The Evidence Is In: Breast Implants Are Making People Sick Increasingly women find when they have their implants removed, their symptoms improve—or disappear.

Author

Pamela J. Appea, CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of JournalismFollow

Graduation Date

Winter 12-13-2024

Grading Professor

Emily Laber-Warren

Subject Concentration

Health & Science

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Abstract

Over the years, breast implants have been associated with a wide range of health issues, including cancer and autoimmune diseases, but surprisingly these issues are not well known to the public. In 1992, health concerns led the FDA to halt the use of silicone gel breast implants for cosmetic surgeries, although implants containing saline remained available (it was during this period that the Oprah segment that Gmitro remembered ran on TV). In 2006, after more research, which some experts believe was insufficient, the FDA re-approved the use of silicone implants. In 2019, a novel “textured” breast implant manufactured by Allergan that was tied to an aggressive cancer, breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, was recalled. Still, some 300,000 people each year continue to receive traditional saline and silicone implants, either because they want to change how their breasts look or because they’ve had a mastectomy due to cancer.

There’s been a simmering controversy, meanwhile, over a condition now known as breast implant illness that appears to be associated with all kinds of breast implants. The condition is associated with a range of symptoms including autoimmune disorders, brain fog, joint pain and harrowing fatigue. One leading theory about what causes breast implant illness is that the immune system rejects the breast implant as a foreign object, and over time the body’s immune response can intensify, causing a range of debilitating symptoms.

Women have complained of these problems for decades, and mostly been dismissed. But in recent years, breast implant illness, though still not a formal diagnosis, has become more widely accepted, although the scope of how many people are impacted is still in dispute. And strikingly, multiple studies show that when women have their implants removed, in the majority of cases their symptoms immediately ease, sometimes dramatically.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17EtQp0oiUaeI4johj3soMe3xrWMv0VJsj5vJd4qIvdM/edit?tab=t.0

Recommended Citation

Appea, Pamela J., "The Evidence Is In: Breast Implants Are Making People Sick Increasingly women find when they have their implants removed, their symptoms improve—or disappear." (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gj_etds/759