Did breast implants rupture, cause auto-immune reaction?

Dr. Keith Roach

Question: I received silicone-gel breast implants a few years ago. After six months or so, I began to have strange symptoms, including joint pain, fatigue and terrible hives. The condition got worse over time, and neither an allergist nor a dermatologist could conclusively diagnose a reason for the symptoms. The surgeon who implanted them insisted that the implants were biochemically inert and even if they leaked or ruptured, would not cause any reactions similar to my symptoms.

Finally, after seeing an exceptional and thorough endocrinologist, who ran a battery of tests, I was diagnosed with a severe autoimmune reaction to the silicone, from the implants either leaking or rupturing. He recommended that I have them removed as soon as possible.

I want to make other women aware of this. Have you any additional information about this that you could share? — Anon.

Answer: Whether sili- cone breast implants cause autoimmune disease has been highly controversial. The Food and Drug Administration, having reviewed the evidence, concluded: “There is no apparent association between silicone-gelfifilled breast implants and connective tissue disease, breast cancer or reproductive problems. Associations that are very rare or that take many years to manifest may not be detected using currently available data.” The Institute of Medicine also reviewed the studies and came to the same conclusion.

This does not mean that you don’t have autoimmune disease. It doesn’t mean that breast implants might not cause autoimmune disease in some women.

It says only that the majority of studies have been unable to prove that there is a large risk of autoimmune disease in women who have silicone breast implants.

Women should be aware that there are risks associated with breast implants, including infection, bleeding, rupture of the implants, less-thanexpected cosmetic results and possibly very small increase in a rare type of breast cancer.