Should I remove 14 yr old saline implants with recent multiple auto immune diagnoses or can I leave them in?

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

hellomPinkjade  Usually if there is no problem with the implants you do not need to take them out, but if your doctor feels the need to take them out you should. #post-op #implants

Initially, I would recommend leaving them alone if there are no major symptoms. However, this decision is best made by you in conjunction with the Doctor managing your current condition.

In general if there are no issues with the implants or the capsules you do not need to consider removal.  Your situation is unique however.  I recommend discussing the situation with your rheumatologist, or who you see to treat your autoimmune disorders.  If you are uncomfortable with having them in, you can certainly elect to have the implants removed.

I would look at the breast implant illness groups on other platforms like FB.  I think you will get a better sense of what patients feel like afterwards.  I have have taken out many implants and symptoms by and large improve.  

Silicone is a known adjuvant so in patients with certain HLA or genetic types such as B27, DR53 and others, any exposure to silicone including in fabric softeners and skin care products produces autoimmune disease.  Lupus is due to chemical toxicity, Scleroderma is due to mold biotoxins and chemical toxicity, and RA is usually due to an intracellular infection but can also be misdiagnosed as silicone causes joint pain in some patients.  Many patients develop a positive ANA and other markers of autoimmune disease with defective silicone implants that clears up with explantation and detoxification.
I have treated more than a thousand patients with such problems so I understand the role of toxicity (silicone, chemical, and biotoxicity), as well as co infections of yeast, mold, viruses, and intracellular infection due to defective breast implants and how to treat these patients.  Most plastic surgeons have no knowledge of any of what I have said here nor do most rheumatologists understand the cause of these diseases.  The reason for this is two fold.  One is that this disease is politically incorrect (despite a great deal of peer reviewed literature confirming the above), and the other is that these diseases are complicated with four types of toxicity (add heavy metal toxicity as most of these women have detoxification defects such as MTHFR)  and six co infections.  Unless your doctor is trained in integrative holistic medicine, they will not understand detoxification.
Recovery then requires total capsulectomy, removal of silicone laden axillary lymph nodes, detoxification, immune and endocrine support as both systems are disrupted, and treatment of coinfections.  Both mold and intracellular infections are politically incorrect so doctors in general know nothing about the treatment of these infections.  Intracellular infections include Lymes disease and other spirochetes, mycoplasma (the basis of our biological warfare system), interstitial cystitis, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, MS, and ALS to name a few.  Many of these disease are transmitted by pets in patients with immune defects due to defective breast implants.  The husband is not ill, but the wife becomes ill from the pet who carries the disease.  Insect vectors and person to person transmission is also possible.  
Patients with susceptible HLA types should never have exposure to silicone.  Patients with detoxification defects should not have textured or silicone implants but with the correct supplement support can have smooth saline implants.  All patients will saline implants should be encouraged to avoid mold however, as mold in or around the implant is a common cause of implant illness producing fibromyalgia and neurological disease as the mold biotoxin is a neurotoxin.  All silicone implants start to leak around eight years according to a Dow Corning engineering study so silicone implants should be replaced every eight years.  Saline implants should be replaced every ten to 15 years depending on the manufacturer in my clinical experience due to value issues that develop in older implants.  In my opinion, the benefits of texturing rarely outweigh the risks, especially in patients with detoxification defects (30% of the population) or patients with problems getting rid of biotoxins in the fluid that can form around the implant causing fibromyalgia symptoms (25% of the population) and the risk of lymphoma from mold biotoxins and chemical toxicity in textured implants. The newer silicone implants do not appear to have any difference in the rate that chemicals leak out in my clinical experience.  They are however, easier for the plastic surgeon to deal with should rupture occur and require explantation.