Why Don't Doctors Listen to Women Who Say Their Breast Implants Made Them Sick?

Speaking for myself and for most board certified plastic surgeons, we absolutely listen to every complaint from our patients.  If you develop an unexplained illness, a thorough history, physical examination, and appropriate laboratory and/or radiologic investigation to develop a differential diagnosis is indicated.  Because there is no scientifically proven relationship between currently available breast implants and known illnesses, attribution of the etiology of any illness to breast implants would be based not on science, but perhaps only after every other known cause were eliminated, a difficult task.  We (science) don't know everything, and it is true that implants may be related to illness(es)  in some as yet undiscovered way(s).  Our understanding of biofilms around breast implants and the recent discovery that a rare cancer (anaplastic large cell lymphoma) MAY (or may not) occur more frequently among women with implants are examples of emerging science.

If somebody develops a problem after having breast implants, they will assume it is due to the breast implants; that is human nature.  But what about women who got the same condition who never had breast implants?  Junk science fueled the breast implant controversy and caused 3 Billion dollars to change hands.  Now even most desparate lawyers won't take a breast implant - autoimmune case.

Therefore it is up to scientists to see the statistical analyses on the different groups to see if there is a difference.

If patients are convinced their breast implants are causing them difficulties to the point their quality of life starts to suffer, it is reasonable to remove the implants.  Good doctors do listen to their patients.  They do not listen to junk science.

 Every doctor is committed to the health and well-being of their patients, first and foremost.

Before 4 years of medical school, 5 years of surgery residency, 2 more years of plastic surgical fellowship, and then beginning either academic or private practice, each plastic surgeon graduated from college or university with a degree, usually in the sciences. Many possess dual degrees, advanced degrees, and all of us learned proper scientific methods, including testing hypotheses, cause and effect, and higher mathematics, including statistics. This doesn't make us so smart we never make a mistake, or never have an opposing point of view. BUT, what it does provide is some degree of assurance that given proper data, and sound scientific analysis, and mathematically correct statistical probability computation, we can separate the "junk science" and the unsupported hypotheses from the data-supported, statistically significant facts!

So when a patient who has heard on a talk show, or read in a fashion magazine, about the "perils" of silicone implants, and comes to truly believe that whatever disease, condition, or complaint they have is caused  by her breast implants, we have to rely on science and properly-run studies to fuel our advice. It's not that we don't believe that women really have whatever ailment or complaint they tell us about, or even that it "seemed" to be diagnosed shortly after placement of implants, it's that there are numerous good scientific studies that do not support a cause-and-effect relationship between silicone gel implants and any sort of auto-immune or "human adjuvant" disease such as arthritis, lupus, scleroderma, and many other ailments. Posing a question is excellent, but if numerous, well-run, non-implant-company-funded, scientific studies by reputable non-biased researchers find no relationship, I am duty bound to tell my patients the truth, not what they want to hear.

I absolutely believe these women to be reliable in describing their medical condition; what they are NOT QUALIFIED to do is to claim their implants "caused" their problem! Remember that even so reputable a source as the Pope once proclaimed that the Sun revolved around the Earth. It only "makes sense" now that we all know He was wrong!

I tell my patients that multiple studies have shown that implants do not cause any disease. However, when women state that the implants are the source of these symptoms, it has been my experience that they DO NOT want them removed. Why is that?

Reasearch from many sources done on thousands of women have shown that certain immune system diseases like lupus and others do occur in women with breast implants.  They also occur in equal numbers in women without implants.

If I have a patient who believes implants (especially slicone gel) can cause disease, or knows somebody who has become ill, I listen to that very closely and will not recommend gel implants for that patient. 

The question of breast implants and illness has been exhaustively studied and it is clear that they do not cause illness. The problem in blaming medical conditions on implants is that it diverts attention from discovering the true cause of the problem. Plastic surgeons, like all doctors, are obligated to look after the best interests of their patients, so we might well ask why patients don't listen to us!

Because there is no scientific evidence or double blind statistical studies that have proven implants cause any illness. From MIAMI Dr. Darryl J. Blinski

If a patient states that implants have made sick, the removal of the implant is one of the option. I would like to know if you had different experience and if so please share your experience with us and we will direct you in the right direction.

Tyknee,

Doctors do listen to their patients.  "Ill" is a very broad term.  It has been well established through very large studies with thousands of woman, done at very reputable institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, that the collagen vascular type "illnesses", like lupus, that were feared to be occuring from silicone gel have no relation to the gel.  In other words, these woman would likely have developed the illnesses regardless of whether or not they had silicone implants.  Other entities that may be considered to be illness, might include pain or hardening of the implants, are recognized complications of implants and fortunately occur infrequently. 

We do listen. But, just because someone tells you something, even if she believes in what she is saying, doesn't make it true. There has to be some sort of scientific data or facts to support it. This was the problem back in the late 1980's when the whole silicone breast implant scare started. Women that got breast implants when they were in their 20's and 30's, who when the scare started were then in their 30's, 40's, or 50's and had developed rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus or other medical problems and who heard that silicone could possibly cause these medical problems, all firmly believed that it was the silicone that caused them to get these diseases. Since that time, silicone has been studied more than any other medical device and found to be safe. It has been shown that the incidence of these diseases in question is the same in women who have breast implants as it is in women who do not have implants. Just because the implant came first, doesn't mean that it caused anyone to get the disease. It has been shown scientifically that silicone is not associated with any disease in any way. Also the studies on silicone have revealed many things most people were not aware of. Silicone is already in our bodies. It is in numerous foods, lipstick, toothpaste and medications. Most of us eat it every day and have a natural level of silicone in our blood. It has never been shown to cause any medical problems.