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Breast Implant Illness: A Sickness Hidden In Plain Sight

Maya Dhillon
Image shows hands wearing surgical gloves holding a silicone breast implant.

Maya Dhillon

Breast Implant Illness (BII) is a health problem affecting thousands of women every year.

Breast implant illness describes a collection of health issues ascribed to breast implants. The list is expansive and remains incomplete, but includes a variety of physical and mental health problems. Common health problems associated with breast implants include:

Earlier this year, a Norwich woman even said her breast implants had left her temporarily blind. 

The medical tendency to diminish women’s chronic health problems is endemic. Due to medical sexism, many women have to convince their doctors that their experiences are real. The depth of this problem has been realised in the past few years through better awareness of PCOS and endometriosis. However, there is currently no formal recognition or diagnosis of BII in the UK or US. 

What Is Breast Implant Illness?

There are multiple health issues associated with breast implants, which have been well-established by medical experts. These can include cancer, muscle or tissue problems, and reproductive problems. However, these complications differ from BII. Often, there is no obvious physical cause of BII. 

BII can affect people with saline or silicone implants. Saline implants are not common in the UK, but most silicone implants have a saline lining. Symptoms of BII can start straight after an implantation or can manifest years after the operation. 

“In some cases, the removal of breast implants can reverse the symptoms, but not always.”

Doctors suspect some cases might be caused by an autoimmune or inflammatory reaction to the breast implant. This is similar to how the body might reject an organ transplant. Bacterial infections, as a result of surgery, or low grade inflammation caused by ‘biofilms’ growing on the implants are also potential causes. Silicone leakage can also cause inflammatory issues. A combination of all these factors could result in the manifestation of symptoms of BII.

Other studies theorise that BII is a psychosomatic condition, rather than being purely physical in origin. Psychosomatic symptoms are very common, with around 30 per cent of patients in the UK suffering from them, and they are very real. Even if BII is neurological in origin, it does not mean the symptoms are ‘fake’ or that patients don’t require treatment. 

In some cases, the removal of breast implants can reverse the symptoms, but not always. 

A Controversial Diagnosis 

BII is still widely misunderstood due to its lack of official recognition. The UK government’s web page on BII is tentative in its acceptance of the condition. It reads: “Currently we do not know if there is a link between breast implants and the reported health problems, as there is no single disease which could explain the symptoms some people are reporting to us or to their clinicians.”

As there is no single disease that could explain BII symptoms, medical professionals order a range of tests to rule out other potential conditions. If a physical cause isn’t discovered, patients may be dismissed without treatment. 

RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage says she saw multiple doctors and all were dismissive of her BII symptoms. Because her breast implants were FDA approved, doctors said they were fine. After she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Visage decided to have her implants removed. Other celebrities, including Genevieve Padalecki, Tamra Judge, and Crystal Hefner, have shared similar stories about having their implants removed after struggling with BII.

BII is not a new phenomenon. Similar problems were reported in the UK in the 90s, leading to an investigation by the Independent Review Group (IRG) in 1997. The IRG came up with nine recommendations to be implemented following the investigations. These recommendations involved getting the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to take action, as well as getting healthcare professionals to advise people considering breast implants of the potential risks.

However, the IRG report concluded that there was no evidence to connect silicone implants and long-term illnesses affecting the body. 

Annette’s Experience of Breast Implant Illness

Annette had breast implants inserted following her 18th birthday, hoping to feel “more womanly.”

Post-operation, she began to notice extreme sweating and a resulting unpleasant odour. At first, she didn’t put it down to the implants. Annette remarked that many people don’t consider that their new implants may be the cause of changes in their body.

However, as she reached her twenties, she noticed more extreme health issues, including a rash on her chest, trouble breathing, pain in her sternum, repetitive yeast infections, and depression. She even suffered two minor heart attacks. Annette’s doctors were baffled as to what could be causing her constant health problems.

Scrolling through Facebook two years ago, Annette came across a group about BII. “All of a sudden it clicked. This was me,” she says. After having her implants for almost 15 years, she booked a surgery in July 2022 to have them removed.

“I knew the war inside my body was over.”

“The moment I woke up from surgery my mind was clear. All the gloom that I had been feeling was silenced. Those implants had been sucking the life out of me. I knew the war inside my body was over.”

Once removed, doctors found that Annette’s implants had gotten stuck to her armpits and lungs, causing the odour and breathing problems. Overnight, the majority of Annette’s extreme symptoms disappeared. 

Dealing with her symptoms, as well as getting a medical professional to recognise and validate her BII, was exhausting. Annette says she was rarely taken seriously, and that it was draining having to convince people of her health issues. 

The Future of Breast Implant Illness

While the MHRA still does not recognise BII, surgeons from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (BAAPS) are calling for further resources and research into the illness. The association has urged plastic surgeons to listen to and acknowledge their patients that are experiencing symptoms of BII. 

The UK government advises those experiencing symptoms to report them to its Yellow Card scheme, to help with research and further understanding of the phenomenon.

Many women who have experienced BII want to make others aware of the risks associated with breast implants prior to undergoing the surgery. Visage emphasised the importance of transparency: “I think it’s important that the message gets out there so we can make an informed decision … If you have the information, then you can know what you’re getting into.”

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Featured image courtesy of Philippe Spitalier via Unsplash. No changes made to this image. Image license found here.

Maya graduated from the University of Oxford in June 2022, with a degree in Spanish and Linguistics. She is currently getting her NCTJ qualification at News Associates.

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