Breast Implant Removal: Stories

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I Wish I Had Done It Sooner! - San Diego, CA

I had a lift and an explant about 10 years ago.. I...

  • 14 Jun 2012

I had a lift and an explant about 10 years ago.. I had been very sick for over a year and had had an MRI to see if they were leaking. The MRI showed no evidence of leaking but I decided to remove them anyway as I could no longer function and had tried every thing else I could think of to regain my health. On explant it was determined that one of the silicone implants were in fact leaking (my left breast had been swollen and had a sticky clear substance coming out of it prior to explant.) I was surprised at how much better I felt immediately after explant. I did not expect this. I was even able to run a marathon six months later. (Previously I had had a hard time even doing grocery shopping.) The breast lift was wonderful and I wish I had never let the plastic surgeon talk me into implants in the first place. My husband loves my new breasts even 10 years later. I would NEVER put another device of any sort into my body again. Please don't risk your health. It is NOT worth it!!

Great review?

Gilbert Lee, MD

My Doctor: Gilbert Lee, MD

My rating:

Doctor's Bedside Manner
Answered My Questions
After Care Follow-Up
Time Spent With Me
Phone or Email Responsiveness
Staff Professionalism & Courtesy
Payment Process
Wait Times

He had done a lot of explants and had a very good reputation. The cost above is estimated it was a very long time ago.

Comments (24)

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WantMyLittlesBack 28 Dec 2012
Hi Jones 12345, thank you so much for sharing your story! I live in Orange County, California and I've had Saline Implants, Under Muscle, for 8 years and SO want these out of my body, I just want to be free and natural! I am considering setting up a consult with Dr. Lee in San Diego... I want someone experienced in Explants... Any advice would be appreciated!
Jones 12345 28 Dec 2012
Hi WantMyLittlesBack. (I like your name.) I don't have much advice, but I want to encourage you to have your implants out, especially if you are feeling sick. Your health is more important than anything. Dr. Lee has done a lot of explants, and he did an excellent job on my breasts. Good luck in finding the right doctor for your explant. I would recommend you get your breasts lifted after your explant as the implants will have stretched the breast tissue quite a bit.
BeagleBaby1 19 Jul 2012
Of course they whitewashed the data, how else do you think they could make all that money. Just think of what their company profits were and still are because of women that want a better self image. Now the hipe is that that the new silicone implants are very safe, the silicone is so thick that it won't go outside the shell, do we really believe that.
newdawn 18 Jul 2012
Companies don't settle unless there is a reason.....I watched this u-tube video of a woman who is a scientist, and she even said the FDA "whitewashed" the data. This woman had saline implants and still got very sick because as all of you know the shell contains silicone. I still can't believe the french company PIP;used commercial grade silicone in their implants. I am fortunate to have mine out and feel grateful with each day that passes....
Jones 12345 18 Jul 2012
I never even got a settlement cause I didn't think I was sick then. When I got sick, implants were the last thing I thought of. But they in fact did make me sick. VERY SICK.
newdawn 18 Jul 2012
I'm sorry you got sick, are you better now? Have you had them removed?
newdawn 18 Jul 2012
sorry i just remembered its been ten years for you....
BeagleBaby1 19 Jul 2012
I hope that as the years passed with you being implant free that you have regained your health. We have so little time on this earth as it is, we don't need medical implements that the FDA says it safe , making us sick and taking precious time away from our families.
Breast Explant april 2013 25 Mar 2013
Hi glad youir health was fully restored. Since my leakage of silicon implant I have burning up and dwn arm. Vivid dreams and bloating. Did you have such symptoms. Margo
Jones 12345 25 Mar 2013
No, I didn't have burning but I did have bloating, my left breast grew much bigger than my right, they even had to give me a reduction when I had them removed on that side (they were even before the rupture), so that they would be even again. Even with the reduction that side is still much larger and feels much different than the right side. (The left has hard lumps in it. The right is sift like a normal breast.) Anyway, I have heard of others with burning pain, so I wouldn't rule breast implants out as a cause. We are all different.
Jones 12345 25 Mar 2013
Oops, sorry for all of the errors in my writing above...
Breast Explant april 2013 25 Mar 2013
Thank you...this helps SOOO MUCH!!!! I have both bloating and burning sensations. I am so glad to hear your surgery went well and these symptoms are gone
BeagleBaby1 18 Jul 2012
I'm sure that the rupture affravated your immune system. I'm sure it will take awhile for all our bodies to get back to the healthy before implant state.

