What Are Symptoms of Silicone Poisoning from Breast Implants?

In a recent webinar on the health risks associated with breast implants I discussed the most common symptoms associated with women who are having a reaction to the devices. Please see attached video.

Removal of breast implants, intact or ruptured, may have positive implications if patients are symptomatic. A constellation of symptoms associated with breast implant illness, and autoimmune disease are considered when treating patients who have breast implants and are concerned about foreign body reaction. In our office, we begin this journey with a consideration of symptoms and exclusion of obvious autoimmune problems. In many of our patients, en bloc removal of breast implants with capsulectomy is important and beneficial. Further clinical evidence about breast implant illness is evolving and will continue to guide treatment. I would suggest removal if there is a possibility of foreign body reaction.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Sorry to hear about your illness.  The test you are referring to I have never heard of and not sure exactly what your doctor told you but no test that I know of can test for "silicone in the system".  There may be silicone that has rupture and a mammogram or MRI would should that the silicone has ruptured thru the shell or perhaps even on a more rare circumstance has ruptured thru the capsule and into the breast tissues or even lymph nodes.  But there really is no blood test for this, it is more an imaging test.Secondly, there has been many years of studies performed that conclusively show there is no illness that can be caused by silicone breast implants and even ruptured silicone breast implants.  Now having said that, there are a select group of patients in whom I have removed their intact silicone breast implants and have felt better.  Scientifically, that can not really be explained. However, if you have implants that are very old or maybe even encapsulated, then your best option would be to have the implants and capsule perhaps removed, and maybe a lift done or perhaps new implants replaced.I would recommend you see a board certified plastic surgeon to discuss what your best options are.Hope that helps.

The use of liquid silicone
implants was the source of tremendous controversy approximately fifteen years
ago. This subject has been studied extensively and the FDA has ruled that
silicone breast implants are safe for breast augmentation. Silicone poisoning
as a distinct entity has not been described. It’s also important to know that
silicone is found everywhere in our environment. It’s even found in tooth
paste. 

Despite three decades of safety testing and monitoring of silicone breast implants, there is still a public perception that silicone breast implants are more toxic or dangerous than saline implants. The truth is that there has no known toxicity from silicone gel breast implants. In fact, silicone is one of the most common materials used in medical devices and implants.  There is no known toxicity from silicone gel breast implants. It has been studied by the FDA for more than three decades to establish its safety. Silicone is the most common material used in medical devices/implants. Examples include shunts that go from the brain to the abdomen (for hydrocephalus) which are left in for a lifetime, artificial finger joints, syringes, IVs, catheters (including ones that go next to the heart), surrounding pacemakers, and even oral anti-gas tablets.The one possible exception may by the PIP implant made in France (generally not available in the USA). Most of the concerns about the PIP implant were about the use of non-medical silicone and manufacturing problems, and do not relate to implants used in the United States by board-certified plastic surgeons. This is not to say that breast implants, like any implant, can have problems; they may have to be removed and are not meant to last a life time. Common reasons for replacement include: capsular contracture, rupture, infection, change in breast size, and pain—but not for toxicity.To answer the perceived toxicity of Silicone by the general public—this is quite a different matter.Breast implants have been around since the 1960s. About 15 years ago Connie Chung ran an exposé, Face to Face with Connie Chung, claiming silicone implants were responsible for different health problems. This led to lawsuits, a huge windfall for lawyers, and the subsequent ban on silicone implants for first-time breast augmentation patients went into effect. They were always available for breast reconstruction (e.g. after mastectomy) and replacement of existing silicone breasts. Also, please note that saline implants are still covered by a silicone envelope.Soon after, a ban on silicone implant use became worldwide. This lasted for years until more than 100 clinical studies showed that breast implants aren’t related to cancer, lupus, scleroderma, other connective tissue diseases, or the host of other problems they were accused of causing.June 1999, The Institute of Medicine released a 400-page report prepared by an independent committee of 13 scientists. They concluded that although silicone breast implants may be responsible for localized problems such as hardening or scarring of breast tissue, implants do not cause any major diseases such as depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, etc.The Institute of Medicine is part of the National Academy of Sciences, the nation’s most prestigious scientific organization.Eventually, a federal judge dismissed/rejected the lawsuits, declaring them junk science and ended for the most part the barrage of lawsuits. This led to the present reintroduction of silicone implants years ago and their approval by the FDA. Interestingly enough, most of the rest of the world reintroduced them many years prior to the United States.

There is no medical evidence to suggest that silicone in the blood stream comes from silicone implants. Silicone poisoning is not a medical term. Silicone is found in a number of medical devices.

Although silicone may be detected in your body, that does not mean that it is causing your disease.
Many studies have been performed out of respective university centers that have shown no link between silicone implants and what had been called in the past: human adjuvant disease.
Many rheumatologists have developed a battery of tests that can document the presence of silicone antibodies and elevated blood levels of different markers in women with breast implants; the clinical significance of these blood tests remains unknown.
Furthermore, implants is not the only source of silicone. Most hypodermic needles are coated with silicone to make them enter the skin more smoothly. Again, this is not known to cause disease.
However, there are other conditions which may be associated with the presence of implants that could be responsible for a variety of signs and symptoms. One of these is called a biofilm. It develops around almost any implant (hip, knee, pacemaker, etc) and is an area of extensive research. It forms a layer that contains bacteria in a dormant state and is very different from an active infection. Some researchers believe this is the cause of firmness around an implant called a capsular contracture.
In any event, it is important that you have the integrity of your implants assessed. The best non-surgical test is an MRI but surgery remains the only true definitive way to make this determination.
I hope this helps. It is a very complex matter whichhas been the focus of alot of hype and misinformation.

First, a couple of things you need to know: studies have conclusively shown that medical grade silicone is nontoxic. This was a topic of intense interest about 15 years ago and there is probably no medical device that has been studied more thoroughly as a result.
Additionally, everyone in a modern society has silicone in their system, as it is ubiquitous in our environment in a number of consumer products. If you have ever had an IV, you have silicone from the lubricant on the needle. A number of blood tests were promoted purporting to be able to diagnose "silicone poisoning" and they have all been proven worthless.
If you have seen only one doctor and he/she is suggesting silicone poisoning as a reasonable explanation for your illness, you really need another opinion.

Hi there,
There are a few things you should understand, and that I think will help you feel better that your implants are not the cause of your illness. Even when your implants were new, your system was exposed to a small amount of silicone on the surface of the implants. As they aged, this "gel bleed" more than likely increased over time. In fact, with your implants being almost 20 years old, it is very likely that you have had exposure for some time; meaning that if you were to react to it in some way, this should have reasonably occurred many years before now.
As mentioned by my colleague, a great many studies have now been done around the world, on thousands of women, showing no link between silicone implants and any systemic illness. Silicone is inert; your body does not react to it. So, there are no symptoms or silicone illness.

I am not sure about a blood test measuring silicone levels so I would advise that you clarify this with your doctor. I would also recommend seeing a board-certified plastic surgeon to examine you and properly assess your breast implants before concluding anything further about silicone poisoning.  It is usually possible to assess the integrity of your breast implants on a scan and pick up any leakage.  I would recommend regular checks of your breast implants in any case although they do not have to be removed unless you are having problems.
Best wishes