Breast Implants & Neuropathy
 

Hi,

I have PN, primarily small sensory PN, but some motor. All tests to date have been normal. My neuro's next step is a cat scan of my entire torso to rule out cancer (8 year smoking history) because my PN is spreading fairly rapidly. I asked him if my breast implants would pose any problems in the reading of the CT scan, and he stated no, but that would be an interesting area to study as to a cause for my PN.

Now my breast implants are filled with SALINE, but the actual implant itself is made of silicone. I had them placed almost 9 years ago and have never had any problems with them, no scarring, no contracture, no leakage.

I googled "Saline breast implants and peripheral neuropathy" and some anti-breast implant sites came up with some pretty scary things. :eek: However, I couldn't find anything that seemed medically sound.

I am wondering if any of you women with PN here have implants? If you prefer not to respond to this thread, can you send me a private message? Thanks so much...

Ann

Ann elizabeth...just having ....
 

gone thru the cancer thing last year [whew! whatta year?] and getting impants and all. I have to urge you to really ask yourdocs about all your tests to date..
I first urge you to check out www/neuroexam.com and see what all docs SHOULD check you out for..then www/Lizajane.org. from a member whos had multiple spinal, pn and possible auto-immune issues.

I for one, have an auto-immune neuropathy...probably caused by a pneumonia that had lasted for 2 months then 3+months after than had a sudden onset. Less than 2 years later, I was diagnosed with the 'easiest of BC's DCIS stage 1' got it early, was lucky. But, according to my surgeon, it could all be related... PM me for some details if you wish. All docs concede that the PN onset before the BC diagnoses might be related...there are tests that can be done...but...it really doesn't change how it all is treated and, no doc seems to be interested in persuing the issue. The whole thing gets well, plain old squirrelley! Small comfort? Maybe. Treatment, the right sorts, SHOULD BE your primary concern...the right docs, or other docs are also important it 'getting you' there.


Just know you have someone here, who's been thru all that...done that, has the tee-shirt...etc.?
Read the stickies above at the top of the 'page' and, before you suffer 'overload' pick out YOUR salient points and plain old ASK QUESTIONS! You will find a good group here...we all came by our PN's thru different routes but, I have never found a one who was stinting in generousity about sharing! That means a lot...for a lot!

Hugs in the meantime! - j

It's true
 

Sorry, ann-elizabeth, to bear these tidings, but the bad news is true. Silicone is definitely associated with neuropathy.

I'm one of the women who became ill from implants, and only started to heal when they were removed. I don't talk about it much, if ever, up here; but I'm not the only one.

The strongest evidence for the silicone neuropathy link is a simple review of medicare claims that was done a number of years back. The goal was to see if any medical devices were associated with any specific diagnoses, over the cousre of a number of years. What turned up was that anyone with silicone implants (testicles, chin, breast) had a much higher incidence of peripheral neuropathy than people without. That to me was the best published evidence.

Beyond that, there's my story. I had implants put in after finishing nursing my second child. Plastic surgeons no longer did "lifts" for those of us who totally lost our shape to nursing. It was easier to "slip in an implant", as my surgeon recommended. I was 40. For the next 10 years I developed one joint problem after another, and one inflamed nerve after another. I had chronic sinus infections and was in intravenous antibiotics for two months, as well as having surgery.

The 10th year I developed a rash in the sun, ulcers on my tongue, and a sudden onset of feeling things crawling all over my legs. By then I had clear nerve conduction evidence of neuropathy. Every rheumatologist I saw told me I had "implant disease". They said yeah, it "doesn't exist" but they all saw it all the time and all said that I would not get well until they were removed.

I went online and found a silicone support group. I posted, new to the online world, "Does anyone there have neurological symptoms". I was terrified, totally terrified. By morning, I had 20 letters from women who had neuropathy. I've been in touch with a couple over the last 7 years, and I can tell you that no one who has not had the implants removed has gotten better. But just about everyone who has them out within 10 years does get well. Longer than 10 years, it's a crap shoot, because the silicone has migrated through the nodes (rather like breast cancer), and triggered immune dysfunction. Some docs would still want to treat me for immune disease.


It took a few months to be well enough for removal, at which time I flew to one of the two plastic surgeons in the country who were removing them carefully, looking at and removing involved lymph nodes.