Did you ever think that if the FDA really thought that silicone implants were safe there would have been a class action suite with Dow Corning all those years ago. I'm sure the money that was paid out didn't even come close to paying for medical bill for ladies that were really sick, from something that the FDA said was safe to be in your body. Yeah! that's why they were pulled from the market for all those years.
BeagleBaby1 16 Jul 2012
Nobody really new back then what effect the silicone would have on the human body if it was to get out of the shell its in. My first set of implants ruptured and got hard as rocks within the first year. They took them out and replaced them, but didn't tell that I could have saline put it, they never even gave me the option. I guess the ps had to use up his stock of silicone implants that he already bought and paid for. Didn't want to take a loss, just pass it on to some unsuspecting woman that doesn't know. The FDA is saying that the new cohesive gel implants are safe because if they get a hole in them the gel is so firm that it goes nowhere. It will stay contained in the shell, but i'm sure there is still a thing as silicone bleed.

I'm glad my implants are a thing of the past. I told my husband last night that I haven't felt this good in my own skin in a long time.
newdawn 18 Jul 2012
I am so happy to hear you are feeling good. I thought back during the past two years since my rupture, and all the tumors Ive had. I wonder if its a coincidence or if the rupture aggravated my immune system? But, I don't have to worry anymore because they are gone. I have heard about the FDA report and how the data was misrepresented. We have to be self-advocates at all times, and with all medical decisions. Its the practice of medicine, meaning just that-a practice....
newdawn 16 Jul 2012
Wow......I had no idea that silicone could have such devasting effects on health....why did the FDA come out and tell everybody that it was safe again? This makes me incredibly sad, and angry....I'm so sorry that all of you have suffered.
Jones 12345 13 Jul 2012
I know. I wish I could help others not to experience what you and I did. I'm not sure that many will listen. And although I did get much better when they were removed over the next ten years I did develop an autoimmune disease. As I said your health is not something to take for granted. It is really the most important thing. I would NEVER risk putting another device of any kind in my body.
BeagleBaby1 13 Jul 2012
I am so glad you have your health back now.

My ps said he's so glad he got those things out of me. The old silicone wasn't the best and I was never offered saline, even though I found out they were available then. I was told several years ago that blood work that I had came back positive for lupus, my joints were really feeling bad, especially my knees. Blood work done since then has come back ok. I know what you mean by having no engery and feeling tired all the time. I started to take B100 complex and it seemed to help. I look forward to the next year with no implants just to see how my health improves.

I guess this was the direction that our lives were to take for some unknown reason.
Jones 12345 13 Jul 2012
Yes. I wish I had never put them in in the first place. You take your health for granted until you lose it. Your health is everything, without it your life changes in unimaginable ways. For instance, I was SO tired I could not work, or even go to the grocery store for over a year. When I removed them, I was able to train for and even run a marathon.
FrankieA. 19 Feb 2013
This is so encouraging. None of my doctors have believed me but the extreme fatigue I have been feeling has all but done away with my ability to train. I used to run 70-80 miles a week. I've lost my sex drive and my hair is falling out. My implants are coming out soon and I can't wait. I've only had my silicone implants for 6 months and already they are destroying my health. SO glad to hear that so many of you ladies are feeling better!
BeagleBaby1 13 Jul 2012
I think some of the young girls that are thinking of getting implants should come over to this forum and read awhile and then really rethink what they are doing to their bodies. If I had this at my finger tips all those years I probably would have gave it alot more thought before doing it. Mine have only been out a week today and I don't regret it.
Jones 12345 12 Jul 2012
I had them in for about 10 years before one of them ruptured and made me very sick.
BeagleBaby1 12 Jul 2012
Hi! How long did you have your implants before to decided to have them out?
Angiemcc (Community Manager) 15 Jun 2012

Thank you very much for sharing your story on RealSelf. It's going to be valuable for lots of ladies. It's also good to know of surgeons who will capably and compassionately perform explants. Yay for health!

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