A breast implant procedure is an invasive surgical procedure undertaken to increase the size of a woman’s breasts. This is a cosmetic procedure that is generally harmless. But some people may suffer from certain symptoms post-surgery. All these symptoms may be brought together under the general term of ‘breast implant illness’. This is, sometimes, also referred to as silicone implant illness.
SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES OF BREAST IMPLANT ILLNESS
Symptoms are usually pain in the breasts, loss of hair, rashes, hormonal imbalances, insomnia, loss of memory and depression. Some women may also experience headaches, chills and chronic fatigue. Others may report neurological disturbances and photosensitivity.
There is a certain degree of confusion among the medical fraternity regarding the causes of this condition. While some say that it could be the result of the body’s inflammatory reaction to a foreign object, others blame the material, i.e. silicone, of the implant. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), symptoms disappear if the implant taken out. But very few women opt for this solution.
COMPLICATIONS OF BREAST IMPLANT PROCEDURE
A breast implant procedure may also lead to certain complications like pain in the breasts and changes in sensations in the entire breast area including the nipples. Scar tissues around the implant may cause discomfort and pain. It may also cause tightness and lead to an altered appearance. Some women may experience delayed healing. Displacement of the implant and rupture or tearing are also not unheard of. But the most common side-effects are generally swelling in and around the breasts and wrinkling of the skin in the area.
HEALTH RISKS OF BREAST IMPLANTS
Though health professionals deny that such implants carry any risks, many women say that they have developed many health conditions after they went through with the procedure. In fact, women receiving silicone breast implants have a greater risk of several rare adverse outcomes compared to the general population, says a study in Annals of Surgery.
The FDA had prohibited the use of silicone implants in the early 1990s because of various health risks connected to it. But in 2006, silicone gel-filled implants from two manufacturers (Allergan and Mentor Corp) was approved but this approval came with a rider. The FDA stipulated that the manufacturers must conduct large post-approval studies (LPAS) to monitor long-term health of the recipients and safety outcomes.
Silicone breast implants may increase a woman’s risk of Sjogren’s syndrome, scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis. These implants have a link with greater risk of stillbirth, melanoma and also suicide.
In this article, let us take a look at some common health risks of such implants.
It may lead to later diagnosis of breast cancer
According to a study in BMJ-British Medical Journal, cosmetic implants adversely affect the survival of women who are subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer. Researchers say that implants can make it more difficult to detect breast cancer at an early stage. This is because they create shadows on mammograms. This can obscure some breast tissue.
Canadian researchers conducted this study to see if the stage at which breast cancer is diagnosed differed between women with and without cosmetic breast implants. They also wanted to know the and post-diagnosis survival rate in both groups of women. For the purpose, they looked at 12 studies in the US, northern Europe and Canada. They saw that women who had undergone a cosmetic breast implant procedure had a 26 per cent more risk of being diagnosed at a later stage of breast cancer than women without implants. These women also had a 38 per cent greater risk of death from breast cancer than women without implants.
It may lead to false heart attack diagnosis
According to researchers from the European Society of Cardiology, breast implants may impede an electrocardiogram (ECG) and could result in a false heart attack diagnosis. This is because breast implants make it difficult to see the heart with echocardiography because ultrasound cannot penetrate through the implant, said researchers who studied 28 women with breast implants and 20 women of the same age who did not have breast implants.
All the participants underwent ECGs and the readings were analysed by electrophysiologists who did not know anything about the participants. The women without breast implants had normal readings while the others recorded almost a 57 per cent abnormal reading. This is dangerous because a correct reading may be the difference between life and death.
It can cause a rare form of cancer
A rare form of cancer was recently isolated by experts in the field. This is called the called the breast implant associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) . Though this cancer is rare, its successful treatment is possible. The cancerous cells remain within the scar tissue around the implant. It does not spread to other areas of the body. This cancer usually appears years after the implantation procedure. Symptoms are usually sudden swelling, hardness of breasts and pain in the area. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says that textured breast implants are more likely cause this type of cancer.