I got worked up for every other possible cause. I went to Mayo. Nothing else was found to be wrong.

I've embarked upon the healing program recommended by so many here on the site, wtih yoga, supplements, and a decreased work schedule.

I am way way better. Even though I'm still recovering from spinal surgery, I am much more well than I was in those 10 years I had implants. Rheumatologists and immunologists say my immune system is still over-revved, but I'm not taking any drugs at this point.

I do not tell doctors about the silicone. It's wasted breath and just labels the woman a problem. But I tell any women I meet who are entertaining the notion that it is a very very bad idea. And anyone who has them and has health problems----I recommend removal. En bloc. With a surgeon who specializes in removal. There's a central list of "approved" plastic surgeons, who have proved themselves. Mine was a microvascular surgeon. It took 7 hours to remove them. A coronary bypass only takes 2.

Do your reading, please. If you need to pm me, feel free.

Too Many Studies to Ignore
 

Ann Epidemiol. 2000 May;10(4):197-9. [/B]
A retrospective cohort study of implanted medical devices and selected chronic diseases in Medicare claims data.Greenland S, Finkle WD.
Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Topanga, CA, USA.

PURPOSE Several case-control studies have observed associations of implanted medical devices and certain connective-tissue and neurologic diseases. We reexamined these and other associations using cohort comparisons.

[COLOR="black"]METHODS:[/COLOR] We compared the incidence of 52 diseases in several retrospective cohorts constructed from Medicare claims data. Six cohorts were defined by implantation of medical devices (silicone, metal bone or joint implants, breast implants, penile implants, pacemakers, artificial heart valves), and four comparison cohorts were defined by surgeries not involving implants.

RESULTS: We observed associations that were generally consistent with previous reports, including associations of bone and joint implants with connective-tissue diseases, and an association of penile implants with idiopathic progressive neuropathy. We also observed associations of breast implants and pacemakers with connective-tissue diseases.

CONCLUSIONS For the most part, our study confirms our previous case-control results. Although confounding by presurgical conditions (such as diabetes) remains a plausible explanation of the findings, several associations are worthy of more detailed research.

PMID: 10854955 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

: Ann Epidemiol. 1998 Jul;8(5):319-26. Links
A case-control study of prosthetic implants and selected chronic diseases in Medicare claims data.• Greenland S,
• Finkle WD.
Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA.

PURPOSE: In an exploratory case-control study of a private insurance-claims database, Greenland and Finkle (Ann Epidemiol. 1996;6:530-540) observed associations of certain prosthetic nonbreast implants with certain connective-tissue and neurologic conditions. We wished to test these associations using the same design with new data.

METHODS: We examined these associations in a case-control analysis of Medicare claims data. To control for possible confounding effects of surgery, our analysis examined nonimplant surgeries of severity similar to implant surgeries. RESULTS: We again found associations of silicone and metal implants with connective-tissue and neurologic conditions, but we also found similar associations of carpal-tunnel surgery with those conditions.
CONCLUSIONS: Possible explanations for these findings include confounding by presurgical conditions. Therefore, we recommend further studies be done in which such conditions can be measured and controlled.
PMID: 9669614 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

1: Ann Epidemiol. 1996 Nov;6(6):530-40. Links

A case-control study of prosthetic implants and selected chronic diseases.
• Greenland S,
• Finkle WD.
Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health 90095-1772, USA.
We examined the association between prosthetic nonbreast implants and selected malignant neoplasms, connective tissue disorders, and neurologic diseases. We conducted a case-control study from an insurance claims database. We selected controls who had diseases for which no association with implants have been claimed or reported. Data were analyzed using both tabular and polytomous regression analysis methods, including methods to account for the large number of comparisons. All analyses exhibited positive associations between implants (both silicone and metal) and neurologic conditions, especially idiopathic progressive neuropathy and Meniere syndrome, as well as the expected associations with arthritic conditions. There also was an unexpected negative association between metal implants and brain tumors.


