Breast implant illness - what are the chances of experiencing these symptoms?

Question

Hello, I am a 36-year-old female and have been considering getting a mini boob job for a long time now. My main concern is breast implant illness, what are the chances of experiencing these symptoms? how many women get their breast implants removed? thank you in advance for your help.

Justin K. Williams, MD · Answer

The cause or true identity of "Breast implant illness" has not yet been fully analyzed by the medical community. While it is commonly discussed in social media and median general, those discussing it usually are not educated medical professionals. A task force is currently in place through the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic surgeons to better assess a causal relationship between Breast implants and the vague symptoms expressed by patients who claimed to have breast implant illness. With this being said, we do not Yet have a way to identify patients that are at higher risk for this. Since the symptoms are so vague and can cross with many other medical problems (The most common symptoms being fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, Nonspecific rashes), the number of patients who have breast implant illness it is hard to fully know. The likelihood, based on the medical literature, is somewhere between 1 in 4000 and 1 in 30,000 patients. 
I think most plastic surgeons have met with patient's who have had these concerns and have removed implants based on patient desires for implant removal. That being said, I think the vast majority of board certified or board eligible plastic surgeons are removing far fewer implants and they are placing. Breast implants are extremely safe in patients when placed by a properly trained plastic surgeon.
Segmentation surgery is a common procedure that I performed. Please see the attached sling for more information from our practice.

George Bitar, MD · Answer

As plastic surgeons, we are continuing to learn more about breast implant illness, but there are still things we do not know.  The most common symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, muscle/joint aches, headache, and memory issues.  Unfortunately, there is not a set of criteria or a laboratory/imaging test to make the diagnosis, so the exact chances of getting it are unknown.  Fortunately, the vast majority of women get improvement in their symptoms with removal of their implants.

Camille Cash, MD · Answer

Breast implant illness is a rare condition that includes a collection of vague symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog that some attribute to the presence of breast implants.  Those who are suspected of having this can elect to have the implants removed at any time.  For many of those patients the symptoms resolve after removal.  I've included a video that addresses implant removal but there is also a section about Breast Implant Illness.

Zoran Potparic, MD · Answer

Breast implant illness is poorly defined medical condition that have been observed for 30-40 years in small number of patients after breast augmentation with silicone implants. Symptoms are very diverse and it is impossibleto to cover all of that in this type of communication. It is apsolutelly unpredictable who may experience these simptoms after silicone implants placement. You can find much more information online. Good luck.

Ronald J. Edelson, MD · Answer

Nobody can tell you what the risk of implant illness is and many plastic surgeons still don’t think it’s real at all. However for peace of mind your might want to consider saline instead of silicone

Breast implant illness - what are the chances of experiencing these symptoms?

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Breast implant illness - what are the chances of experiencing these symptoms?

Answers (9)

Answer: BII

Answer: BII

Answer: Breast implants

Answer: Breast implants

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Breast Augmentation

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