56 with 25 Year Old Implants ~ Want Them Out!! LONG STORY - California, CA

I am 56, in good physical shape, take no medication, and am physically active. My implants are both as hard as rocks (capsular scar contracture, mentioned again below). After exploring this site, I have decided that I want and need them out, using the en bloc method. And no replacement, thank you very much!!

When I went into my files to find the exact age of my implants, I was saddened and angered by the comments from the doctors I had seen and from my recollections that have now surfaced regarding all this.

I was very small chested (AA) and boyish looking in my opinion. After having my child and divorcing, I decided I wanted implants to improve my self-image. I received two 240 cc silicone gel implants, placed subglandular through an inframammary approach, thus a scar underneath both breasts. These were McGhan Medical Corporation implants, thus not covered under the Dow lawsuit for explant or rupture claims, only long term disease.

In looking at my initial surgery history, two things stand out in the doctors notes:

"...Also discussed were the potential complications associated with this surgery in terms of drug reactions, abnormal bleeding, infections which would require the removal of the implant, and capsular scar contracture. The last was mentioned as the most common of the problems and this was totally unpredictable. Treatment of this contracture problem by closed manipulation was discussed."

"A final mention was made of silicone implants and its relations to breast malignancies. She was advised that we have no specific knowledge of silicone implants causing a higher instance of breast cancers. She was advised that an ongoing study is still taking place but that data available to date has been favorable. Overall, I felt that she had sufficient understanding of this problem to render a properly informed decision."

Red flags should have been slapping me in the face but I proceeded to have the implants anyway.

I recall returning to the doctor once after they were implanted and reporting that they were tight. The doctor said it was due to the scar tissue and he proceeded to put a massive amount of pressure onto my breast, stating it was to break up the scar tissue. Looking back, this must be the "closed manipulation" he referred to in the initial notes. I have got to say it was some of the worst pain I have ever experienced. I literally screamed, got light headed and was near fainting. I don't think I let him do the other breast. This appointment did not show up in his records. :( (I had pulled all my records after the Dow lawsuit was filed in order to find out what type of implants I had)

Per my files, I returned back to another doctor for re-evaluation of an exchange in October 2003 (13 years after the implants were placed) as the original doctor had retired. The report says that I had developed some firmness which has caused the breasts to appear kind of narrow and overly projected, I had upper quadrant fullness as the scars around the implants have contracted a little bit. He goes on to state that I probably had a 2+ capsular contracture bilaterally. He then goes on to state "About 3 weeks ago, the patient noticed some pain or discomfort along the upper quadrant of her breasts that was not associated with any particular type of movement nor injury. It is possible that some of the sensory nerves or deep tissues nerves are adjacent to the scar capsule, and these may be stretch a little bit with the patients routine movements." "We had a lengthy discussion about the need for a breast implant replacement. I told the patient that it is a personal lifestyle decision, and that it is unlikely that the decision would be associated with issues pertaining to her health". He suggested removal of the implants, partial capsulectomies and the reinsertion of gel implants into a sub muscular position. I decided not to do anything and now 12 more years have passed.

Sometime after 2003, one of my breast implants moved into a very abnormal position. I discussed it with my GP, but never followed through with doing anything about it. Eventually it went back to how it was.

I have now decided that I want them out. I have never liked them and never do anything to display them clothing-wise. I am like may others on this site who hate hugging ~ I can't even imagine how they must feel to someone else. I have spent hours on end reading stories shared on this site that have helped me come to this conclusion...thank you all! I am terrified of surgery, but need to proceed. The uncomfortableness of these hard breasts and the knowledge that they are toxic inside me (and likely ruptured) can not be ignored any longer. There is longevity in my family and I don't want to play roulette with that by keeping these in any longer ~ plus I can't even fathom being 81 with 50 year old implants or 91 with 60 year old implants!! =;-O

I live in Northern California and am considering possibly seeing Dr. Jae Chun in Newport Beach. I would be going alone and would stay in a hotel. I have also considered seeing Dr. Feng in Ohio or Dr. Kolb in Georgia, but the further long distance travel really complicates things in my opinion. I do like the thoroughness of Dr. Feng, especially the pre-surgery MRI's that I have read about. I'm sure I must have ruptured implants, at least the one that got the "closed manipulation" and that I later observed movement moving into an abnormal position.

Any suggestions (pro or con) regarding doctors who perform en bloc would be greatly appreciated.

I have been sharing my decision to explant my 25 year old silicone implants with friends for the first time. I had never discussed having implants with them before, so this was a big step for me. It is really liberating. I decided that my friends will be supportive (and they definitely have been), and if I become the subject of idle gossip from others who happen to hear about it, then it will be for a short while until the next big thing comes along for them to gossip about. I am too old to worry about such things anyway! I shared my implant story with one of my friends who has 10 year old saline implants and we had a lengthy discussion. She is very holistic, eats organic foods whenever possible, etc. She really understood and I think she will strongly consider explanting without replacement when she can financially afford to take any action. She fully understands she is at the change out point. She asked if I had talked to our other friend, who has had implants longer than her, and I indicated I had not yet. She said she was kind of steadfast about not doing anything about her implants based on previous conversations they had. Well, I saw that friend tonight and went through my story with her. She indicated she has had her implants for 15 years. She told me she went from an A to a DD under the skin. She said she has no issues ~ they are saline, are soft and had a "lifetime guarantee". I told her just a little about the valve and the mold issues and about the silicone casing, but she seemed confident she was just fine. She is strong willed, so I know all I can do at this point is to plant the seed and hope it sparks her curiosity to do further research. I asked her at least to have a checkup with the surgeon because I hadn't heard of any implants that had a "lifetime guarantee" as she said hers did. She indicated it was time to go in to have them checked, so I hope he corrects her understanding of how long implants last. He probably will and suggest that she do a replacement, so hopefully she will reconsider her options at that point. I did talk with her about age and not wanting to do any further surgeries as I got older, which re-implanting would require. She is a couple years older than me, so I've got my fingers crossed something I said sinks in for her.
I'm so glad I found this forum ~ the support and the knowledge gained has been invaluable in finally nudging me into action.

I wish I had never implanted, but I definitely should have explanted years ago.

Over the years I thought about "replacement" and I never really considered explanting until I saw Melissa Gilbert talking about her explant on Dr. Oz. I think researching that may have been what led me to this wonderful site. I have spent many hours here, which is what propelled me forward to make an appointment for my own explant. My explant surgery is a month away, and it cannot come soon enough, although I do have the normal fears of surgery and beyond.

Today, I ran across this article regarding an actress who considers her implants the reason for her chronic health problems, as many of the women on the RealSelf site do: https://www.yahoo.com/tv/s/yolanda-foster-says-doctor-found-203200549.html

I am thrilled that this story came out from a celebrity. I didn't know of her, but the story still "found me". Stories like this will hopefully help women who are on the fence about their implants have them taken out promptly and prevent non-implanted women from implanting.

Not that I want to be on this journey, but I could not have found a better group to travel through this with than all of you! Wishing everyone healthy implant free futures!