Conclusion, further studies of prosthetic implants and neurologic diseases appear warranted. These studies should obtain medical histories to control for possible confounding effects of drug treatments associated with implant surgery.
PMID: 8978883 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


: Rheumatology (Oxford). 2002 Feb;41(2):129-35; discussion 123-4. Links
Silicone breast implants: correlation between implant ruptures, magnetic resonance spectroscopically estimated silicone presence in the liver, antibody status and clinical symptoms.
• Gaubitz M, • Jackisch C,

Department of Medicine B, University of Munster, Munster, Germany.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of implant integrity on clinical symptoms and antibody status in women with silicone breast implants (SBIs). METHODS: Ninety consecutive women were examined by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the integrity of their silicone breast implants. The presence of silicone in the liver was estimated by (1)H localized stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Results were correlated with patients' complaints, as evaluated by a standardized questionnaire, physical examination by a rheumatologist and antibody screening.

RESULTS: Breast MRI revealed defects in 24 patients (26.6%); in 13 (54.2%) of these women, silicone was detected in the liver by MRS. Of the 66 patients with MRI-estimated intact implants, 15 (22.7%) had apparent silicone in their liver, arguing for gel bleeding. Clinically, two patients had had rheumatoid arthritis before SBIs, whereas the other patients revealed no typical symptoms of arthritis or connective tissue disease (CTD). The patients with MRS evidence of silicone in the liver had no statistically significant differences in their complaints with the exception of the most frequent symptom, tingling/numbness of the fingers (82.1 vs 51.6%, P=0.006). A positive pattern of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) was obtained in 13 of the 28 MRS-positive patients (46.4%) and in 15 of the 62 MRS-negative patients (24.2%, P=0.033). However, in only one of these 28 ANA-positive patients was a specific weak antibody titre against SS-A detected by ELISA.

CONCLUSION: Implant integrity has no major impact on rheumatic symptoms of women with SBIs. This finding supports the standpoint that silicone does not cause either a specific CTD or any other distinct disease entity. However, the moderately increased incidences of ANA-positivity and neuropathy-associated symptoms require explanation.
PMID: 11886959 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Lizajane
 

Thanks for all the info.....I guess it doesn't matter that mine are SALINE?

Ann

Welcome to our group Ann Elizabeth
 

I almost fell over when I saw your posting. I have been on this group and Brain Talk for several years and have never seen anyone else post publically here on this, other than me. This, despite the fact I have met many, many women in person, who have joined our unfortunate sorority and are suffering from neurological problems.

I had implants nearly 17 years. They were removed in 1992, due to systemic symptoms, including severe peripheral neuopathy.

There are few doctors who will openly admit that they are seeing these patients. Yesterday, I called a plastic surgeon's office in Dallas, attempting to help a friend of mine who is very ill and needs to have her implants removed immediately. I asked the receptionist if her doctor has seen any women with implant problems. She said no... I happen to know one of the women he implanted well enough to know he had seen her and she has PLENTY of health issues believed related to her implants.

I would strongly encourage you to consider explantation, particularly since you are showing signs of nervous system dysfunction. The shells on your implants are made of silicone, which in itself, appears to cause immune system disorders. At one point, over 400,000 women had reported implant problems to the FDA. There has been NO followup on this...

Most doctors refuse to connect our health problems with implants, so be prepared for the "rolling of the eyes." :) If you do opt for removal, the "en bloc" technique LizaJane refers to means that the surgeon cuts around the scar capsule, which forms around each implant, and removes the implant and capsule as one unit, much as a ball in a catcher's mitt.

I hope you will keep us posted on how you are doing and what you decide to do.

I would also like to thank Liza Jane for having the courage to post this information publicly. It is not always easy to speak out on this issue, which is immensely personal for some... I wish there were more women willing to come to this forum. Discussing this in a public forum might lead some women to consider that their health problems could be implant related. Explantation might at least give them a chance to improve their health.

Cathie

well it took me a while
 

to post this the question publicly and I appreciate your answers. I guess my biggest question is after having implants, what the heck do your breast look like after explantation? I'm rather fond of my look now! (hoping not to sound too vain....):rolleyes:

ann

I'd send you a pic but I'm not that "out"!

Okay, they're just fine. Small and perky was the goal, and when the implants were removed, that's what I got! It was an immediate relief to feel like myself again, without them. Dr Feng in Cleveland is one of the best. You might go to her website and take a look. That's where I went for the removal. A microvascular surgeon is willing to take the time to save every bit of breast tissue she can, since much of it is stuck to the implant or it's decomposed contents. She did a great job and I have no complaint.

