9 years post op. saline breast implants. Having severe symptoms. What tests would rule out this being caused by implants?

Question

In 2008 I had saline implants placed. A year after I had them placed I had pains under my breasts. Now a burning sensation around my ribcage and new onset arthritis in my thorasic area (I’m 32). My eosinophils and monocytes keep jumping, developed a severe reaction to diflucan (SJS) , my ANA is 1:1280, raynauds, bounding pulse, low grade fevers. No one can figure out what’s wrong. My labs don’t quite equate lupus or RA. If this is caused by my breast implants, what tests would rule this out?

Joshua B. Hyman, MD · Answer

Hi. Thank you for the question. Breast Implant Illness (BII) does exist but is an area that needs a lot more study. In my experience, when I hear about situations such as yours, I have had great success removing the implants and capsules. There is no blood test that will specifically locate the source of your illness to the implants that I am aware of. I have had patients say they feel better as soon as 1 day after surgery. It is hard to believe but true. In addition, your implants are old for saline and should be either removed or replaced with cohesive gel soon, in my opinion, before other issues develop.

9 years post op. saline breast implants. Having severe symptoms. What tests would rule out this being caused by implants?

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