Breast Implant Side Effects

Breast implants have many serious short-term and long-term side effects. Breast implants do not last forever, but the side effects of silicone toxicity can last a lifetime. All of them eventually break and need to be replaced.

Need a Texas Breast Implant Lawyer? Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer or had a doctor suggest breast implant removal because of a predisposition to cancer, you should contact us you should contact our lawyers immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit.

Allergan Recalls Breast Implants for Cancer Risk

July 2019 — Allergan will recall BIOCELL® textured breast implants in the U.S. after the FDA reported 33 deaths and 573 cases of a rare but fast-growing cancer called Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL).

Studies linked the recalled breast implants to a 6-fold increased risk of ALCL compared to other breast implants.

Allergan will recall the following textured breast implants in the U.S.

Textured Natrelle Inspira Breast Implants
Natrelle 410 Breast Implants
BRST Breast Implants
Allergan Tissue Expanders 133Plus

Breast Implant Problems After 10 Years

All breast implants will eventually break. Some break during the first few months or years, while others last more than 15 years. There is no way to know how long a breast implant will last. This is why the FDA recommends getting an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan 3 years after you receive breast implants, and every 2 years afterward.

Common Side Effects of Breast Implants

Side effects like pain, infection, hardening, or needing another surgery are experienced by 50% of first-time breast implant patients and 75% of breast cancer reconstruction patients within the first 3 years.

Saline vs. Silicone Implant Side Effects

Saline breast implant surgery has an overall complication rate of 27.6%. Approximately 25.8% of patients need another operation for deflation or capsular contracture.

Silicone breast implants require another operation within 3 years in 46% of women. Between 3-20% break within 3 years, over 50% break within 10 years, and nearly all silicone implants break within 20 years.

Breastfeeding & Mammograms

Breast implants can make it harder (or impossible) to breastfeed. They also make it harder to detect breast cancer on a mammogram. The force of compression during mammograms can break breast implants.

Breast Implant Rupture Symptoms

All breast implants leak silicone into the body, and potentially into breast-milk. Even un-ruptured breast implants can leak silicone (a complication known as “gel bleed”), which is why they usually coated in a slippery silicone goo when they are removed. The silicone may stay near the implant or travel to other parts of the body.

Symptoms of Ruptured Breast Implants

Breast implants do not always cause symptoms when they break open. This is called a “silent rupture.” If symptoms do appear, they may include:

Change in breast size or shape
Pain, soreness, burning, tingling)
Swelling in the beast
Hard lumps or knots in your breast
Hardening or softening of breast
Capsular contracture
Enlarged lymph nodes
Silicone traveling to other parts of the body

Hard Lumps & Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis

Hard lumps under the skin around the implant can be mistaken for cancer on a mammogram, resulting in additional surgery. They are actually due to calcification, or deposits of calcium (not bone formation) as a consequence of a chronic inflammatory response.

Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL)

Chronic inflammation in the breast is a risk-factor for Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL), a cancer of the immune system. It starts in white blood cells that fight “foreign invaders,” and many women with breast implants are diagnosed when cancerous cells are detected in the fluid around their breast implant. ALCL is a rare but aggressive type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In March 2017, the FDA reported 359 cases of ALCL and 9 deaths were linked to breast implants.

Bacterial Contamination & Capsular Contracture

Capsular contracture occurs in 10-50% of women with breast implants. Tissue tightens around the implant over time, resulting in progressive hardening of the breast and squeezing of the implant.

Bacterial contamination of the implant during surgery increases the risk of contracture, especially implants with a textured silicone shell. Recent studies show that the textured surface makes it easy for bacteria to create an impenetrable coating (biofilm) that the immune system can’t destroy.

Breast Implant Infection Symptoms

Infections occur in 2-4% of breast implant surgeries. Not everyone has symptoms. Bacterial coatings (biofilm) can cause low-level infections, inflammation, and excessive scar-tissue growth around the implant. This tissue is more likely to harden and cause capsular contracture. The early symptoms of a major infection may include:

Pain
Redness
Swelling
Fever
Hematoma (blood pocket)
Seroma (fluid buildup)
Discharge from the incision
Wound separation

Breast Implant Complications

The potential complications of breast surgery with silicone and saline breast implants include:

Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL)
Anesthesia risks
Arthritis and joint pain
Asymmetrical breasts
Autoimmune disease
Breast or nipple numbness or pain
Breastfeeding problems
Cancer
Capsular contracture (hardening of breast tissue)
Chronic breast pain
Connective-tissue disease
Cognitive impairment
Dermatomyositis
Disfigurement
Death
Eosinophilic fasciitis
Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Infection
Lupus
Lymphoma
Memory loss
Metal poisoning from silicone
Mondor’s Disease
Necrosis (tissue death)
Need for additional surgery
Neurological disease
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Organ damage
Polymyalgia
Polymyositis
Pain
Pulmonary fibrosis
Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Rupture or leakage
Scar-tissue
Scleroderma
Seroma (fluid around the implant)
Severe scarring
Silicone migration to other parts of the body
Skin rash
Surgical risks
Systemic Sclerosis
Toxic Shock Syndrome
Vasculitis

Need a Breast Implant Injury Lawyer in Texas?

Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged.

Collen’s amazing success in the courtroom and well known dedication to his clients has earned him the recognition of his peers as one of The Top Trial Lawyers in Texas.”

The Clark Firm has assembled a team of trial lawyers with more than 100 years experience, participation in over 600 jury trials and $260 million in verdicts and/or settlements. Please use the form below to contact our Texas breast implant injury lawyers for a free lawsuit review.