I guess Ive had things...
 

backwards, in that I'd gotten the PN/CIDP first and 2 years later the cancer diagnosis....and that all doesn't mean the two are totally unrelated either...my cancer surgeon and ocon said that it can take cancers about 5-7 years of incubating before being found. Chicken or egg? Who can really tell, but I do know my docs have been truly super in my treatments and extra-cautious as well.

After my mast., it really took me a whole week before I could look at the surgery site tho...I opted for an implant as only one side was affected and my balance was soo bad that,well, I needed a bit of 'evening' out weight wise. I was getting used to not having anything there, and no one could really tell the difference w/comfy clothes...then I got 'implanted'. There is a good site about whether to do implants or not at www.breastcancer.org. There are a lot of good people there who have wide-ranging opinions about the routes to take. Altho my case is different, it's a good site to look at, as their reasons pro or con are similar to anyone's but with the extra PUNCH of IT coming back.

I don't know where you live, but my BC surgeon is top notch...All she does is breasts and my PS stated outright she loves working with her[the surgeon] because she had much more to work with...I guess that means it wasn't a chop job? Well, you all know what I mean.

Hugs and good thoughts for the interim! - j

Surgery
 

I too saw Dr. Feng, in Cleveland after my implants were already removed. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of seeing a Houston surgeon first for implant removal. While I cannot complain about the way I look, there was a rupture during explantation-the leaking silicone has gone no telling where in my body and my health has suffered greatly.

I only wish that I had waited and had Feng do the explantation, but she had a lengthy waiting list and my neuropathy was already cranking up. Perhaps my health would not have taken such a hit, had I just hung in there and waited.

I have sent a number of women to her from all over the country. Everyone who has written back has been extremely pleased with her and her work. My take on her, is that she is a brilliant, unassuming physician, who is very sensitive to this issue and who strives to do meticulous work. It didn't hurt to learn that she entered Yale at 16. On a television interview, I saw a reporter hassling her about the implant issue, health problems, implant removal and all. As you may know, there is great controversy on this subject. She very modestly said, "I know what I see."

If she could do anything else to help me, I would be there for surgery tomorrow...

I am in Texas, where the implants/removal/related health issues were on the front page of newspapers back in the early 90's. I was treated at Baylor Neurology, in Houston, where I saw MANY of these women in the halls and waiting areas... Physicians who attempted to help, suddenly were not available, as the push to return implants to the market began to fire up. Our lab values were confusing as they are not typical textbook cases of any one autoimmune disease. Even now, it is difficult to get some doctors to take our complaints seriously.

I can appreciate your desire to keep your look, but if there is any chance at all you might regain your health, or at least improve it, you may want to weigh the importance of this. I can tell you this, autoimmune disease is NOT fun...


Cathie

This is one of my pet peeves.
 

I realize I'm male and may have a different perspective on this--though I am balding, quite grey, and have never made any move to do anything about either condition.

As far as I'm concerned, even given all the pressures out there to "look good and/or young", I think "feeling good/being healthy" should trump "looking good/young". Every time. Even as regards weight loss, the real reason for keeping one's weight optimal is health, not appearance.

When issues of one's well-being are concerned, vanity should never be allowed to supercede. I even worry over those who dye their hair or paint their nails; perhaps less radical than implants, but still the application of uneeded and possibly harmful chemicals to the body. This goes for major classes of cosmetics, as well.

I think we'd all be better off worrying less about how we measure up to some impossible cultural/advertising standard--which also means "enforcing" it less in other people--and more time worrying about our nutrition, our exercise, and our personalities. (I also think that if our nutrition and exercise are optimal, we'll have a healthy enough glow to compensate for other "deficiencies".)

Hello
 

I would have to agree with you on this, but as a young woman, I guess I set too much priority in the way I looked after childbirth. If I had to make the same choice again, I would never have this surgery. Of course, this was in the days before you could research things like this on the Internet.

Following in my footsteps was my daughter, in her 20's at the time. She also began to exhibit some of the neuro problems and wasted no time in having her implants removed. She is doing well and looks great, without even having reconstructive surgery. Smaller yes, but she is doing very well and even managed to snag a wonderful husband without any trouble.

By the way, the sales job was good.... "The implants are safe, they will last a lifetime, and you will NEVER have to worry about breast cancer."

