Breast implant illness is a poorly defined cluster of nonspecific symptoms. People who have breast implant illness attribute these symptoms to having had a breast augmentation with implants. Sadly, in the plastic surgical literature, there are few articles discussing this entity. So while the mainstream media and social media explode with nonscientific discussions about BII, we have little science to evaluate WHAT it is and WHY it happens.
Breast implant illness symptoms are broad. The 9 most common symptoms are: fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, muscle pain, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, autoimmune diagnosis, rash, and dry eyes.
A more comprehensive listing:
- Fatigue, chronic fatigue
- Cognitive issues- brain fog, difficulty concentrating, memory loss
- Muscle pain and weakness.
- Joint pain
- Hair loss, dry skin and hair
- Premature aging
- Thyroid or adrenal issues
- Hormone issues
- Slow healing
- Reflux and GI issues
- Vertigo
- Fevers and night sweats
- New bacterial and viral infections, yeast and fungal infections
- Rashes
- New food intolerance or allergy
- Headache
- Heart palpitations
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Frequent urination
- Liver and kidney issues
- Cramping
- Toxic Shock
- Anxiety, depression, and panic attacks
- Autoimmune: Raynauds, Hashimoto, lupus, Sjogrens, MS
- ALCL cancer
I just did a blog on “Breast Implant Illness: A Biofilm hypothesis,” a new study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal December 2021, trying to define the common signs and symptoms, identify the microbiology and histopathology of the illness, and find out if explant and capsulectomy fix the issues. That study finds for patient with BII there is a good association with biofilm, a low grade chronic infection. Interestingly, the most common bacteria which grew out was the one associated with acne. They found key histology and microbiology differences for patients with BII, as opposed to explantation done on patients who do not have BII symptoms. The BII group saw a slimy biofilm structure clinically apparent during surgery. The BII group (vs the control group) had a 6x greater rate of positive cultures, and histology showed synoviocyte metaplasia.