair loss;
• Fatigue;
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS);
• Headaches;
• Photosensitivity;
• Chest pain;
• Sleep disturbance; and
• Autoimmune diseases, such as Lupus and Fibromyalgia.

Because these symptoms are associated with numerous health conditions, it is difficult for some doctors to link these symptoms to breast implants.  However, many doctors believe patients deserve to know about BII before choosing to move forward with breast implants, especially because so many women have come forward with complaints worldwide.  Many women report a drastic improvement in their symptoms following removal or “explant” of their breast implants.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recorded 90 symptoms associated with BII in its medical device reporting (MDR) database.  A few examples include acid reflux, ear ringing, easy bruising, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The FDA held a conference in March 2019 to discuss BII and other breast implant-related health conditions, such as the link between textured breast implants and breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL).  The FDA recently issued a notification of a worldwide recall of BIOCELL textured breast implants manufactured by Allergan.  Of the 573 worldwide reported cases of BIA-ALCL, 481 of the cases (or approximately 84 percent) reported having Allergan breast implants.

The FDA and other agencies worldwide state that additional research is necessary to investigate the link between breast implants and the development of BII. Because the various symptoms associated with BII are the same as that of other common medical conditions, research is essential to establish a link between certain breast implants and BII.