I thought it was interesting that Ann's doctor would even mention that it would be interesting to study her case, wondering if it could be the cause of her neuropathy... Most doctors want no part of that...

Cathie

I'm so sorry you're all having to live with this.
 

I've known several women in the same situation, and all were told by their surgeons that implants are 100% safe. Now you're stuck with the unintended and unexpected life changing results. It's disgusting that the doctors who did this to you are assuaging their guilt with vacations to Hawaii and the Bahamas paid for by you.

I hope you can collectively come up with powerful and effective strategies to heal from this.

I used to beleive looks were very important.
 

That was mostly in my 20's. I was blessed with wavy dark hair and porcelain skin, which people always told my parents I was striking.

I realised this when one of my father's friends told him he was in love with me and asked for my hand in marriage. My father replied that if he ever came past again, or near me again, he would kill him. LOL!!:D :D

By then I knew looks can get you places. I was very dismissive of people who didn't fit into the stereotypical mold of beauty,and I never had friends that were better looking than me because I didn't like competition.

I married at 25, and that was a stretch as by 19 many of my parents friends were trying to fix me up with their son's. I also think my parents were a bit releived to see me married as I am sure they were worried that my looks would fade, or at least that's what my mum said all the time.

I lived like this in this bubble, and married someone very handsome hoping to have good looking kids.

All this changed so much when I got my PN,and in an odd way it was almost a blessing in disguise because I finally saw beauty in unconventional things. I became my own advocate. I stopped to smell the roses. I listened to my clients more and better. I have friends who also have disabilities. I have friends who come from all walks of life as they say. I enjoy simple things. I don't waste my money anymore on frivilous things.

I am starting to go grey now too. On the sides of my hair. Since my hair is dark,it is quite noticeable, but I decided not to colour for the time being.

I really finally beleive that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it took this illness to show me that.

But as they say hindsight is always 20/20. I generally don't have the high opinion of doctor's that I used to have. They have their heirarchy, and surgeons are generally considered to be tops.

I beleive the spine surgeon who operated on me also lied to me and didn't disclose his unsuccessful ratio. He told me I only had a 2% chance of reherniation,but had less chance than someone who had never had it before. I beleived him. Within 2 years I was showing signs of reherniation,and attempted to email him,and he didn't reply. 2 calls to his office also with no return calls. He charged me $13,000 to do the surgery back then. I never complained against him for some reason, I just didn't want everyone to find out I was sick again.

But let me tell you if any doctor messes with me today, in my present state, I won't be so quick to let things slide anymore.

Hello everyone
 

Do you think we scared Ann away? She hasn't posted. I hope not, there are some things that will help her. This group is a good resource for people like us. It is nice to have people who understand the frustrations of dealing with PN and who will share advice about things that have worked for them.

I hope she comes back. Maybe this is my fault. If so, I am sorry.

Cathie

LOL! Cathie
 

You need not apologise for anything. I highly doubt we scared here away.:D

She has posted...and is probably just trying to absorb all the experience and thoughts of the wonderful people on this forum.

You haven't scared me
 

away....

I am trying to grasp all this and I am definately in denial. I am having a hard time reconciling the saline issue..I have never had any pain or scaring issues with my implants, so it is difficult to imagine my PN is caused by them. I am doing further research...I have my CT scan scheduled next Tuesday and I am going to Kona on the 16th where I will be proudly showing off my 42D's :eek: LOL! Keep in mind I am 5'11", so they are in proportion!

Just trying to lighten things up around here! My implants were my choice ya know and I accept that responsibilty. I weighed the pro's & con's...and I was not told by my doctor that there were no risks and he did say that they needed replacement every 10 years.

So on I go, weighing all the options. Thanks for all the input and opinions...I appreciate it...

Ann

Ann-elizabeth...shucks a little bit of
 

denial from/about things is what NEUROPATHY is all about!

Two things have changed radically over the last 10 years that make a difference: first, information-data is keeping up [almost] with the technologies and the changes in those technologies and second, information is far more readily available to US of the benefits and blunders of same. Then word is more readily exchanged about it all thru vehicles of the 'net' and bulletin-boards.. Patients are, if they make the effort, FAR MORE AGRESSIVE about getting information and then demanding, not just 'hoping' for more than adequate answers!

