I am scheduled to have a Breast Augmentation in 1 month. I have had psoriatic arthritis for 8 years. (photos)

Hello and thanks for your post. The best source of information is your rheumatologist who is familiar with the specifics of your situation. I do not believe that silicone will exacerbate your condition, but the topic is controversial. Best wishes, Dr. ALDO.

It is definitely true to say that many of us have operated on patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases (provided they were cleared by their providers) and had no unusual complications resulting from that.  I have never seen an acute flare of psoriasis, IBD, lupus, or RA in my practice as a direct result of an operation, but I'm sure it is possible for a stress reaction to trigger something to happen.  It would definitely be optimal to have your disease well managed before surgery and not operate in the midst of a flare especially if you are taking higher doses of methotrexate or a steroid to control it.  Those medications are known to increase infection and wound healing problem rates.  If you remain off of medications, that is great!  Speak with both your surgeon and derm/rheumatologist for their opinion.  I think they will help to reassure you. 

There really should be no problem with the breast augmentation. Clearly the medications taken for this ailment need to be considered by the plastic surgeon. It probably would be a good idea to mention this to your rheumatologist before proceeding however.

Greetings. Your concern is valid. If your rheumatologist feels you are relatively controlled and your plastic surgeon has no concerns, then the risk of any issues should be low. Good luck!

Clearly you can tell that there is no consensus in the community regarding your choice for silicone implants. That is where an informed consent is important. You understand that if the company advices against placing an implant in a patient like you, you are using an off-label device.

Thank you for the thoughtful question. Despite good intentions, online consultants will not be your best resource here. Your rheumatologist, who may have treated you for years, will your best resource when it comes to advice. Ultimately, I think it will be very difficult to predict whether breast augmentation surgery will cause a flare up ( your previous experience with surgery may be the best predictor). Best wishes with your decision-making and for an outcome that you will be pleased with, if you choose to proceed.

Thank you for your question and in 1992 the FDA placed a moratorium on the use of silicone gel implants because they were linked by lawyers to auto immune diseases.  The moratorium was lifted in 2006 as no evidence could be proven of a direct linkDr Corbin

I have seen women with psoriasis have the condition exacerbate after silicone exposure from leaking implants and improve with explantation, detoxification, and immune support.  Either autoimmune disease or a family history of autoimmune disease are contraindications for silicone according to the manufacturers.