I've wanted a breast augmentation for ages, the only thing holding me back is the concern of breast implant illness

Dear A7183790,

there have been numerous studies on the safety and efficacy of silicone breast implants. The FDA has approved them to be safe and breast augmentation is the most common cosmetic surgical procedure performed in the United States every year. Implants are much different than they used to be with rigorous testing and cohesive gel. I can't tell you how happy my breast augmentation patients have been with their implants.

I would recommend a consult with a plastic surgeon to go over all of your concerns. Saline implants are also a perfectly good option if you are still concerned and are less expensive.


Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

The reality is that the vast majority of patients who have breast implants are very happy and have no or minimal problems with them. Inevitably there is disproportionate amount of attention and noise which comes from the minority who are unlucky enough to have problems. But yes, unfortunately, like so many things in life there is risk and uncertainty - you have to weigh up the certainty that your breasts will be made bigger and the highly likely positives in terms of boosting your confidence and body image versus the unlikely but potential issue of this entity called 'breast implant illness' (the existence of which remains unproven).

Hello, and thank you for your question. You have valid concerns, but I can rest assure you that breast implant illness is very rare. I have been in practice for 25 years and I have maybe taken 2 patients implants out for what they thought was breast implant illness. Once the implants were removed, they still had the symptoms they had prior. I am not saying Breast implant illness is not a thing but it's a very fine grey area. Again, this is something that is very rare and just be sure to do your homework and find a board-certified surgeon with great reviews and beautiful before and after photos.