We are now able to be far more proactive in our choices, with solid information backing up our choices rather than the 'trust-me' attitude of the past. It would be almost delightful to hand your well-being over to a medical person and plain old TRUST! That isn't the way that world, nor any other, seems to work tho.

Whatever your choice, it IS your choice, and I for one understand about choices. We all make them, and live with them. I for one know the angst of such choices and send you this::hug: !!!! - j

private message
 

Ann Elizabeth---I've pm'd you. Please have a look. LJ

an article I've just found
 

Syndromes Associated with Silicone Breast Implants: A Clinical Study and Review
Journal Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine
Publisher Taylor & Francis
ISSN 1359-0847 (Print) 1364-6907 (Online
Authors
ARTHUR DALE ERICSSON MD
Abstract
Silicone breast implants have been associated with a variety of medical conditions. This article is the first in an analysis of the data that have been accumulated in over 500 patients with medical conditions that appear coincident with implantation with several different silicone breast prosthetic devices. The vast majority, over 87% of symptomatic patients, appear to have a neuropathy (demyelinating and axonal-diagnosis made on nerve and muscle biopsy and ELISA analysis), while approximately 22-25% of symptomatic patients have evidence of autoimmune thyroid disease. A small percentage of patients (10-12%) have evidence of central demyelination (brain and spinal cord-diagnosis made by magnetic resonance imaging and ELISA testing). Silicone breast implant adjuvant syndrome is proposed as a diagnosis for these symptomatic patients. The significance of these findings is discussed in considerable detail and extensive references are offered for the reader.

Keywords

Ann-elizabeth
 

Ann-elizabeth,

I have one saline implant for four years and recently developed neuropathy. I am having it removed as soon as possible. It has progressed very fast and all of my medical tests have come back normal. I am praying this will start the healing process.
Srite back please.

Could this be somehow related??
 

I got a "nose job" back in January 2006. The surgeon put in my nose some implant i don't know what it is made of, i had never wondered.... up to now. My neuropathy symptoms started 5 months after the surgery. I don't really know what the material of the implant i got in my nose is, but i am sure i have an implant... I am wondering now guys, could this implant be related to an autimmune reaction???????:eek: It had never crossed my mind, never, but now it seems possible, what do you think??

Possibly...
 

Monica,
I had knee replacements in March of '03 and developed the first symptoms of Sjogren's in May of '03 and neuropathy along with it. My thinking is that the surgery and all the inflammation kicked my autoimmune system into overdrive. But there is no real way to know. Have they tested you for all the autoimmune things that are in Liza Jane's list?

Billye

History
 

There is an entire history of the development of implants and their complications, as well as the litigation which followed. Baylor was a big center because it was their plastic surgeons who first contracted to find a biological use for silicone, and began putting them in implants. The first women they implanted, I understand, were from the medical community. In the end, they saw a huge number of cases of complications.

The most important thing to know is that silicone stimulates an immune response in lymph nodes, and migrates from the breast along the same routes as a breast cancer.

A good source of information: http://commandtrust.com/resources.html

I highly recommend Dr Feng for explant, as you already know. I don't know much about nose implants, except that the medicare studies I cited earlier on this thread found a correlation between ALL silicone implants and neuropathy.

Thank you for posting this information, LizaJane. I know there may be others here who have not suspected some sort of implant link to their health issues.

Valeri:

I am glad to see you posting here. There is good support here as well as good information, and even perhaps a little medical community bashing thrown in for good measure... We will try to keep that part light for the most part.

Monica:

Go back to your surgeon's records and ask for a copy of the operative report. If he/she is reluctant to give it to you, request it in writing. If it was done in a hospital, I found that it was easier sometimes to request it from their Medical Records department. You may have no problem at all. When I was running down medical records, people were not too excited about sharing my medical records, because of litigation...

This will help you find out what material was used, although I suspect that any implanted material could possibly stir up the immune system in at least some of us... The nature of the body is to "reject" that which is not natural. The sequence of physiological events resulting from this rejection is not well known.

I do not know how rhinoplasty implants are tracked, but in breast implants, they came in a box with a lot number and serial number on them-also the manufacture's name. Copies of this information were in the hospital medical records...

Cathie

LizaJane is correct in her description of the birth of implants having been in Houston. Houston did a booming business in implants, and probably still has a place at the front of the pack.

