Breast Implant Illness (BII)

The current scientific consensus is that fungi and bacteria can grow on replacement joints in the body.  However, for political reasons, many are hesitant to make the same argument about breast implants.  While a FDA webpage highlights higher rates of autoimmune disease in breast implant users, the same webpage states that Breast Implant Illness “is not recognized as a formal medical diagnosis”. 🤦‍♀️

Breast Implant Illness.com

This site contains:

  • A list of BII symptoms
  • Resources
  • A directory of explant surgeons
  • Lawsuits
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BII Support Group

Breast Implant Illness and Healing by Nicole is the largest BII support group.

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More Resources

Support groups

Awareness

  • The Netflix documentary The Bleeding Edge (trailer) looks at problems caused by other foreign objects in the body: surgical mesh, replacement joints, Essure (and similar devices), etc.
  • A number of popular Youtubers such as Karissa Pukas and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick have talked about their experience with BII.

Explantation Outcomes

  • FDA: Of the 3,577 MDRs [Medical Device Reporting reports], 1535 (or 43%) reported the patient undergoing device explant at some time following the onset of symptoms. Of these, 1,473 reports provided information sufficient to calculate the time from implantation to explant. The average time to explant was 9 years, with a range of 0- 47 years. Only 290 MDRs provided information related to the status of a woman’s symptoms following explant. Of these, 279 noted improvement and 11 noted either no improvement or worsening of symptoms.
  • NIH data: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC8342259/
    • 23% of patients reported complete resolution of symptoms following explantation, with 74% reporting partial resolution. Only 3% reported no improvement.
  • Glicksman and colleagues: https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjad098
    • At one year, 88% of patients showed at least partial symptom improvement with a reduction of 2-20 symptoms.
    • Systemic symptom improvement was noted out to one year in the BII Cohort regardless of the type of capsulectomy performed.
  • Lee and colleagues: https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000002755
    • 84% of patients reported partial or complete resolution of BII symptoms on Patient-Reported Outcome Questionnaire.
    • 14/15 patients reported “Postoperative Improvement or Resolution” of their autoimmune diagnosis
  • Serena et al.: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.38056
    • Retrospective survey design with patients dropping out of the study (weak design)
    • Results: “The study achieved a total of 549-point decrease in symptom frequencies following surgery. Furthermore, with an average preoperative symptom score of 3.5 (scored 1-5) and a postoperative average of 1.9, the study demonstrated a score reduction of 1.6 across all symptoms. Furthermore, the study was able to eliminate on average 2.8 symptoms of breast implant illness from every patient following explantation.”
 

Science