Interestingly enough, the woman who was the first to receive these, if my memory serves me correctly, kept her mouth shut about the health problems she developed after receiving them. I find this very irritating, because her unique position as the "first" and her subsequent health problems could have played a big role in having the medical establishment take our reports of our health issues seriously...

Prior to this, similar health complaints developed as a result of silicone injections done originally in Japan. I guess language translation must have been a barrier when these problems surfaced here, because doctor$, re$earcher$ and manufacturer$ don't seem to recognize the similarities when they translate from Japanese to English... (bashing for today)

Breast-implanted women are not the only ones reporting problems, however. There are reports of problems developing after other types of implants too...

And Billye, thank you so much for posting on this...

I will see if I can locate the link to this story and post it...
Cathie

Cathie

I am almost sure the implant is made of silicone. I googled "nasal implants are made of..." and silicone appeared in most articles. I want to have it removed anyways, even if it were done of another material. It is not that easy to contact the surgeon because he lives in another city, but i remember him as a nice person. Perhaps he just didn't know this could happen, or if he did, he thought the chances were minimal. So i don't think i will have any problems with him telling me what the implant is made of. I don't think there are any records because he performed the surgery in his office, but i am sure he knows what he put in me.

Regarding to the breast i am just remembering there was a girl in my class in collage that got breast implants. She had a chronich rash in her face, really bad. She has very light skin, and when she had flare ups, her face looked red. I don't know if this is connected, i just remembder it.

This is such an interesting thread because it bears out that whenever we introduce 'alien' things into our body, the problems that often develop, are huge! Same with root canals! Mercury dental fillings! Thimerasol in vaccinations?

Anyway! This thread leads me to ask would a silicone mouth occlusal splint possibly cause the same problem? Admittedly the mouth splint is only in at night -so maybe eight hours compared to a breast implant which is around the clock, is insignificant. Also the surface area of a splint is so much smaller than a breast implant but then it is directly in contact with saliva and thus gastric absorption. I know I was concerned about its potential toxic effects when I got it but the dentist reassured me it was benign!!!!!

However it gets one thinking, especially as three years later I developed PN.

Hi Megan:

Benign? I don't know about that. I was told implants were safe too, that they would last a lifetime and I would never have to worry about breast cancer. There are numerous implanted women who had saline filled implants and are now reporting similar illnesses. The outer shell is made of silicone.

If you could see my health history, you could pinpoint exactly when my issues began. It would probably make you think twice about using anything made of silicone in your body, or possibly anything at all foreign if you can avoid it.

I am now extremely sensitive to various foreign materials. The reactions I had to surgical staples and root canal material were NOT fun..

There are a lot of different areas of medicine using devices made of silicone or similar materials-not just breast implants. There are joint replacements, penile implants, testicular implants, implants used in various types of plastic surgery, silastic mesh (or similar) used in hernia surgeries, ligatures, ear tubes, chin implants to name a few...

In one of the hospitals here, my old ear doctor was not allowed to use silastic mesh in his ear surgeries... Gee, I wonder why... I mean if the hospital is concerned about this, that should be a big red flag...

There is a LOT of money involved here. Think about it...

Cathie

Ann-Elizabeth--I know you want to see some medical proof that implants can cause neuropathy, and you're just not going to find it. However, populations studies of people with any kind of silicone in their bodies show an excess number of neuropathy patients. If you want to know how this could happen, you might want to go to pubmed and search on "silicone AND immune response". From that I'm sure you'd find a lot of articles which are to the point.

The problem is, all the money was on the side of the manufacturers during the years leading to the litigation; since settlement, there's been no drive to study the products at all.

Monica: My guess is that your doctors will tell you that the silicone in your nose is more solid than that used in implants and that it should be fine. Except that's not a good enough explanation. The silicone degrades, and my guess is the nose implant isn't even in a capsule, so silicone is migrating from the implant into your lymphatic system, stimulating a response which cross reacts with nerves. I hope you can get this removed easily.

Valerie--when you have the implant removed, it's extremely important that it be removed correctly, and that the surgeon work with a radiologist who can check your lymph nodes, to make sure no silicone has leaked there. The one problem with removal is that there is usually leached silicone in the nodes. If you can't see it, that might mean there's very little; if you can, it's a good idea to have those nodes removed. But the sad part is that by the time we get the damn things out because of sickness, there is clearly some leakage or degradation. I highly recommend Dr Feng in Cleveland. I found her worth the trip out there, even alone and sick. Her radiologists scanned every node in my body, and she was able to microscopically remove all leaked silicone while preserving as much tissue as possible, and doing a nice reconstruction. If you look at the silicone support groups, you will see that there are several surgeons in the country who are recommended. I'd stick with the tried and true if I were you.

These two sites will link with most of the support sites. Myrl runs a listserv email group which updates us. Command Trust Network was in this from the start, in the 80s, and I relied on them for health information even before I became ill. After I was ill, I realized what a wonderful group they were, and how much data they had.

This first link is to an implant support group. If you search on "neuropathy", you will find many women there have neuropathy. I've posted and suggested some come here, but I don't know if any have. I was surprised to find that there were many, and that they really didn't have the medical information this site has.

http://www.breastimplantsupport.org/

These are links to two main implant sites which are rich in links.

http://www.webstarmagic.com/wisletter.htm
http://www.myrljeffcoat.com

Last, this group is for women with saline implants.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SalineSupport/

It's nice to have more people posting here about this issue. It deserves attention.

My name is Jenny, I am 51 I had silicone implants for twenty years, had them out last year, no replacement. The right one was ruptured and leaked out probably a long time ago, my guess is when I started having mammograms, around 10 years ago, the left one was slightly leaking. I have right side neurological problems, the S1 nerve affecting my right leg, mostly from knee down. The way I walk is impaired, I drag my right leg or when I try to walk normal I tend to walk on my toes, the right leg muscles are very tight, I have been told I walk like I have cerebal palsy, which I do not. I have been to many doctors with no help in sight. I have also tried the alternative route, it cost alot of money and did not really help except that is when I made the decision which was a good one to remove the implants, they are no longer important to me. I just want to walk. Thank you for listening Jenny in Florida

I see that this is a really important thread! There's 2 or 3 brand new posters to this board already with pn possibly from implants of some sort. This thread my need to be kept visible!!

Warning-ALOT TO VENT!
 

Finally,a place to talk about what I am soo ashamed to talk about! I grew up being called all of the usual "flatsy" names,nearly got implants when I was 18, when my boyfriend told me I was not much of a woman without big breasts, broke up with him,only to marry a like-minded man, like the one I broke up with.He said that size did not matter to him,but very willingly wrote the cheque to the Plastic Surgeon,when I got them 27 years ago.Yes,I have had the same ones for 27 years now,and they are a real mess,distorted and very painful.They still look good as long as I have a bra on, but they hurt more than not.Back then,we had extra money, but not now, so to get them replaced would be hard financially.I remember asking my Neurologist, when I got G.B.S, if there was a chance I got it from having silicone implants,but he said no.So I have not questioned it, not until yesterday, when I found this site,after reading all of the posts, I wonder if they really are the reason why I have such bad nerve pain? Then I went to read about the female doctor in cleveland,ohio, that some of the posters talked about, and did even more reading, and looked at pics of problem implants,and how it looks when they are removed,but not replaced,and I just don't think I could handle looking like that! Vanity? Yes! But I also feel like I am part of a very small group of women who have had the original implants for soo long!Though I am canadian,I am going to write to this doctor, she sounds like she knows what she is doing,and see what can be done. I REALLY want a female plastic surgeon this time,and I am hoping she can point me to one in canada.I am 49 now,but feel like I am abit too young yet to not care if I have "tube"breasts or not,implants out, with no replacing them.Boy,if I had only known then,what I know now, I would still very happily be called FLATSY!

I have had painful peripheral neuropathy for 8 months. All the tests including MRI on my brain are normal. Pain is all over my body and not in any one particular area. I have had breast implants in and out since 1983 and currently due to rupture in 2016 have textured Allergan implants. I am going to have them removed and have an appt with a surgeon next week. Is there any insurance that will pay for this? I am 71 years old and on Medicare and military insurance. I have had enough autoimmune symptoms in the past and now this nerve pain has me at my wits end. Any advice on this? Thanks!

My sympathies to you and what you are going thru. So many women have gone thru so much damage from these**
I know nothing about insurance and hope you can handle it, make payments or whatever you have to, don't have them put fear in you. Best to you. C


*edited per NeuroTalk Guidelines*